French Law Forum

[aeky]

I am sorry if this has already been asked, but I was wondering what your thoughts are on French law degrees. I am interested in working in international human rights law and planning on taking the LSAT after six months of prep. Given my background and grades it may be possible to get into a good American school with a very high LSAT but it would be difficult. Admission into a French institution, however, is guaranteed and the cost is minimal. I know that I would need an LLM in International Law (as would many that went to a school in the US), but do you think that this is a more reasonable plan? HR is a tough field to get into. I guess I'm wondering if it is Harvard (or the like) or bust.

Thank you.

[Yukos]

You should PM worldtraveler, she knows more about HR than anyone on here.

[baal hadad]

http://www.top-French-law-schools.com

[Cicero76]

The French have a civil law system, which means I can't imagine that a law degree from there would have any use whatsoever in America, regardless of what kind of work you wanted to do.

[PepperJack]

For US big law, it can be very useful if you do a program in conjunction with a top U.S. school, are fluent in French, and target firms with big books of french business that require expertise in both French and American law. All I can offer, and all I'm going to say. It can be done, but I don't know what the percentages are. It's obviously specialized, which means there's fewer jobs but fewer candidates.

[Yukos]

The French have a civil law system, which means I can't imagine that a law degree from there would have any use whatsoever in America, regardless of what kind of work you wanted to do.

And it's a bachelor's, but OP seems to have a sense of what French legal education looks like. TBH, HR and int'l arbitration might be the only two fields where a French law degree is actually marketable, but worldtraveler would know much better than either of us.

[spleenworship]

Just go to that school in Montreal that does both common and civil jointly and doesn't require the LSAT. Shatner went there, so maybe he'd show up sometime and you could nerd out.

[aeky]

Thank you. I will look at Montreal and I messaged worldtraveler. I am not so interested in practicing in the US or being a trial attorney. Although as I understand it there are some states I could still sit for the bar? I guess I am just wondering if it is worth the investment in the LSAT if a French school offered some other element of competition to get into that niche. Even though it would be easier it sounds like this would severely limit my options if I did not succeed.

[romanticegotist]

The French have a civil law system, which means I can't imagine that a law degree from there would have any use whatsoever in America, regardless of what kind of work you wanted to do.

False. Louisiana uses Napoleonic Code.

Right?

[kalvano]

The French have a civil law system, which means I can't imagine that a law degree from there would have any use whatsoever in America, regardless of what kind of work you wanted to do.

False. Louisiana uses Napoleonic Code.

Right?

Louisiana does indeed use civil law. Too bad it's Louisiana and not somewhere nice.

[Holly Golightly]

Thank you. I will look at Montreal and I messaged worldtraveler. I am not so interested in practicing in the US or being a trial attorney. Although as I understand it there are some states I could still sit for the bar? I guess I am just wondering if it is worth the investment in the LSAT if a French school offered some other element of competition to get into that niche. Even though it would be easier it sounds like this would severely limit my options if I did not succeed.

Only certain states will let you take the bar with just an LLM, so that's something to think about.

I looked into getting a French law degree, and the biggest issues I had were: (1) it's super cheap but I wouldn't have been able to qualify for French loans and would not have been able to legally work to pay my living expenses; (2) you have to start over in undergrad; (3) you can't necessarily take the bar in the U.S. state you'll eventually want to practice in; (4) if you definitely want to come back to the U.S. eventually, an LLM isn't nearly as marketable as a JD; (5) I'm fluent in French but the idea of actually going to law school taught entirely in French sounds fucking terrifying.

Also, the LSAT isn't hard or much of an "investment."

[Geaux12]

The French have a civil law system, which means I can't imagine that a law degree from there would have any use whatsoever in America, regardless of what kind of work you wanted to do.

False. Louisiana uses Napoleonic Code.

Right?

Louisiana does indeed use civil law. Too bad it's Louisiana and not somewhere nice.

I bet you post some real zingers about Detroit on reddit.

[Gray]

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