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I was wondering if this was a possible route I could go, assuming everything goes well with getting into top 14 and what not.

1. T14
2. Chicago Big Law (Tax? Not sure what field)
3. London

I am a 0L so assume I am completely clueless.

GoLandcrabs wrote:I was wondering if this was a possible route I could go, assuming everything goes well with getting into top 14 and what not.

1. T14
2. Chicago Big Law (Tax? Not sure what field)
3. London

I am a 0L so assume I am completely clueless.

I did it. We also went to France for a week. Just make a separate savings account to save up for it.

Of the people I know they went directly to London from law school. Bid on some magic circle/london offices during OCI.

I have never heard of Chi -> London.

Anonymous User wrote:

GoLandcrabs wrote:I was wondering if this was a possible route I could go, assuming everything goes well with getting into top 14 and what not.

1. T14
2. Chicago Big Law (Tax? Not sure what field)
3. London

I am a 0L so assume I am completely clueless.

I did it. We also went to France for a week. Just make a separate savings account to save up for it.

Well, obviously I meant permanent employment.

This is OP - accidental anon.

foregetaboutdre wrote:Of the people I know they went directly to London from law school. Bid on some magic circle/london offices during OCI.

I have never heard of Chi -> London.

Huh, I thought you would need to have some experience?

For instance, Kirkland has a firm in Chicago. They also have one in London - I'm assuming it's impossible to transfer?

I was unaware that London straight out of law school was even a possibility.

Some London offices directly hire from US law schools. If you are dead set on London, then you can start there.

Anonymous User wrote:Some London offices directly hire from US law schools. If you are dead set on London, then you can start there.

Do they most do so from T6 or T13?

How exclusive are they?

I knew two classmates who went directly overseas. It takes hustle and is not guaranteed. The magic circle firms that hired directly to London were very popular when I went through OCI (t14 and terrible at basketball).

What is way easier is splitting during your 2L summer. Get a job at a firm with a big London office and a big Chicago/New York office, ask to split your summer. At least where I'm at, you can then pick where you start, assuming you didn't burn the place down. This is not advertised for obvious reasons.

Get into law school first . . .

RaceJudicata wrote:Get into law school first . . .

I want to make sure I know what I'm looking at before I spend 30-40k.

jkpolk wrote:I knew two classmates who went directly overseas. It takes hustle and is not guaranteed. The magic circle firms that hired directly to London were very popular when I went through OCI (t14 and terrible at basketball).

What is way easier is splitting during your 2L summer. Get a job at a firm with a big London office and a big Chicago/New York office, ask to split your summer. At least where I'm at, you can then pick where you start, assuming you didn't burn the place down. This is not advertised for obvious reasons.

What do you mean by "splitting"? Splitting time during 2L internship between their offices? I know Chicago has firms with London offices, so I could try that if I reach that point.

Anonymous User wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:Get into law school first . . .

I want to make sure I know what I'm looking at before I spend 30-40k.

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 3&t=170603

lymenheimer wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:Get into law school first . . .

I want to make sure I know what I'm looking at before I spend 30-40k.

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 3&t=170603

I'll take that there then. Delete this thread pls.

Bunch of people I know are going to London directly from law school, though in my personal opinion, you're probably better off getting US trained for a year or two before moving.

T13 --> NYC for a couple years doing capital markets --> London is a relatively common path. The one you described is not.

Anonymous User wrote:T13 --> NYC for a couple years doing capital markets --> London is a relatively common path. The one you described is not.

I know someone without London connections who went NY tax to London tax at the same firm, but agree it's not the best practice area for a London end game.

OP you may want to check out this thread in which a London transactional partner answers questions:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... lit=london

Anonymous User wrote:For instance, Kirkland has a firm in Chicago. They also have one in London - I'm assuming it's impossible to transfer?

I was unaware that London straight out of law school was even a possibility.

The friend of mine who went HLS -> biglaw in London went to Kirkland. I think he does just general transactional stuff. It's definitely possible, but I don't think there are a ton of jobs. Grades are probably not a major issue; he did fine, but he didn't have especially strong grades. I don't actually know what they select for, then. He's Canadian and is probably the most well-traveled person I've ever met, and that probably had something to do with it.

Only London laterals I know of went NY biglaw to London. Chicago biglaw doesn't have much crossover with London work so you're likely to gain little experience in Chicago that would make you competitive for an inter- or intra-firm lateral.

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katthegreat11 wrote:No advice, just saying I want this too!! Not permanently per se, but for several years at least. Don't really have a plan right now of how to get there other than going to a T14 and immediately asking the career office about options. I don't know if I'll be able to practice my current field of interest (environmental) there, but I'm willing to sacrifice that to live abroad.

You won't be able to practice enviro there.

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That's a can-do attitude! What would I, an environmental lawyer, know about where such law can be practiced. You will not be able to practice environmental law in the UK because you won't know UK enviro law. The type of work you, a US lawyer, would practice in London revolves around the financial industry. If they need someone to consult on UK or EU enviro law, they'll hire someone trained in such practice.

None of this is certain, but the chances of practicing enviro law in London as a US trained attorney are so low that I feel safe enough generalizing that you won't be able to do it.

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katthegreat11 wrote:I'm just wondering why you felt the need to speak in absolutes? Especially when I explicitly said "I don't know if I'll be able to practice my current field of interest (environmental) there, but I'm willing to sacrifice that to live abroad." I clearly am not 100% confident that I'll be able to do this, and fully recognize the strong possibility that I will not, but I'm going to at least try. Why you gotta shoot that down?

I mean, you also could try to flap your arms so hard that you fly, but it's not going to work. The reason to speak in absolutes is that the job you're imagining probably doesn't exist. The overseas jobs for American lawyers are almost exclusively transactional in nature (big international corporate deals), but environmental law is almost exclusively litigation-based (actually going to court, which you can't do in a foreign country unless you're a member of the bar of that country). So I wouldn't be at all surprised if there are literally zero environmental law jobs in London available to American lawyers. You'd be well served by finding out if this is a thing that anyone actually does, because it probably isn't. (Even if it is a thing that anyone does, the next step is to figure out whether you could conceivably ever get hired to do it.)