International Law Schools Forum

[Rupert Pupkin]

Hello all,

The rankings on TLS, that I've seen so far, are USN and only show US-based law schools. I am interested in knowing where the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and University of Melbourne fall into the T-14 schools. I've seen rankings on sites elsewhere and know they are incredible Universities, but i thought I may be able to find more insight on this forum.

Furthermore, does anyone have any insight on what their class profiles are like and what the pro/cons of attending a law-school outside of the US with the intent of practicing in the US long-term is?


Cheers.

[Nachoo2019]

Hello all,

The rankings on TLS, that I've seen so far, are USN and only show US-based law schools. I am interested in knowing where the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and University of Melbourne fall into the T-14 schools. I've seen rankings on sites elsewhere and know they are incredible Universities, but i thought I may be able to find more insight on this forum.

Furthermore, does anyone have any insight on what their class profiles are like and what the pro/cons of attending a law-school outside of the US with the intent of practicing in the US long-term is?



Cheers.

Pretty sure that U.S. Schools are best for practicing in the U.S.

[pancakes3]

"Being POTUS is a very prestigious position as is being the King of England but there is so little written comparing the two. I'm looking for more insight on this issue. Furthermore, does anyone have any insight as to the pro/cons of being the firstborn male heir of the royal family aspiring to ascend to the presidency?"

[Auxilio]

Go to a US school, the only other options I would even momentarily consider is Oxbridge

[A. Nony Mouse]

Hello all,

The rankings on TLS, that I've seen so far, are USN and only show US-based law schools. I am interested in knowing where the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and University of Melbourne fall into the T-14 schools. I've seen rankings on sites elsewhere and know they are incredible Universities, but i thought I may be able to find more insight on this forum.

Furthermore, does anyone have any insight on what their class profiles are like and what the pro/cons of attending a law-school outside of the US with the intent of practicing in the US long-term is?


Cheers.

The biggest problem with attending a foreign law school with the intent of practicing in the US is that you will likely have to do an LLM or a year of coursework to be able to sit the US bar.

[banjo]

Why would you want to do this? U.S. employers are not as familiar with these schools (particularly Melbourne, which is a relatively new JD program). We have zero placement data indicating how these schools would place into any type of legal job in the U.S. None of these schools will teach you U.S.-specific civil procedure, criminal procedure, evidence, corporations or other bread and butter topics. As Nony mentioned, you are also severely limited in where you can take the bar. Honestly, for someone interested in practicing in the U.S., these schools are a non-starter.

[Mr. Peanutbutter]

Hello all,

The rankings on TLS, that I've seen so far, are USN and only show US-based law schools. I am interested in knowing where the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and University of Melbourne fall into the T-14 schools. I've seen rankings on sites elsewhere and know they are incredible Universities, but i thought I may be able to find more insight on this forum.

Furthermore, does anyone have any insight on what their class profiles are like and what the pro/cons of attending a law-school outside of the US with the intent of practicing in the US long-term is?


Cheers.

The biggest problem with attending a foreign law school with the intent of practicing in the US is that you will likely have to do an LLM or a year of coursework to be able to sit the US bar.

Also, many states don't allow LLM's to sit for the bar. Florida and New Jersey come to mind, but according to these people there are many more. CA and NY are important exceptions, but it doesn't really make sense to hamstring yourself if you could just get your JD in the US.

[Rupert Pupkin]

All makes sense. Was just curious as to what people had to say. Thanks for your responses.

[Xnegd]

I live in the UK and have been deciding between Law School in the USA vs. UK. I choose USA though do to a) not having enough professional connections here to assure a job after school (which is how it works) and b) being here six years, I really just miss home.

UK: much MUCH cheaper, you're looking at about £11,000 for a GDL and then another £11,000 for an LPC. So, at £22k it'll be about $35,000 for Tuition for a full legal education (plus living expenses of course) which will take two years full time, four years part. The problem here is that ranking means almost nothing - not one cares if you got it at Cambridge or Univ Bath - the curriculum is designated exactly the same, so everyone just goes to the school by them, and they don't do OCI recruiting or anything like that afterwards that makes location salient. They don't even have a LSAT or anything, basically anyone can go wherever they want.

Following your 2-4 years of school, you have to do a two year apprenticeship at a law firm, and that is where the trouble is. Anyone can go to school, but only if you know someone can you get that apprenticeship - it's all about connections. UK has a much smaller market, and solicitors/barristers make like 1/4th the salary of Lawyers in the USA. That being said, 86% report enjoying their job, and I think in the USA it's like less than half (if even that). Mostly I think this is because waiting six years and no guarantee of s high salary assures only people who actually want to study law choose the persons, unlike everyone here who just wants a big salary.

With a UK Law Degree you can technically practice in the USA in certain states where you can pass the BAR (i.e. California). That being said, it is extremely difficult, and again no guarantee of a job afterwards. I would highly recommend against this.

If you're young, bright, have solid UK connections, and are UK citizenship - go to ahead and go to the UK for law school but stay there as it will be cheaper and not practically transfer over. Note As an American you won't be able to work there after school unless you marry a local.

Otherwise, you really should go to a school in the USA.

[Rupert Pupkin]

I live in the UK and have been deciding between Law School in the USA vs. UK. I choose USA though do to a) not having enough professional connections here to assure a job after school (which is how it works) and b) being here six years, I really just miss home.

UK: much MUCH cheaper, you're looking at about £11,000 for a GDL and then another £11,000 for an LPC. So, at £22k it'll be about $35,000 for Tuition for a full legal education (plus living expenses of course) which will take two years full time, four years part. The problem here is that ranking means almost nothing - not one cares if you got it at Cambridge or Univ Bath - the curriculum is designated exactly the same, so everyone just goes to the school by them, and they don't do OCI recruiting or anything like that afterwards that makes location salient. They don't even have a LSAT or anything, basically anyone can go wherever they want.

Following your 2-4 years of school, you have to do a two year apprenticeship at a law firm, and that is where the trouble is. Anyone can go to school, but only if you know someone can you get that apprenticeship - it's all about connections. UK has a much smaller market, and solicitors/barristers make like 1/4th the salary of Lawyers in the USA. That being said, 86% report enjoying their job, and I think in the USA it's like less than half (if even that). Mostly I think this is because waiting six years and no guarantee of s high salary assures only people who actually want to study law choose the persons, unlike everyone here who just wants a big salary.

With a UK Law Degree you can technically practice in the USA in certain states where you can pass the BAR (i.e. California). That being said, it is extremely difficult, and again no guarantee of a job afterwards. I would highly recommend against this.

If you're young, bright, have solid UK connections, and are UK citizenship - go to ahead and go to the UK for law school but stay there as it will be cheaper and not practically transfer over. Note As an American you won't be able to work there after school unless you marry a local.

Otherwise, you really should go to a school in the USA.

Thats really interesting. I had no idea that the school cultural structure and curriculum operated like that. Great advice and thank you. I was curious as to how the international programs functioned, especially since I enjoy other cultures, but it would seem almost counterproductive for me to go to school there.