Lateraling to NYC Biglaw from Another State Forum

(Deciding to leave, same firm different office, Reference requests)
Anonymous User
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Lateraling to NYC Biglaw from Another State

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:08 pm

I'm a third year at a respected lit boutique looking to lateral to biglaw in NYC. I am moving for family reasons. I'm not yet barred in NY and don't think it will be possible to take the bar while also continuing to work at my current firm. Has anyone here made the jump to biglaw in NYC without being barred in New York? If so, how much of an impact did your not being barred have on your ability to secure offers? I am naively hoping to find a firm that will bring me on and then let me take the July bar.

FND

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Re: Lateraling to NYC Biglaw from Another State

Post by FND » Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:57 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I'm a third year at a respected lit boutique looking to lateral to biglaw in NYC. I am moving for family reasons. I'm not yet barred in NY and don't think it will be possible to take the bar while also continuing to work at my current firm. Has anyone here made the jump to biglaw in NYC without being barred in New York? If so, how much of an impact did your not being barred have on your ability to secure offers? I am naively hoping to find a firm that will bring me on and then let me take the July bar.
Very important question: did your state administer the UBE at the time you took the bar, and was that in 2017? New York accepts UBE scores 36 months after the test date, so if you took a UBE exam in February of 2017 or later, and scored 266 or higher, you only need C&F.

QContinuum

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Re: Lateraling to NYC Biglaw from Another State

Post by QContinuum » Mon Jan 13, 2020 12:28 am

FND wrote:Very important question: did your state administer the UBE at the time you took the bar, and was that in 2017? New York accepts UBE scores 36 months after the test date, so if you took a UBE exam in February of 2017 or later, and scored 266 or higher, you only need C&F.
And, I'd add, NY C&F is pretty quick, at least in the 1st/2nd Departments (the relevant departments for NYC). The hard part is assembling all of the required hard-copy materials - once that is done, assuming no red flags, C&F itself is very quick.

FND

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Re: Lateraling to NYC Biglaw from Another State

Post by FND » Mon Jan 13, 2020 2:01 pm

QContinuum wrote:
FND wrote:Very important question: did your state administer the UBE at the time you took the bar, and was that in 2017? New York accepts UBE scores 36 months after the test date, so if you took a UBE exam in February of 2017 or later, and scored 266 or higher, you only need C&F.
And, I'd add, NY C&F is pretty quick, at least in the 1st/2nd Departments (the relevant departments for NYC). The hard part is assembling all of the required hard-copy materials - once that is done, assuming no red flags, C&F itself is very quick.
quick... and easy. Of the 4 states where I've undergone C&F, NY was by far the easiest.
p
Keep in mind that NY requires 5 years of active practice for reciprocity, so if you miss that 36-month deadline, you're stuck.

Important: 36 months from the day the test was administered, not from when results were made available. If you took the test on the 27th/28th of July, your deadline to file is July.

Five years of active practice, however, cannot start before you were officially admitted. Which means there's a donut hole of about 2 1/2 years from when the test scores are too old and the experience is too little.
[+] Spoiler
at least there's a noticeable (and understandable) difference. A lot of states accept scores up to 36 months, but require 3 years of active practice, so the gap is unnecessary

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