U.S. Bar Exam Information
The LL.M. Programs are not specifically designed as a U.S. bar exam preparation course; however, after graduating from the program, many of our students sit for the New York bar exam. We urge students interested in taking a U.S. bar exam to review the , which lists the bar eligibility requirements of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The guide is published by the .
Students who opt to sit for a bar exam may be limited in their course selections. We encourage all students to discuss their course of study and the various requirements for their LL.M. and a bar exam with the academic advisors of their respective LL.M. programs.
The qualification to sit for the New York Bar Exam is a foundational goal for many of our LL.M students.听 听The Program advises students, even before their LL.M degree begins in earnest, to submit the Foreign Evaluation Form to New York State Board of Bar Examiners.听 This Foreign Evaluation Form is the second of two requirements to sit for the New York Bar Exam, along with graduation from an LL.M degree with a minimum of twenty-four credits - twelve of which are in New York Bar subjects - with a passing GPA.听 听
The Foreign Evaluation Form requires several official documents from your legal education in your home country.听 听In addition, these documents must be properly notarized, sealed, and delivered.听 听In order to avoid delay in sitting for the New York Bar, students should begin this process - ideally, even before leaving their country and arriving in DC - to allow time for any administrative mistakes, and the resulting resubmission of documents.听 听Find more information here:听听 For any questions, please contact Associate Director of the International Legal Studies Program, Fernanda Ellenberg, at fellenberg@wcl.american.edu.听
New York Bar Exam 鈥 Eligibility Requirements
Information about the New York bar for foreign-trained LL.M. students is available . Foreign-trained students should pay particular attention to . Foreign-trained attorneys must seek to sit for the New York Bar Exam up to one year in advance of sitting for the New York Bar Exam.
Foreign-trained LL.M. students who wish to take the New York Bar Exam must complete at least 12 credits of required classes of the 24 credits needed for the LL.M. degree. The following courses are offered at 17吃瓜在线WCL for students interested in taking the New York Bar Exam:
Required (6 credits)
- LAW-580-001: American Legal Institutions (2 credits; offered Fall & Spring)
- LAW-580L-002: LL.M. Legal Research & Writing (2 credits; offered Fall & Spring), and
- LAW-550: Legal Ethics (2 credits; offered Spring & Summer)
Plus 6 credits selected among the following courses:
- LAW-581-001: U.S. Business Law (3 credits; offered Spring)
- LAW-504-002: U.S. Contracts Law (3 credits; offered Fall)
- LAW-503-001: U.S. Constitutional Law (3 credits; offered Spring)
- LAW-507-001: U.S. Criminal Law (3 credits; offered Fall)
- LAW-636: Family Law (3 credits; offered Fall & Spring)
- Subject to prior approval, LL.M. students may register for Evidence (LAW-633), Secured Transactions (LAW-840), and Wills, Trusts and Estates (LAW-697), and Conflict of Laws (LAW-621)
LL.M. candidates interested in taking the New York bar exam must complete the degree within 24 months of beginning the LL.M. program, and may only enroll in a maximum of 4 credits in the summer.
NOTE: The New York Rules do not allow online or distance learning credits. Students enrolled in an online LL.M. or hybrid LL.M. program at 17吃瓜在线WCL will not be eligible to sit for the New York Bar Exam.
View more information about New York Bar Exam requirements .
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Washington D.C. Bar Exam 鈥 Eligibility Requirements
17吃瓜在线WCL offers a D.C. bar exam track to foreign trained law graduates where students will take 26 credits in subjects tested on the DC bar exam (which is now the Uniform Bar Exam.) The list of subjects tested on the Uniform Bar Exam is available .
Information about the admissions of foreign-trained graduates to the D.C. bar is available in . Specifically, Rule 46 (c) (4) provides that 鈥淎n applicant who graduated from a law school not approved by the ABA shall be permitted to take the bar examination only after successfully completing at least 26 credit hours of study in a law school that at the time of such study was approved by the ABA. All such 26 credit hours shall be earned in courses of study, each of which is substantially concentrated on a single subject tested on the Uniform Bar Exam鈥.
View more information about admission to the D.C. bar . Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the D.C. Bar Admissions are available . 听听
Please address your questions about bar exams and bar admissions in the U.S. for foreign-trained lawyers and students to Fernanda Ellenberg 听fellenberg@wcl.american.edu.