Question from Sandra: I am an accredited lawyer in Germany and have been practicing law for 3 years.  I am currently working in an international law firm practicing real estate law with American and English clients. My boyfriend, an American citizen, and I are moving to the United States.  I am interested in understanding the requirements for becoming a U.S. Lawyer. 

Janet:  To practice law in the US you will need to become licensed (by taking the bar exam) in the state in which you plan to practice.  There are two parts to a US bar exam—first, the multistate (which has questions taken by all lawyers across the US), and second, the specific state law questions posed by the particular state in which you are sitting for the exam.   In order to qualify to take a bar exam, however, you will need to see who is permitted to take the exam under the laws of the particular state in which you plan to practice (and take the exam).  Here is a  link to a list prepared by the American Bar Association (“ABA”) with such state by state requirements.  As you can see from the list, the requirements are more stringent in some states than in others.  You should double check the rules of the state in which you wish to practice against the summary in this ABA form to ensure that the summary information is up to date; each state should post its own rules on its website.  As the ABA summary indicates, you would need to get additional education (such as an LLM) from an ABA-accredited law school to sit for the bar in some states. Because New York is a popular jurisdiction for foreign lawyers, here is a link to the relevant rules of the NY bar:  http://www.nybarexam.org/foreign.htm.  As you can see, New York lets lawyers trained in the common law qualify to take the bar exam more easily.  

I am not sure whether you have a US job already waiting, or whether you also will need to look for a job in the US.  If you need a new job in the US practicing law, you will need to be licensed to practice law here first, as discussed above.  However, if you want to work before becoming licensed to practice US law, you can try to get a job as a foreign visiting attorney or similar role in the United States.  Realistically, getting such a job with a law firm is quite competitive. (In addition, under any scenario, you will have to tackle work permit and visa issues.) However, if you have some connections at US law firms, such as through your current firm or a German firm with offices here, this might aid you.  In addition, you might consider employment with corporations, especially those that do a lot of business with Germany or Europe in general.   Good luck!