<p>I'm an NYU undergrad senior who's considering applying to Cambridge for law (an LLB). I'm curious as to what other people think.</p>
<p>It's a special program for people who already hold a BA degree wherein it only takes 2 years to graduate with the LLB. </p>
<p>Then I could either: </p>
<p>(1) Remain in the UK, complete the LPC and 2 year training and then remain in the UK practicing anywhere in the EU.</p>
<p>(2) Immediately after completing the LLB apply to 1 year US LLM programs and try to get a job in, preferably, NYC. </p>
<p>(3) Complete the UK requirements, then come back over to the US and take the LLM, pass the bar and hold rights to practice in the US and EU?</p>
<p>So my question is, is going to Cambridge for law a good or viable idea? Or is it just better to remain in the US and try for law schools like Columbia, NYU, GTown, Cornell, Penn, GW, Fordham?</p>
<p>I should also mention that I graduated HS a year early, graduating college a year early... So I would be applying at 19 and entering at 20. Which puts me more in age range for Cambridge and younger than most for the US.</p>
<p>If you want to practice in the U.S., attend a U.S. law school. Getting accredited with a UK degree is going to be difficult and the chances of you being able to remain in the UK and work there are slim, unless you have UK immigration standing. Even at that, the prospects for a position when they’re skeptical of you remaining in the UK wouldn’t be good.</p>
<p>If you want to practice law in the US, attend an American law school. You will not be able to get a biglaw job in the US with a LLB from Cambridge; your chances are slim to none even if you get a LLM in the US afterwards. Don’t practice law in the UK; it’s just not the same. With a LLB, you are looking at about 50000GBP/year practicing if you graduate at the top of your LLB class at Cambridge, which is not comparable to 160000USD+bonus if you graduate near the top of your JD class at NYU, Columbia, etc. Even though getting a JD costs a lot, getting a LLB from Cambridge costs a lot as well.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about biglaw, I think it’s usually higher than £60k/yr after the 2-year training period, translating to near $100k/yr atm. That’s a far cry from the $160k/yr starting salary at some top US law firms, but from what I heard, the annual salary increases in the UK are higher, and the competition in the UK is not as cutthroat. That’s just what I heard though - if someone could confirm whether or not that’s true, that would be great, since I (and I’m sure at least a few others) would be interested in knowing how the US and UK compare with respect to this.</p>
<p>One important thing that you seem to have brushed past though is the costs. In the US, a 3 year JD programme can typically cost upwards of $300,000, whereas in the UK, a 2 year conversion programme (GDL+LPC) is closer to £23,000, or $36,000 atm. Law school in the US can cost $250,000+ more than law school in the UK. That’s a lot of money to most people.</p>
<p>Of course, I’m sure some of us are making similar decisions - at least with respect to whether to practice law in the US or UK and consequentially whether to study law in the US or UK - and it would be great to hear further opinions on this subject.</p>