A Foreign Lawyer's Guide To Taking The New York Bar Exam #1

One of the most popular legal dramas of our time - 'Suits' - depicts the lives of top-paid New York lawyers with luxurious lifestyles, and it sparks many people's interest in a career in commercial law. While the show may not be a true reflection of the legal profession as a whole, the good news is that every one of you can become a New York-qualified lawyer irrespective of where you are from or currently reside.

1. Are You Eligible?

I get asked this question almost every day! In general, you are eligible to take the bar exam if you have a qualifying law degree that is durationally and substantively equivalent to a JD degree in the US. A full-time, three-year LLB degree in common law countries (e.g. Australia, England, Hong Kong) should usually suffice. But if you completed your law degree in a civil law country, you may need to do a LLM in the US to be eligible.

In any event, you should first submit an online evaluation form to the New York State Board of Examiners for them to evaluate: https://www.nybarevaluation.org/Intro.aspx. To complete this process, you need to ask your law school to send a signed letter directly to the New York authority, certifying that (i) you already graduated from that law school and completed certain hours of classes, and (ii) you have successfully completed the academic stage of legal training in your home country.

2. How Many Exams Do You Have To Take In Total?

When it comes to the New York bar exam, you may have heard of terms like UBE, MEE, MPT, MBE, NYLE, NYLC. What exactly do they mean?

In short, there are THREE exams you have to take in order to qualify in New York:

2.1. Uniform Bar Examination (UBE)

Firstly, you have to pass the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) and this is what most people call the 'bar exam'. The UBE is administered two times per year (in February and July), and it consists of three components:

• The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) - answer 200 MCQs in 6 hours and these questions account for 50% of your total UBE score.
• The Multistate Performance Test (MPT) - answer 6 essay questions in 3 hours and these questions account for 20% of your total UBE score.
• The Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) - answer 2 skills questions covering legal analysis, fact analysis and problem solving in 3 hours, and these questions account for 30% of your total UBE score.

Notably, the passing score for the UBE in New York is 266 on a 400 point scale (I may explain what this really means on a separate article).

2.2. Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)

In addition to the UBE, you also have to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). The MPRE is a two-hour exam containing 60 MCQs that are designed to test the knowledge of established standards related to a lawyer's professional conduct. The exam is administered three times per year (in March, August and November), and the passing score in New York for the MPRE is 85 on a 150 point scale (about 56%).

2.3. New York Law Course (NYLC) and New York Law Exam (NYLE)

Apart from the UBE and the MPRE, you are required to complete the New York Law Course (NYLC) and then pass the New York Law Exam (NYLE). This is perhaps the easiest component of the whole New York qualification process. The NYLC is basically an online course, where you learn the specific aspects of New York law by listening to hours of lectures provided by the bar examiners. They will further provide you with course materials for studying (and you do not have to use any extra material). Upon completion of the NYLC, you are then required to pass the NYLE by correctly answering at least 30 of 50 MCQs during a two-hour online exam.

3. How much effort is required?

I studied the UBE full-time for 4 months. I spent roughly 6-9 hours a day for the first 3 months, 11-15 hours a day for the final month. However, many people who decide to take the bar exam are paralegals or qualified lawyers who do not have that much time to study. For part-time studying, if you can spend around 2-4 hours a day on weekdays and 6-9 hours during the weekends, I think 8-10 months should be enough (given that you have a very structured timetable).

For more details about my study method, check out the YouTube video below, where I explain my six tips on passing the bar exam.

Regarding the MPRE, you should spend at least 3-4 weeks to prepare for it. As for the NYLE, given that it is an open book examination, a two-week preparation is normally enough after you complete all the online lectures.

3. Cost?

Enrolling in a bar preparation programme (I recommend either Barbri or Kaplan) could cost you ￡3,000-￡5,000, and with exam fees (￡600), accommodation and flights to New York (￡1,000-￡2,000) - probably less than half the cost of the LPC or the BPTC (or the PCLL in Hong Kong).

4. Why shouldn't you take the Bar?

Firstly, if you are a fresh graduate who has not secured a training contract, a New York qualification is not a game-changer for your training contract or job application. I know plenty of New York-qualified lawyers who have no luck in finding a training contract.

Secondly, it is one of the toughest exams in the world - the pass rate for foreign-educated first-time taker is only 45% in 2019. Additionally, it is not easy to find a job in the US as you have to compete with many J.D. graduates from Ivy Leagues and other universities. In fact, assuming that you don't know anyone in the States and don't have a work permit, the most common route for a foreign-educated lawyer to practice in New York is to do a LLM in the States and look for job opportunities afterwards - so think carefully what you want to get out of the New York qualification!

5. Why should you take the Bar?

New York is the biggest and most profitable legal market in the world, by quite a significant distance. A majority of the high-end transactions, dispute or capital raising is based on either English law or New York law. It's like the NBA of the legal professionals! At the end of the day, it depends on your career trajectory. If you have a global mindset and a huge ambition, a New York qualification will help you open more possibilities in the future. Moreover, if you are working for a global law firm, there is always a possibility for you to relocate to its New York office. I also heard that there are US firms that allow people to take it to bypass the 2-year training contract (but my educated guess is that those people already have substantial experience at the firm).

Take a chance or not? It's up to you. It was a 'yes' for me - because you never know where life will take you in the next 10 years!! If you have any other question, please contact me via LinkedIn (Gordon Chung) or Instagram (@gordonchung) below.