http://www.llm-guide.com/board/6455 en Re: Oxford BA - LLM GUIDE Discussion Board Tue, 28 Jun 2005 01:46:00 +0200 http://www.llm-guide.com/board/6455/last#6455 You are correct - if you don't already have a law degree then the BA in law with senior status is the best programme for you. I think it is a fairly intense programme, though, but it would be a terrific opportunity. In the UK, if you have a law degree you need to do an additional course, which is different depending on whether you want to be a barrister (advocate) or solicitor (law firm commercial kind of person) [please excuse generalisations]. Firms do hire students while they study to be solicitors and top chambers of barristers will often give awards that provide you with some funding while you study for the BVC if you take that path. Private lawyers in London are paid well but not quite at the rate of top New York lawyers (but then they are not expected to do the crippling hours that NY lawyers are either). The US firms in London pay very close to US rates. You can get an idea of the range of rates at www.rollonfriday.com - an excellent resource. (Don't forget to convert pounds into dollars). In terms of UK v US, it really depends on where you want to practice. To the best of my knowledge, Americans are far more insular than anyone else in the world and you would be much better off with a JD than an Oxford BA + an LLM. That being said, once you have a couple of years experience in London, you will likely be very employable in New York. If you like the idea of studying at Oxford and working in London then it is a great career choice but if you mainly want to practice in the US then there would not be much point in getting an English degree. If you're not sure, ring the recruitment staff at the big NY firms and talk to them about it.