bb216

Hi all,

Having looked through the forums a fair bit, I'm aware there are several threads about UK lawyers moving to the US. However I feel my situation is slightly different and I would really appreciate any advice from someone who has been in my situation or is in any way knowledgeable about the inner workings of international law firms!

After graduating from university five years ago, I worked for a prestigious UK law firm for 3.5 years. I've known for a while that I wanted to move to the US and so I recently studied for an LLM at Harvard, and I have passed the NY bar. Although I had the opportunity to remain in the US on OPT, I decided to return to the UK as I am married and did not want to be on H1B with my wife on H4 and unable to work.

I am now back in UK working for a top tier US law firm and am planning to stay for a couple of years before asking to be transferred on the L1 visa, which seems like the simplest option. Does anyone know if these kinds of law firms generally have blanket petitions? And after 5 or 6 years of practice would I be eligible for L1A even if I am not a partner?

I look forward to your responses...
B

ian-mstm

It's not the "kind of law firm" that matters - but whether or not the specific law firm has approval for blanket petitions. Why not just ask them?


There's no requirement to be a partner - you do, however, need to be a manager... either of people or a process.

Ian

bb216

Thanks for your response Ian. I know the simplest thing would be to ask them, but am not too keen to reveal my intentions just yet.

I know its very niche but am just hoping that someone here might know someone who has moved to the US in similar circumstances.

Nutmegger

Come on, you're a lawyer! Ask an innocent (but leading!) question of a colleague who you think is in the know: "You know old so and so who moved to the US, was it on one of those blanket petitions I've heard about?" Good luck!

bb216

Ha ha thanks for the advice. Maybe that's a good plan...

scrubbedexpat099

Just wondering why it matters, an indication that they would be more willing to do so?

Rete

Why not look at the law firm's website and check out each of the attorneys in practice in the US. Their bio will tell you where they went to school and should tell you where they have practiced law.

I'm sure that your firm knows that you have passed the NY bar exam and are, therefore, licensed to practice law in the State of New York. Are you assuming they are so naïve that they would not realize why you went to the US to study law and take the bar exam? I don't think so. And if you do think so, then, frankly, I would not want you to represent me ;-)

BTW one law firm I worked with (I'm not an attorney) did have paperwork posted in the common lunchroom stating their desire to hire an attorney under an H-1B.

Bootle

It sounds like you're in an AmLaw 100 firm and they don't have blanket petitions. Occasionally they will transfer across lawyers for secondments but it is very rare that they use a blanket petition. The New York legal market is very competitive and unless you can transfer a practice across they aren't going to consider it. More so many of the US firms in London are run through separate partnerships so that the application itself may not even qualify for an L1 visa.

As a separate career point, the more senior you become the less attractive you will be for an office transfer.

bb216

Thanks all. There are several people from my office now based in the US and I work in a very international field which should hopefully make any transfer more appealing and more straightforward. There are a good number of UK/European lawyers working in my field in NY and DC.

As a couple of you have said, it's probably best that I discuss this openly with my office and see what they can do.