Rushman

Thats the nicest thing anyones every said about me...getting teary eyed here.....sniff.

Thydney

He could try Seaworld they're bound to need and extra shark

Rushman

Took your bloody time.

Tracym

Thydney

Rete

Here's a few Mike:

Offices in London and Los Angeles.

http://www.fulbright.com/

http://www.paulhastings.com/officeslist.aspx

lapin_windstar

You don't need to do a 1 year LLM to take the Bar exam in NY: http://www.nybarexam.org/foreign.htm
Everyone's a Nazi to you, apparently.

Bob

Shame he's in CA then...

mikec81

Thanks for the links. I will check them out. Most of the international firms have offices in Palo Alto rather than Sacramento, but I will have a look around.
Thanks for all the advice, got some good information.

Special thanks to Rushman: I also learned the importance of using the quote button. Its use is obviously a reflection of a persons ability to do their job and it is something I will be sure to remember in future posts

Rushman

Your welcome....that will be $75.

mikec81

Being a lawyer, I would have charged at least $150 for that gem. Remember, it is not just the information you charge for, its perusing the information, researching the information, having someone else proof read the information before it goes out.....

Bob

Sounds like you'll definitely fit into this forum

Lynne

Having worked for 20 years in the legal profession in the UK, I found it very hard to get into the swing of things here. Fortunately, I hit the jackpot, first job I went for an interview, I got it. However, the first several months were a nightmare. The terminolgy for the most part was the same, but when it came to filing discovery, scheduling depositions, Summary Judgments, Motions etc etc, thats when it went totally over my head. Fortunately my company were very patient. It was also very hard getting used to actually talking to a Judge on the phone and calling him "Jim" rather than Your Honor. lolol

Alabama is rapidly becoming a paperless court system, most is now efiled which can be a totally pain in the arse if you are not familiar with the basics.

As for paralegals, this depends mainly on where you live. I was a qualified legal secretary in the UK and considered going to school to be a paralegal but was told by several lawyers that in our area being a paralegal didn't make much difference salary wise. However, when I lived in Atlanta and interviewed there the difference in pay between being a paralegal and not was as much as $10.00 an hour.

A lot also depends on the firm, our legal assistants at my firm do virtually everything a paralegal does.

The only problem I come up against time and time again is not being a notary. It's a pain in the arse when I see clients that have to sign stuff and then I have to drag someone else to notarize their paperwork.

I also found it good to specialise. In the UK I did all round legal work, here because a lot of it is so much more involved it was better for me to specialize.

Good luck - have you tried posting your resume at the local law library or with the local bar association?

Rete

I take it you are a secretary/legal assistant and not an attorney. The one issue Mike has is that he needs to pass the state bar in order to practice law in the state in works in. Having a UK JD is not enough. Why aren't you a notary? It is a simple test in most states and the fee is normally paid for by the law firm since they are the ones benefiting from your additional qualification.

lapin_windstar

Someone else was talking about NY (incorrectly).

Mikec: have you considered becoming a "foreign legal consultant" accredited by the CA Bar? http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calba...=10163&id=1303