<p>do people find it a bother that Oxford law isn’t accredited in the US?</p>
<p>Don’t know about Feingold. The number of law school years depends on each state’s rules for admission to the bar. If I recall correctly Maine, for example, used to require only one year of law school and two years of “clerking” (i.e., working in a law office) to be a lawyer. Check your state’s current rule for licensing lawyers to practice.</p>
<p>Sorry- my post above replied to a question about practicing law with less than 3 years of law school; don’t know how it landed here. At least in New York, there would be no bother with respect to Oxford: UCl, Cambridge, and Oxford are the three foreign law schools for which an applicant to the NY Bar does not have to prove educational equivalence to a US law school.</p>
<p>sorry!! i edited my post cos I realized my question’s stupid and wanted to ask another.</p>
<p>If you’re asking whether it’s a good idea to consider studying law at Oxford, I think the bigger question is whether you want to learn British law or American law. If your goal is the former, then Oxford would be a far better choice than even HYS. Otherwise, I’m not sure why you would look abroad.</p>
<p>My response to your literal question is that no, it does not bother me that Oxford is not accredited. I don’t see why the American Bar Association would accredit a school that does not teach American law, nor why such accreditation would be sought by a foreign school.</p>
<p>To “Entropic”: Actually, the practical issue about law schools is each state’s education requirement to qualify for admission to each state’s bar, not any accreditation by the ABA. Furthermore American law school graduates, just like Oxford graduates, have to take cram courses in local state’s laws to pass bar exams as each state tests on its own laws, not on “American law”.</p>
<p>Oxford teaches British law and law in the UK is an undergraduate major, not a graduate degree. So no I wouldn’t, unless I wanted to redo undergrad and live in the UK permanently. It would be pointless to go to Oxford if you wanted to work in America.</p>
<p>Berkeley–you missed my point. Just like Oxford, the top US law schools teach legal analysis, not a body of law (whether British or American). If you were willing to forego the the choices available in US undergraduate and commit entirely to studying law, you might save time and money (i.e., 3 years of law school in addition to 4 years undergrad) by going to Oxford, as the training is very similar and admission to an American bar would, in either case, require taking a cram course in a state’s particular law. The catch, of course, is that it is remarkably difficult to get admitted to Oxford to “read” law. Sorry if this post is repititive of my prior one.</p>
<p>Caleno:
The OP asked “do people find it a bother that Oxford law isn’t accredited in the US?” From my perspective, the question was primarily about accreditation, and in the US, law schools are accredited by the ABA. I mentioned it because it was what he asked, regardless of how relevant it is to an individual’s ability to actually practice law in the US. </p>
<p>He didn’t ask whether he could practice in the US with an Oxford law degree or if he would he would have the knowledge to pass a bar exam with such a degree. I didn’t mean to sound snarky in my reply, but after working extensively with American lawyers and British solicitors/barristers, I do firmly believe that one would be better prepared to practice law in the United States having attended a law school in this country. The UK and US legal systems do have commonalities, but they also have some important differences, which is why many British lawyers wishing to practice in the US decide to put in the time and money to obtain an LLM.</p>
<p>An Oxford law degree is very impressive no matter how you look at it. However, I do think a law degree from Harvard would better prepare someone for passing a state bar exam. Even if a bar review course is required, I believe a Harvard grad would have an easier time studying for it than someone who studied law at a foreign university.</p>
<p>Accreditation only corroborates that a US school has met the minimum standards for US law schools. The state bar assoc. then establishes what foreign law schools are deemed to meet US standards; the NY bar, for example, establishes that Oxford meets that standard. Hence accreditation is not an issue. </p>
<p>I took and passed the NY bar exam with a British friend, who also passed the first time. She was a graduate of UCL and did not have to provide proof of eduational equivalence because UCL, like Oxford, was deemed satisfactory by the NY bar. We practised international law together for many years in NY; she suffered no handicap having been British trained.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.abanet.org/legaled/publications/compguide2005/chart10.pdf[/url]”>http://www.abanet.org/legaled/publications/compguide2005/chart10.pdf</a></p>
<p>Here’s the information for every state.</p>
<p>In NY, according to the chart, a person with a foreign degree has to receive “additional education at an ABA-approved school” and “a determination of educational equivalency.” However there are some schools the bar recognizes so that a foreign degree holder would not need to provide proof of educational equivalency, as you stated. Further info:</p>
<p>New York Applicant must complete period of law study
equivalent in duration to that specified in New York
rules in law school recognized by competent
accrediting agency of the government of such
foreign country. All applicants must have their
transcripts evaluated by the Board of Law Examiners
to determine if further study, in the form of 20
credits at an approved law school in the U.S.,
including basic courses in American law, is required.</p>
<p>Looking at the requirements in general, why would someone get a UK law degree over an American law degree from decent schools if they want to work in America? (I assume that any school from the T-14 far better prepares a student for the bar exam than Oxbridge or UCL.) The immobility would would be a deterrent. Not to mention an undergraduate degree is something good to fall back on in case you don’t work in law; it’s somewhat risky to major in law as an undergrad and have that be your only potential career, since many people who receive law degrees do not end up practicing law anyway as they had no idea what they were getting into.</p>
<p>Regarding the “catch”: While it is difficult to gain admissions to Oxbridge and read law, it isn’t nearly as difficult as gaining admissions to HYS (undergrad and law) and probably less competitive than most of the T-10 law schools. For admissions in the UK, all they do is take A-levels and go for an interview, whereas for the law equivalent here you have to take the LSAT, which is the Achilles heel for many, maintain a high GPA at uni-level, and potentially interview (at a handful of schools.) Not to mention undergrad admissions at HYS and other top US schools is not only numbers-based, unlike UK institutions, but also requires an extremely well-rounded background and the acceptance rate at these is less than half of Oxbridge’s, assuming self-selection at all.</p>
<p>
Law is an undergraduate level degree in the UK, not a separate professional school as it is in the US so prospective lawyers are just those applying to undergraduate like everyone else. </p>
<p>
Um, that’s a bit biased. For one Oxbridge most certainly is not an ‘only number-based’ admissions system… nothing could be further from the truth. Also you’re seeming trying to imply that HYS admissions are more competitive because their overall acceptance rates from all the applications submitted are lower than Oxbridge… that’s also a serious misrepresentation. </p>
<p>For one, in the US people can and do apply to tons of schools and in many cases they apply to schools that they realistically stand little to no chance of being admitted. In the UK, a student can only apply to one of the Oxbridge schools so they must play their cards much more carefully. Additionally, there’s a much higher degree of ‘self section’ in Oxbridge applications. In the US if you want to apply to HYS then you just go ahead and do it. In the UK, to apply to Oxbridge essentially requires you to be nominated and groomed by your school specifically for that application… as such the schools themselves have a large role in ‘self selection’ of applicants. People fire off applications to HYS for a long shot or even just for fun… that doesn’t happen with Oxbridge and hence the higher acceptance rate.</p>
<p>As for the original question, I think if one is interested in law in more of an academic sense (e.g. they want a law education but aren’t looking to be a practicing lawyer in the US such as wanting a career as a diplomat) then an Oxford law degree of some sort could be quite attractive. However, if you’re looking to be a practicing lawyer then of course it makes sense to study law in the country where you want to practice as the laws, and what the profession entails, can vary drastically.</p>
<p>The other thing to remember too of course is that the structure of the legal profession in the UK is quite a bit different to the US… such as the whole differentiation between solicitors and barristers. Whereas in the US you get your law degree, pass the bar and are then basically good to go, in the UK if you want to be a fully practicing barrister (the ones in wigs that battle it out in court) you’ve got to be accepted into a pupillage which is a whole separate process above and beyond ones law degree. </p>
<p>I think it would be very rare for an American to be accepted to do the undergraduate law course at Oxford (the UK equivalent of law school), but it would be much more common for an American to be accepted to do post-graduate studies in law at Oxford (either as separate study or as a supplement before or after an American law degree).</p>
<p>My dad went to Oxford. Pretty much at Oxford if you get 3As or more on your A-levels and do well on the interview, you are in. At HYS, you need to be a stellar student and have more ECs and interview well. American universities focus more on ECs than UK universities do anyway. Also, the top 20% get As at A-level, which isn’t the same as scoring 2400 on the SAT and being valedictorian in my opinion. But whatever.</p>
<p>BerkeleySenior: </p>
<p>After reading your past few posts on this thread I find it hard to believe that you are a senior, let alone a senior at Berkeley! I’m not trying to pick a fight here, but you sound extremely immature and ignorant of the application/admissions process at Oxbridge. You’re statements are equivalent to me saying something along the lines of “Pretty much at Harvard, if you just get a high GPA, study real hard for the SAT which tests little more than ones ability to take the SAT, and pad your app with random EC’s that you participate in for the sole purpose of looking good on a college app then you’ll get in.” And the interview at Oxbridge is FAR more important than at just about any US college. Just because you think something is true doesn’t make it so!</p>
<p>P.S.
I’m American</p>
<p>the oxbridge interview and a-level grades are very important. but that’s about it.</p>
<p>I worked with a couple recent Oxbridge grads this past summer in London (2 from Oxford, 1 from Cambridge). When I explained to them how seemingly arbitrary acceptance to top US schools can be and the acceptance rates for HYS law and undergrad, they seemed very thankful they didn’t have as much to worry about when they applied.</p>
<p>Yes, the best American and British universities are all very selective. But it is a fact that a lot more factors are considered in US undergrad admissions. Sure, British universities care more about the interview - but US schools care a lot more about one’s background, interests, personality, and non-academic activities. Having to juggle and consider so many things is something rather unique to the US university and what stresses out so many applicants. It is also why sites like this exist.</p>
<p>Basically it boils down to comparing apples to oranges. On this site UK unis will never win though so it’s not even worth my energy.</p>
<p>I have actually just been given an offer from oxford to read law. I would first like to point out that I am from scotland and so do not work under the same system as students do in england. But in terms of what was required of me for my successful application i needed to achieve 5 A marks out of my 5 higher exams in my fifth year at secondary school ( which only 2.4% of students in scotland achieved), then in my 6 and last year I am required to achieve three A marks in my three advanced higher exams. To put this in perspective and advanced higher is equivalent to the first year of a university degree course in the given subject. On top of this an LNAT ( apptitude test) had to be taken as well, plus a several day interview process after the rest of the requirements had been met. So although the successful application rate for oxbridge is about 20%, it has to be remembered that in fact many of those applying will have met many of these requirements anyway. And that in fact it is more likely the top 20% of the candidates who are already in the top 2.4% of students.</p>