Discover which one fits you better: New York bar admission or English solicitor qualification.
Which legal license would you prefer: NY bar admission or UK solicitor qualification? In other words, would you like to be an attorney admitted in the United States or a solicitor qualified in the United Kingdom?
Many lawyers all over the world (especially, foreign LLM graduates) want to get admitted to the bar in New York or qualified as solicitors in England. Let’s quickly review the benefits of each legal license of these leading common law jurisdictions.
Mandatory vs. Optional
Any US bar admission (e.g., NY bar admission) is generally mandatory to practice US law.
The UK solicitor qualification, on the other hand, is optional (not mandatory) to practice English law, except for 6 reserved areas, including:
- Litigation;
- Appearance in court;
- Land transfers;
- Probate;
- Notarial services; and
- Administration of oaths.
So, if you don’t intend to practice English law in any of these areas, you don’t need to be qualified as a solicitor. As simple as that.
Legal Education Requirement
The NY bar admission requires not only passing the bar exam, but also having a legal education, either a US Juris Doctor (JD) degree or foreign legal degree (such as bachelor of law) along with a US Master of Laws (LLM) degree. Merely preparing and sitting for bar exam is not enough. Having legal education is one of the New York bar exam requirements.
In contrast, the English solicitor qualification actually requires no legal education in the UK or abroad. Even getting a Cambridge or Oxford LLM, for instance, might be of no need for you to get an English solicitor qualification.
Isn’t that strange? Especially, with respect to Britain as one of the most conservative countries in the world.
So, basically anyone around the world can just pass the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) and become a solicitor. That’s a much easier barrier to entry. Right?
As such, the US bar admission appears to be much harder to get, but is hence way more valuable.
Economic Conditions
New York attorney may practice law in the US, while a solicitor of England and Wales may practice law in the UK.
In terms of economy as your market basis, the US GDP is around 27 trillion dollars, while the UK GDP is over 3 trillion dollars. So, the US economy is roughly 9 times bigger. In global proportion, the US has over 25%, while the UK – 3%.
In terms of population as your potential clients, the US has over 334 million people, while the UK – over 67 million people. So, the US population is nearly 5 times greater.
Legal Profession Regulation
The American legal profession is normally subject to regulation by the highest court of each state, such as the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Bar exam administration function normally belongs to relevant boards of law examiners, such as the New York State Board of Law Examiners (BOLE). Licensed attorneys and counselors at law can then become members of various bar associations, such as American Bar Association (ABA) and New York State Bar Association (NYSBA).
In comparison, the British solicitor profession is subject to regulation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). It’s a regulatory arm of the Law Society as a regulator. Qualified solicitors can then become members of the Law Society of England and Wales.
Transactional/Litigation Practice
The American bar license is essentially two-in-one — so to speak ‘all inclusive’. That’s all you need to practice law in any manner. It, in particular, covers both transactional and litigation practices.
In contrast, the UK solicitor qualification is only one of two qualifications. The other one is a barrister. Each English law qualification has its own benefits and limitations. Solicitors mainly communicate with clients and practice transactions, while barristers mainly litigate legal matters, especially in higher courts. Solicitors are usually generalists, while barristers – specialists. For litigation purposes, solicitors are like intermediaries between clients and barristers.
As mentioned already, there are only 6 areas of law that are reserved to solicitors and barristers. They include land transfers, court appearance, and litigation.
Besides, Scotland has its own solicitor qualification. So, to practice in that part of the UK, you would need a separate Scottish legal license.
Attorney vs. Barrister/Solicitor
Among the two types of UK lawyers, barrister appears to resemble more the American status of attorney. By the way, the term “barrister” stems from the term “bar”. In the US, the bar includes attorneys, which are interchangeable with lawyers.
The term “solicitor”, in turn, apparently derives from the term “solicitation”. Interestingly, in America, the term “solicitation” means advertisement and has a negative connotation. Solicitation is thus subject to various restrictions, such as non-solicitation requirements under rule 7.3 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct. This not to say anything negative about the solicitor title, however — just a funny coincidence. It’s, of course, a highly respectable profession.
As an American-Ukrainian attorney, for example, I personally considered getting the English solicitor qualification as well. For this purpose, I consulted with the Law Society, SRA, and international lawyers, including solicitors. Based on their advice, though, I realized that having the NY bar admission is more than enough. If a need ever arises, I can get qualified in the UK at any time.
Bar Exam Costs
Taking the New York bar exam (including the New York Law Exam) costs $377 for US JD graduates or $877 for US LLM graduates.
In contrast, taking both parts of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (that is SQE 1 and SQE 2) costs £4,564.
Even compared with the higher fee for US LLMs, the UK solicitor qualification exam is over 6.6 times more expensive.
Bar Exam Prep Costs
Preparation for the NY bar exam using the BarBri bar review course, which is one of the best bar exam prep courses, costs around $4,200.
At the same time, a similar BarBri prep course for the English SQE costs approximately £6,000.
So, the UK solicitor qualification exam is over 1.8x more expensive than the New York bar exam prep.
Bar Admission Maintenance Costs
Maintaining the NY bar admission costs $375 biennially.
In contrast, practicing solicitor qualification costs £337 per year. That’s $188 per year in the US versus $430 per year in the UK.
So, maintaining the UK legal qualification is nearly 2.3x more expensive than the US bar license.
As you can see, the UK solicitor qualification is much more expensive than the US bar admission in all respects. The mentioned fees rise from time to time, but you get the point.
Solicitor Benefit Question
Here comes a logical question: Does it make any sense to become a solicitor in the UK if you do not litigate there or engage in the other 5 reserved legal activities? Does the solicitor qualification have a substantial value if anyone — even not a lawyer (that’s anyone without any legal education) — can become a solicitor?
In such a case, the main benefit of getting qualified as solicitor may be joining the UK legal community, particularly the Law Society of England and Wales.
Also, if you work for someone, your employer may assign to you a matter in any of the reserved legal areas, such as litigation or land transfers. In this case, you would need to obtain the English solicitor qualification. Even in the case of litigation, however, it would likely be more appropriate to engage a barrister, rather than a solicitor.
Practicing English Law as Non-Solicitor
By the way, some British lawyers practice English law in the UK (for example, at London banks) without getting qualified as solicitors at all.
Likewise, if you practice on your own (self-employed lawyer or own a law firm), you most likely need no solicitor qualification. While you can qualify as a solicitor of England and Wales, you can practice without the solicitor title. It’s not required for you to be able to:
- Practice law of any country, international law, or even most aspects of English law;
- Work as a sole practitioner;
- Establish a law firm;
- Work at a UK law firm; or
- Work in partnership with English solicitors or other international lawyers.
Legal License Choice
Now, over to you.
Which one would you prefer: to be admitted as an attorney in New York or qualified as a solicitor in England? Just leave your comment below.
Also, vote and discover the poll result here:
If you decide to qualify in the UK, one of the primary questions would be: Should you become a solicitor or barrister? You must choose just one, although it would be great to have both just like an American attorney status.
If you were to choose a UK legal qualification, which one of these would you opt for?
Do the above poll results surprise you?
NY Bar Admission
Should you choose the NY bar admission, you can practice American law not only in the US, but in the UK and anywhere else.
Moreover, with the NY bar admission at hand, you can practice not only the New York law, but also the US federal law.
Finally, the NY bar admission can ultimately lead you to getting admitted to the bar of the US Supreme Court.
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