Charles O'Brien

Posted: 07/04/2009

Was in:

MTA Solicitors, Personal Injury/ Shipping, London

Now in:

Went about it:

I am now a US attorney, having passed the Washington State Bar exam.

We decided to live in Seattle which meant for me that I needed to requalify in the US. I had quite a few months notice ahead of our move, so I began researching the relevant bar qualification, of Washington State, via their website and by telephone. As a UK lawyer, coming from a common law jurisdiction with more than 5 years PQE, I was allowed to turn up and sit the Bar Exam without having to attend 3 years at a US Law School. I found out that Washington State Bar exams can be taken biannually in February and July, so I signed up for a Bar Review course with a view to sitting the July 2008 exam. The application itself was quite complicated as I the US are much hotter on ethics and professional responsibility then we are and so I had to be vetted as an alien, produce a certificate of Good Character from the UK Law Society and obtain affidavits of my suitability to join the profession from attorneys who have known me for 3 years or more. This was difficult from 6,000 miles away when I had just 2 weeks to get the originals and fortunately I got away with just a late fee.