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Tips for Foreign Trained Lawyers Series: Employee Beware!

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published April 27, 2016

Nadine C. Atkison-Flowers

Summary: Learn how you can work in the US as a foreign trained lawyer with these 10 tips.

Learn how to work in the US as a foreign-trained attorney in this article.

As a foreign trained lawyer new to the USA you must learn your way around the whirlpool of licensing, admission and employment. The truth is that caveat emptor is your best friend. These ten tips should help.

1. Be wary of persons offering to get you admitted. The USA offers various ways to be admitted as a foreign trained lawyer. Visit the state bar websites and inform yourself.

2. Never pay money to anyone or any organization without doing your due diligence. The reputable law schools and the bar associations can usually point you in the right direction about relevant fees.

3. Protect your identification information. A lot of your job hunt will be online. Ensure that you don't give out sensitive information. Even with a seemingly safe and secure site, you need to be cautious.

4. If you use online services or other recruiters, make sure you know the extent of any obligations. For example, some sites will allow access for free, some allow partial access, others want you to provide credit card details and they deduct fees monthly.

5. Know that there are other employment options such as lecturers, foreign legal consultants, or in-house counsel that you can take advantage of immediately. Many opportunities only ask for proof of your right to work at an interview stage, so you don't have to provide these sensitive details online and never on the telephone.

6. Employment opportunities that appear legitimate may not be. Look out for warning signs such as no specific salutation/greeting (“Dear Counsel” and “Hello” are common). They may ask you to give certain sensitive information or even that you do a “sample” of work. They may then ask for certain work to be done, and you get a check, but it may be a bad check, which you only discover after bank charges.

7. There are hundreds of employment websites out there. Don’t spend all your time on them. Sometimes you have to check other sources and sometimes you have to narrow your focus, otherwise you will feel overwhelmed or depressed.

8. Don’t expect instant results. Unless you are coming into a job, it is likely that getting employment will take time. Job centers, newspapers, notice boards and networking can all help.

9. Quasi-legal opportunities can be useful to get you introduced to the American legal system. Don’t ignore them because you feel they have nothing to offer. The learning opportunities are excellent, but make sure you are not caught up in the unauthorized practice of law.

10. Do a few free online courses that give you an idea of what the American legal system is like and also others that enhance your overall skillset.

See Ten Tips to Help Foreign Trained Lawyers Find Work in the US for more information.

Nadine C. Atkinson-Flowers can be contacted at ncarci@yahoo.com. She is admitted to the Jamaican Bar.

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