paris offices?

[clhurley]

i'm technically pre-law, just started getting accepted to schools about a week ago. however, where i decide to go depends majorly on... if it would benefit me to have a french law degree or not. i'm planning on asking for a deferral so i can come back to france next year and be completely fluent, after which i plan on pursuing a j.d./maître en droit. however, i want to practice for an american firm... with a paris office. i've done a bit of research, but, in your general experience, do several firms have offices abroad? and how hard are they to get into at that? and would it really benefit me to have a french law degree in order to work at that firm, or would being fluent in french be enough?

i appreciate all the help!

[Team Pam]

If you're looking at Penn (which it sounds like you probably are, as I don't know any other school with the dual degree), try emailing the head of study abroad to get an answer.  I know of at least two firms (Cleary and Shearman) that let summers split between US and Paris offices, and of the people I know who have done that split, none of them were in the joint program (but they were fluent).  That doesn't mean the joint program wouldn't help you, though.

[clhurley]

If you're looking at Penn (which it sounds like you probably are, as I don't know any other school with the dual degree), try emailing the head of study abroad to get an answer.  I know of at least two firms (Cleary and Shearman) that let summers split between US and Paris offices, and of the people I know who have done that split, none of them were in the joint program (but they were fluent).  That doesn't mean the joint program wouldn't help you, though.

actually, it's cornell i have my eye on. i wasn't even completely aware that penn offered the dual, though i applied there. however, you think it's pretty vital to be fluent in order to ever be placed in a french office?

[CTL]

You need to be fluent.  More than that though, you need to have an excellent grasp of reading and writing French.  Imagine trying to slug through cases and briefs while having one eye on a dictionary...

[meggo]

yeah it is 100% necessary that you are fluent. Not just for the above reasons (which are all terribly important) but as I'm sure you realized on your study abroad in Paris, the French will (rightly) expect you to be fluent and will not work with you if you are not (as is the case with pretty much every other country). There's a poster here (Russian princess I think is her name?) that works in the London office of a firm without possessing an LLB but I would imagine if you're going to work in France with French law (though you may very well not), having a dual degree might be more than handy since their system is quite complex and they use civil law as opposed to common law.

[TeeTwenty]

You need to be fluent.

You don't need a french law degree. You can practice US Law in Paris. You will have to work for a large, international firm to do so.

[contrarian]

i'm technically pre-law, just started getting accepted to schools about a week ago. however, where i decide to go depends majorly on... if it would benefit me to have a french law degree or not. i'm planning on asking for a deferral so i can come back to france next year and be completely fluent, after which i plan on pursuing a j.d./maître en droit. however, i want to practice for an american firm... with a paris office. i've done a bit of research, but, in your general experience, do several firms have offices abroad? and how hard are they to get into at that? and would it really benefit me to have a french law degree in order to work at that firm, or would being fluent in french be enough?

i appreciate all the help!

If your main pursuit in life is to work in Paris, you may want to look into many other potential career paths.

[clhurley]

i'm technically pre-law, just started getting accepted to schools about a week ago. however, where i decide to go depends majorly on... if it would benefit me to have a french law degree or not. i'm planning on asking for a deferral so i can come back to france next year and be completely fluent, after which i plan on pursuing a j.d./maître en droit. however, i want to practice for an american firm... with a paris office. i've done a bit of research, but, in your general experience, do several firms have offices abroad? and how hard are they to get into at that? and would it really benefit me to have a french law degree in order to work at that firm, or would being fluent in french be enough?

i appreciate all the help!

If your main pursuit in life is to work in Paris, you may want to look into many other potential career paths.

no, no, no, it isn't that. i just sort of want to come back here before truly settling down, and i feel like having that experience will perhaps help me when i do come back home. more than anything, i want the options. however, if i DO decide to settle in paris, i would have the french law degree.. as well as a j.d., which, along with english as your mother tongue, is, in my experience, quite useful when it comes to being hired by actually french offices.

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

You need to be fluent.

You don't need a french law degree. You can practice US Law in Paris. You will have to work for a large, international firm to do so.

All true, but many firms are pulling their US lawyers out of their French and Italian offices. In this environment, there's just not enough work for them there to support a full-time presence.