With every new achievement comes the decision of what to do next and passing the bar exams back in 2017 was no different.
Whilst I was collating all the paperwork and documents needed to submit my application for admission, I was also planning my new career and job searching like crazy.My job search for a newly US qualified lawyer role or associate role in an American law firm started even before I passed the bar exams. I am a person of faith and live by faith so I started applying for jobs as soon as I returned to England after sitting the bar exams in February 2017 and before knowing whether I had passed the bar or not!
I wanted to move to New York so badly and had applied for a visa but was unsuccessful twice. Another option I had was to secure a job offer in New York in the hope that the firm would then sponsor me for a green card. I had received a couple of interview invites. I was interviewed via Skype but as soon as the firms discovered I didn't have a green card, they informed me that they couldn't offer me the role.
My focus then was to secure a job at an American or international law firm based in London, then after a while transfer to their US office. I had seen some job opportunities that provided the opportunity to transfer to their US office after 12 months of working with the firm. I also spoke to different people in the US who worked for a global firm in their respective countries and were later transferred to the US.
I was offered a job as a US lawyer for a business immigration law firm based in London. However, when I received the contract and saw the low hourly rate, I queried this before signing. They didn't reply to me. When I chased them up a few days later, they claimed they had now offered the job to someone else. I didn't believe that and believe that because I wasn't willing to work as a lawyer but get paid as a paralegal, they were no longer interested in me. I reasoned that if I am going to get paid as a paralegal, I might as well work as a paralegal and that's what I did.
I did freelance paralegal work assisting small companies and a nursing home with legal, regulatory and compliance matters. Within a few months I managed to secure a temporary paralegal role at a top tier global law firm and worked with them for four months. From this, I started getting job offers from legal recruitment agencies for contract attorney and contract lawyer roles working with other top tier international law firms in Birmingham and London and all the cases I've worked on have been US/UK cross border cases, mainly New York or DC state law or federal law cases.
It might have seemed crazy turning down the first job offer as a qualified lawyer, especially because at that time I had already handed in my resignation after in Local Government for four years and would now find myself unemployed. But I also knew my worth, the amount of money, time and effort I had spent on qualifying as a lawyer. There is a different level of responsibility when you 'level up' professionally and it is only fair to be paid a salary that reflects that. Had I just accepted the first job offer, I may not have encountered the opportunities that followed.
My focus then was to secure a job at an American or international law firm based in London, then after a while transfer to their US office. I had seen some job opportunities that provided the opportunity to transfer to their US office after 12 months of working with the firm. I also spoke to different people in the US who worked for a global firm in their respective countries and were later transferred to the US.
I was offered a job as a US lawyer for a business immigration law firm based in London. However, when I received the contract and saw the low hourly rate, I queried this before signing. They didn't reply to me. When I chased them up a few days later, they claimed they had now offered the job to someone else. I didn't believe that and believe that because I wasn't willing to work as a lawyer but get paid as a paralegal, they were no longer interested in me. I reasoned that if I am going to get paid as a paralegal, I might as well work as a paralegal and that's what I did.
I did freelance paralegal work assisting small companies and a nursing home with legal, regulatory and compliance matters. Within a few months I managed to secure a temporary paralegal role at a top tier global law firm and worked with them for four months. From this, I started getting job offers from legal recruitment agencies for contract attorney and contract lawyer roles working with other top tier international law firms in Birmingham and London and all the cases I've worked on have been US/UK cross border cases, mainly New York or DC state law or federal law cases.
It might have seemed crazy turning down the first job offer as a qualified lawyer, especially because at that time I had already handed in my resignation after in Local Government for four years and would now find myself unemployed. But I also knew my worth, the amount of money, time and effort I had spent on qualifying as a lawyer. There is a different level of responsibility when you 'level up' professionally and it is only fair to be paid a salary that reflects that. Had I just accepted the first job offer, I may not have encountered the opportunities that followed.
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