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Congratulations!

Friarylaw NYB would like to congratulate its alumnus, Barbara McCormick, LLB (Dub.) (NYB Class ’99) and her law partner, Rosemary L. Dooley, LLB (Dub.), LLM (Cambridge), on the opening of their new firm: McCormick & Dooley PLLC.

Barbara is an accomplished immigration attorney in New York City and serves as Friarylaw NYB’s external director in New York. For those who have queries in respect of US immigration and visa issues, we would commend you to contact Barbara.

Rosemary is an experienced corporate and commercial attorney who worked in two large Manhattan law firms prior to opening McCormick & Dooley PLLC.

We wish them both all the best!

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Attention Prospective NYB Candidates!

For those of you interested in qualifying as a New York Attorney, the “gold-standard” legal qualification, due to new rules regarding the eligibility of foreign candidates, all Irish law graduates are now required to fill out the Application to Evaluate Foreign Academic Credentials at www.nybarexam.org/FEVAL.

We would encourage all candidates to complete this form now in advance of enrolling on Friarylaw’s New York Bar Programme.

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Why Friarylaw New York Bar?

• We are Ireland’s Number 1 Bar Review Training provider. We train the overwhelming majority of all Irish successful candidates, North and South.
• Friarylaw NYB’s staff includes US practicing attorneys who have sat the exams and understand the methods of assessment. Friarylaw also uses US Attorneys to assist with day to day enquiries via our 24/7 tutorial programme.
• Learn like the Americans learn, first hand lectures from American Lecturers who are preeminent in their fields.
• Employment Opportunities: We have located employment for over 20% of our graduates in 2010 to 2011. We are the only programme provider who employs dedicated International Recruitment experts to assist our graduates with job placements on both a domestic and international level.
•  Expert assistance with LLM applications to leading American law schools (e.g., Ivy League, Georgetown, Fordham, etc).
• 12 week intensive programme adapted specifically for Irish candidates.
• Two simulated mock exams to assist with preparation for the final exams and to acclimatise candidates to the exam structure.
• All home study students are welcome to attend programmes at one of our 4 national venues  (October programme).
• Should you defer your exams, you may attend the next set of lectures at no additional cost.

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Global Opportunity through Immediate Market Relevance

“Ireland is by far the world’s most globalised country”, according to a study reported in London’s Financial Times. A law graduate will find that qualifying as an “Attorney-at-Law” greatly enhances their opportunities for career advancement in the global legal and business services sector. It is a passport for career opportunities internationally. “Many of the biggest law firms all across continental Europe are American or Anglo-American firms where qualification as an American attorney is highly prized”. The internationalisation of the Irish market and Ireland as the European base for many “Fortune 1000 corporations” will ultimately lead to dual qualification being the “rule rather than the exception” in Ireland also.

Friarylaw Legal Training  runs preparatory courses for both the New York and California State Bar Examinations. Success in either of the examinations leads to an admission as an Attorney-at-Law, making the candidate eligible for employment as an associate attorney in those states and internationally. Unlike in Ireland, candidates do not have to complete a solicitor’s apprenticeship or to devil for a Master Barrister.

New York and California are noted for their open policy with regard to foreign lawyers and graduates applying to sit their Bar Examinations. They impose no restriction on the grounds of nationality or residence. On the completion of most Irish law degrees (including joint modular degrees such as law with business studies, law with languages, law with accounting, etc) an Irish graduate is eligible to sit for the New York Bar examination; however, only qualified Irish Lawyers, namely barristers or solicitors, can apply to take the California bar.

Those qualified in the New York or California Bars often use their qualification to practice in the US, but increasingly Friarylaw alumni are leveraging their status as Attorneys-at-Law to secure Associate positions in US and EU law firms located in European cities such as London, Paris, Brussels, The Hague, Geneva, Vienna and other regional centres. Further, many other opportunities exist outside the orthodoxy of legal practice. These include such areas as, inter alia, financial services, the international divisions of the larger accountancy firms, management consultancy, international arbitration, international human rights and corporate in-house counsel to business generally. For example, one of the Friarylaw’s recent alumni is now an internal counsel with the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne, Switzerland while another is senior internal counsel to Intel Europe.

For More Information, Schedule an Information Session

Prior to enrolment, all potential candidates must meet with  the course directors to ensure eligibility as well as compatibility with a potential candidate’s career aspirations. If you are interested in enrolling in the October 2011 Programme, please contact the Friarylaw Administrators at admin@friarylaw.ie or call +353 1 872 8405 to arrange a mutually convenient date and time to interview with one of the course directors.

Our Assistance Doesn’t End with the Bar Exam

Friarylaw’s interest in its candidates success goes beyond successfully negotiating the Bar Exam. Although we are not a placement firm, we provide a legal careers advice and guidance for our Alumni. For more information on careers advice, please contact Dee Khuwais at dkhuwais@thefriary.ie or +353 1 872 8405.

In addition to providing legal career advice and facilitating introductions to appropriate contacts internationally, Friarylaw also facilitate the provision of visa assistance and advice to their candidates via their External Director, Barbara McCormick, Esq. who is an immigration specialist Attorney-at-Law in Manhattan.