Originally Posted by SeriouslyLost

Not really. And once you're you've been admitted in the UK you can work in many areas so long you understand the limitations and how it's done. I know <ahem> at least one lawyer who is admitted in NZ and Oz, but lives in the US. All their actual practice work is simply funnelled back to NZ through a NZ office. Doesn't stop them acting in the US or other countries. Just means they can't practice in those countries, ie not acting for US clients in the US as a US entity or presenting themselves as a lawyer under US law.

Personally, I think you're looking at it the wrong way. The law degree is not to practice law and then travel, but rather, the law degree is to get the jobs that require or ask for a law degree and involve travel. Subtle distinction.

Off the top of my head I can think of several dozen people I know with law degrees (from quite a number of countries) in the following areas that travel for work

Government - Immigration, Foreign Affairs, Security/spy, Trade, Environment
UN - Almost everything!
WTO, IMF, & WB
Dozens of NGO's, especially the larger ones or the ones with close UN tie ups.

As I say, there are a very large number of options out there. Worst thing possible would be to think of law in the traditional way and getting the degree to go out and "practice law". Much better to think of the degree as a ticket for entry into certain occupation areas that simply prefer a law degree as the entry ticket.

Originally Posted by Jalinth

I'm going to add one massive caution. Law degrees in the US are steadily becoming less and less valuable. The very top does nicely, but the salary data shows that the law market (already a subset - excludes unemployed and those not in a law degree required job) has a camel hump (bimodal) salary distribution. Some (a small %) do very nicely - the $160K+ jobs everyone thinks about. The next hump is way lower - $100K+ lower.

Personally, looking to find a legal job to travel is playing with fire. You are really restricting your options before you even find out what type of law you like (or at least tolerate).

Originally Posted by Baghoarder

The OP is based in the UK, not the US.

I'm a mergers and acquisitions lawyer who has lived and worked around the world, as an employee solicitor and a partner of large international law firms. Here's my two cents on options for travelling as a solicitor in private practice:

1. If you are admitted in England and Wales (or New York) this gives you an increased opportunity to travel for work because international transactions (ie those with a cross-border element) are very often governed by English or New York law.

2. Don't pick a practice area that is jurisdiction-specific. Property law is a pretty good example because the law is usually specific to your "home" jurisdiction and is not necessarily regarded as "translating" well to other places. It's not impossible, but it's harder than in other areas. Your extensive knowledge and experience of English real estate law, for example, would be basically irrelevant if you want to work in, say, Norway.

3. Litigation can be limiting in the same way. Some litigation solicitors/attorneys do a lot of travel if they act for multi-national clients or happen to get a huge matter with an international element, but on the whole they are confined to base (or limited travel within their jurisdiction) IME.

4. Areas that could be worth checking out tend to be transactional in nature (ie they service clients doing big corporate deals, large infrastructure projects etc) - for example, banking, structured finance, project finance. Banks do business all around the world. Infrastructure project developers and pension funds can be the same. Mergers and acquisitions (although the market is not strong right now) can provide opportunities, again if you cultivate an international client base.

5. Get a training contract at a law firm that has offices around the world. You probably already know that there are numerous leading English firms that fit this description. These firms may provide opportunities to live overseas for short stints during your training contract and also longer international transfers down the track as well as day-to-day travel for clients. These positions are very sought after so make sure your marks are strong and you have lots of good experience on your CV.

6. Get some experience in a City firm - ie London not Manchester - during your law studies (you probably know about clerkship opportunities already) and talk to as many travelling partners as you can about what they do. This will significantly improve your chances of securing a training contract in the sorts of firms you might be interested in.

7. Whether or not you travel, the practice of law has a large, unavoidable amount of desk-based work. If you want to be in an area of practice that offers travel opportunities, you can expect to work demanding hours because that is the nature of the deals that tend to require travel. Like most work-related travel, it's not all glamour and excitement. There would definitely be times when you would feel stuck behind a desk 24/7! If you are concerned about being stuck in a desk job then I would definitely try to get some work experience ASAP to see if the law really is for you.

Good luck with your studies.