Connecticut Bar Examining Committee

About the Petition for Determination on Foreign Education

An applicant who does not have a J.D. degree from an ABA or Committee approved law school, but who has studied law in a foreign country, may qualify to apply for admission to the Connecticut bar under Article II-3 of the CBEC Regulations.

An applicant must submit proof of a legal education as required by all subsections of Art. II-3. This includes a satisfactory foreign legal education AND a satisfactory LL.M. degree from an ABA or Committee approved law school.

Applicants with an approved foreign legal education and LL.M. degree are eligible to apply for admission by examination, admission by UBE score transfer, or admission without examination (admission on motion).

Filing Fee

The non-refundable fee for a Petition for Determination on Foreign Education is $500.00

Foreign Education Requirements

An applicant shall show successful completion of the educational requirements for admission to the practice of law in a country other than the United States. In order to meet this requirement, an applicant must show the following:

• Successful completion of a period of study in a law school or schools each of which, throughout the period of the applicant’s study therein, was approved by the government or an authorized accrediting body in such country, or of a political subdivision thereof, to award a first degree in law as evidenced by a course by course educational evaluation prepared by a credential evaluation company.
• Said program of study must be substantially equivalent in duration to the legal education provided by an American Bar Association or Committee approved law school in the United States.

LL.M. Degree Requirements

All foreign educated applicants must also show successful completion of an LL.M. degree at an American Bar Association or Committee approved law school in the United States meeting the following requirements:

• The program shall consist of a minimum of 24 credit hours (or the equivalent thereof, if the law school is on an academic schedule other than a conventional semester system) which, except as otherwise permitted herein, shall be in classroom courses at the law school in substantive and procedural law and professional skills;
• All coursework for the program shall be completed at the campus of an approval law school in the United States, except as otherwise expressly permitted in Article II-3.
• The program completed by the applicant shall include:
  • A minimum of two (2) credit hours in a course or course in professional responsibility;
  • A minimum of two (2) credit hours in legal research, writing and analysis, which may not be satisfied by a research and writing requirement in a substantive law course;
  • A minimum of two (2) credit hours in American legal studies, the American legal system or a similar course designed to introduce students to distinctive aspects and/or fundamental principles of United States law, which may be satisfied by a course in United States constitutional law or Federal or state civil procedure; credit earned in such a course in excess of the required two (2) credit hours may be applied in satisfaction of the requirements set forth in Article II-3(B)(3)(d); and
  • A minimum of six (6) credit hours in other courses that principally focus on subject matter tested on the Connecticut bar examination as set forth in Article V-4.
• The program competed by the applicant may include a maximum of four (4) credit hours in clinical courses or externships, provided that the time and effort required and anticipated educational benefit are commensurate with the credit awarded and
  • The clinical course or externship includes a classroom instructional component in order to ensure contemporaneous discussion, review and evaluation of the clinical experience or externship; or
  • The clinical work or externship is done under the direct supervision of a member of the law school faculty.

Timeline for Filing

A petition for determination on foreign education may be filed at any time. However, an applicant must receive approval of their education prior to filing a bar admission application.

Foreign educated applicants who intend to apply for the bar examination must file a complete petition for determination on foreign education no later than April 1st for a July exam, and no later than November 1st for a February exam. If an applicant does not file a complete petition by these dates, the applicant cannot sit for that upcoming exam.

To be considered complete, a petition for determination on foreign education must be filed together with ALL of the following:

• A course by course education evaluation report for every foreign law school attended – this report is not a school transcript. It is a separate educational evaluation prepared by a credential evaluation company. See Education Evaluation Services List.
• Official, final transcripts from all foreign undergraduate and foreign law schools attended – Transcripts must show the dates of attendance, the courses taken, the degree awarded and the date the degree was awarded.
• Copies of all diplomas or degree certificates from all foreign undergraduate and foreign law schools.
• Official transcript from the law school where the applicant received their LL.M. degree or where they are currently enrolled in an LL.M. program – If you have not yet enrolled in an LL.M. program at an ABA approved law school, you may still submit a petition for determination on your foreign education. We will issue a determination on the foreign education, but the applicant will need to complete a satisfactory LL.M. degree in order to be eligible for admission or to sit for the bar examination.

Incomplete petitions will not be considered. If any of the required documentation is in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by a translation prepared and certified by an official translator.

Approval

The Committee will notify the applicant of its decision. Upon receiving approval, an application for admission may be filed.

Applicants for admission by examination must provide the following directly from the LL.M. degree granting law school not less than seven (7) days prior to the date of the examination for which the applicant has filed an application:

• Official, final transcript from the LL.M. degree granting law school setting forth the date the degree was conferred and all courses taken; and
• Copies of official course descriptions for all courses taken at the LL.M. degree granting school.