[转帖]美国律师考试经验谈美国律师考试经验谈

[转帖]美国律师考试经验谈 我去年八月来美国读法律，先是读LL.M.(Master of Law)，随后转读J.D. (Juris Doctor)。 读完九个月的LL.M.后，我参加了纽约州2002 年七月的律师资格考试，四个月之后，结果传来，顺利通过。欣喜之余，粗略回顾一下律考经验，供有志于到美国攻读法律的国内朋友参考。 美国没有全国统一的司法考试。 每一个州都是独立的司法单位，都有自己的律师考试、报考条件和通过标准。如果你获得了某个州的执照，通常只能在该州执业。跨州执业要另行申请，一般需要四到七年的执业经验才可以申请到其他州免试执业。到联邦法院出庭也要经该法庭另外核准。首都华盛顿特区有点特殊，只要你有任何一个州的执照，你都可以到首都执业。加州和纽约是美国人口最多，经济最发达的两个州，因此考生人数也最多。纽约是世界金融中心，国际化程度最高，超大规模的国际律师事务所多云集于此，也就吸引了最多外国考生。 美国律考，每年两次，分别在二月底和七月底举行。律考本身由两大块组成：全国联考部分和各州单独测试部分。考试时间两到三天，各州不等。纽约州考两天。上午三小时，下午三小时15分。通过律考的考生，还必须通过职业责任联考Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) 才能被授予执业资格。MPRE是单独的全国考试，全是选择题，一年多次，可在当地考，各州分数线不一，但成绩全国有效。 纽约是85分通过。 律考的全国联考部分是有专门机构统一命题，有MBE（Multi-state bar exam）和MPT (Multi-state performance Test) 两部分，各州自行决定采用其一或全部，考的是联邦统一法和通行普通法。联考科目包括：宪法、刑法和刑事程序法、证据法、合同法、不动产和侵权行为法。MBE一共有两百道选择题，被四十八个州采用，考生按每三个小时一百题的速度在两个时间段内完成。MPT是文书写作，被二十一个州采用. 各州有权决定统考部分在总分里的比重。纽约州采用了MBE 和MPT，MBE 占总分的40%，MPT占总分的10%。律考的各州单独测试部分侧重于本州的法律。既有选择题，也有综合问答题（essay question）。纽约单独测试部分考十八门法律，有五十条选择题和七条问答题。选择题占总分的10%，问答题占总分的40%。 J.D.学生通常会在三年级下学期报名，各州随意考，如果考试时间无冲突，你可以参加多个州的考试，同次联考成绩（MBE）各州之间互相承认。LL.M.学生只能在美国的11个州报考，纽约是其中一个，它吸引了绝大多数的LL.M.考生。LL.M.学生要在考试前的六个月向考试单位申请“考试资格审核”， 一般要求递交本科四年法律教育的成绩单，律师执照 和LL.M.证明等。只有审核通过后，方可在考试前三个月缴费报考。 考前培训(Bar Review)课程非常重要，几乎所有的考生都会参加。课程由专门公司举办，最有名的是BARBRI公司, 上BARBRI的课程大约要花掉3000多美圆，越早报名越优惠，找到单位的学生可叫雇主报销。虽然培训费用昂贵，但通不过律考的代价更昂贵，所以大部分考生还是愿意承受这痛苦的临门一刀。BARBRI只有在一些城市和大学开课。如果你离教学地点太远，没办法到现场听课，你可以另行购买磁带和CD在家复习(Home Study)。现场听课和在家复习两种方式各有好处，实质上效果相差无几，视每个人的经济情况和备考习惯来做选择。自律性强和不愿挪窝的人可以在家复习。 培训课程大约持续六个星期。BARBRI有合理的进度安排，每天上什么课、做什么题都有一个明确的指导。冲刺阶段会有模拟考试和专家的评改意见。BARBRI的老师都是优秀的法学教授和培训专家。几乎每个老师都有多州律考经验，他们猜题押宝有一定的准确性。美国的法律多如牛毛，浩如渊海。如果没有培训课程，根本就无从入手，更摸不着方向。培训课程可以帮你把握重点，理清线索，帮你把“一头大象压缩为一条大腿”。要考BAR，参加考前培训（Bar Review Class）是通行的保险做法。 BARBRI复习资料有十本书。每本都特大特厚，几百页到千来页不等。既有习题、模考题，也有内容精要和作文范例。其中最重要的一本叫“The Conviser Mini Review”，这本书里面全是重要法条（Black Letter Law），内容简明扼要，务必逐字逐句看，弄明白，记牢固。BARBRI有大量的习题、详细答案和解题指导。对于外国考生，大量做题是致胜的唯一法宝。每做完一套题，都应该认真核对答案，找出做错的原因。出错的部分要多做几遍。不理解的地方要回头弄清楚。解题时，宜提纲挈领，分清主次；顺藤摸瓜，找出考点。由于题量很大，所以阅读要快，判断要准，要敢于取舍（有些难懂的地方，如“Rules Against Perpetuity”理解个七七八八就行了，不要太钻牛角尖）。MBE的选择题，有许多是干扰性答案，容易迷惑人，大量解题，有利于你适应命题风格，避免掉进诱导性的陷阱。问答题部分（Essay question），要简洁地归纳事实，适用法例，注意结构严谨，条理清晰。文书写作部分要严格按照legal memorandum 格式、步骤来完成。评卷人是按考点(testing point)和步骤给分的，所以只要你想到了什么都应该分步写下来。BARBRI的磁带很好，应该多听。做一些图表和卡片（Flashing Cards），会有助于你巩固记忆。除了BARBRI的资料， 另外一套书“PMBR multi-state specialist”也非常好， 一红一蓝共两本，各一千页。 全是联考的选择题，共两千题。如果你能把这两千题做两遍，好好理解、消化， 联考部分应该不会太难。 纽约州律考，一半是客观选择题， 一半是主观写作题。对于外国学生，由于语言功底相对较弱，要通过考试就必须在选择题部分拿高分。今年的纽约州律考，总分按1000分算的话， 660分通过，（有消息说，一年后达标分数要提高至675）。外国考生能在写作部分拿五成的分数已经相当不易，这样的话，选择题部分至少应该有75%的准确率。多做多练，准确率自然就上来了。备考的最后阶段应多模拟测试几次，严格按照考试时间来，把握好解题的节奏，找出临场应对的感觉。外国考生通常要到纽约州的州府阿巴尼(Albany)，而非纽约市考试。考试当天，会有几千外地考生云集阿巴尼。考试地点一般设在酒店，阿巴尼公共交通不算便利，如果你能够尽早订到考点附近的酒店，可省心多了。 我这次律考，既省钱，也省时间。我没有参加考试培训，只是从www.ebay.com网站上花七百美圆买了BARBRI 和PMBR两套旧书，自己在家复习。我前后花了三个半月来备考。一星期六天，每天八个小时。我的大部分时间都花在解题上了，而且主要是集中全国联考部分。我的选择题做得很好，在考试的时候，好多题我都觉得似曾相识。这次考试，我心情很轻松，考试时间也充裕，每次都剩15到20分钟的时间。备考要注意运用“二八原理”，用80%的时间去复习20%最重要的法律。联考的六大法，一定要花80%的精力。 纽约州部分考18门法律，你可以侧重其中的四五门，例如： trusts and wills, corporation, lease and mortgage, conflict of laws, civil procedure等等。有一种备考方式可借鉴。几个中国学生凑钱，以一个人的名义报读BARBRI的课程。大家分享资料，共同准备。这种联合作战的方式可以提高效率、降低费用，但它也违反BARBRI协议，所以不宜张扬。“穷则思变，变则通。”“我就是穷，我怕谁？”海外的中国学生应该加强团结，互通有无。律师队伍壮大了，律师的地位才能提高起来。 我曾经在1998年通过中国的律师考试。对比中美两国律考，我发现： 如果没有语言的障碍，美国律考会容易点。中国的报考门槛底，通过律也低；美国的报考门槛高，通过率也高。中国的试题刁钻，好像故意跟考生过不去，理论题不好解答，有争议的地方多。美国的试题阅读量很大，覆盖范围广，但考点清晰、内容规范务实，高水平的考生容易拿高分。中美律考的特点从某种程度上也反映了中美法律的差异。 美国律考，语言是关键。如果阅读能力和写作能力很好，通过律考不难。中国很多学生读完LL.M.后马上报考。由于来美时间短，语言方面的障碍会客观存在。美国律考是法律知识的总复习，总汇演，准备起来肯定会有难度。但是，我有一种感觉，如果单独就某条题目而言，美国律考的问题没有教授的课堂提问和期末考试难。现在我已经通过了律考，也转到了J.D.学位，但是，回答老师提问，参与课堂辩论还是觉得力不从心，常常掉队。特别是上Civil Procedure的课，简直是如堕深渊，不知所措。这也许跟我课前准备不足有关。总体上，我觉得在美国读法学院比在国内读研究生要辛苦好几倍。美国学生对成绩的追求比中国学生执著10倍。法学院学生每天都要面对繁重的功课和无穷的作业。孤独、重压，挫败感常伴左右。这种感觉几乎每个学生都有，只不过异乡求学、举债度日的外国学生会更强烈。 很多中国学生来读法律就是冲着美国律师资格来的。有人认为读了三年的J.D.比只读一年的LL.M更容易通过律考，这是误解。律考和读LL.M.还是读J.D.没有太大的联系。我有许多LL.M的朋友一试边过而一些J.D.则屡试不过。律考要考的大部分科目法学院头一年都学过了，J.D.后两年学的大多是实操性的课程，如知识产权、税务、证券交易等，这些技术性很强的法律绝少在律考中考到。律考的内容，即使你没有学过，只要你有了BARBRI的教材，自学你也能搞懂。LL.M学生在校期间如果能集中选修律考重点测试的六大法，趁热打铁在暑假参加BARBRI课程，预留充足的时间练习解题，再加上原来比较好的法律基础，过硬的英语功底。一试过关是可以达到的。有些朋友对律考信心不足，犹犹豫豫的。抱着“试一试，积累点经验”的态度来备考，这殊不足取。要考就大考，拼就地死拼。只要下足了工夫，一试即过的大有人在。据统计，美国各州律考，一试通过的比率比复试通过的比率高得多。 纽约是世界经济中心，需要很多的国际律师。它鼓励外国律师报考，但也有条件限制：外国大学四年法律教育，并且在美国修满至少20个学分的LL.M课程。你需要通过资格审核，然后交250美圆的报名费。如果读J.D.， 你可以随便报考，毫无限制。LL.M则只能在部分的州考试。花9个月的时间和三分之一的J.D.价钱，就可以获得考BAR的资格, 这对于发展中国家的律师很有吸引力。这种短平快的学位，立竿见影，值得投资。我个人认为，如果你在中国已经有了很过硬的法律背景，有了律师执照，毕业后想回中国发展。 LL.M学位在未来十年是够硬的了。如果你希望在美国发展，有J.D.会更加marketable 和competitive一些。考虑到J.D.投进的时间和金钱是 LL.M.的三倍，如果竞争力强一些，后劲足一些，也不足为奇。这里，我要强调的一点是，在美国法学院，成绩意味着一切。美国律师事务所非常迷信成绩单。很多有名望的律所只招收顶尖10%的学生或者法律期刊编辑（Law Review Editor）。达到前10%或者当上法学编辑对中国J.D.学生很不现实。比较而言，下相同的工夫，LL.M学生的成绩单可能会漂亮一些。况且，LL.M提供了一个很好的平台让你能尽早地证明自己，比J.D. 多了两年的工作经验和收入，也挺不错。 这年头，经济低迷，失业率高涨，律师满地跑，想找到一份美差，委实不易。不过，“沧海缚龙”要靠真本领。你硬要崛起，谁也没办法阻挡你。 加州的律考我不是很清楚。我知道90%的LL.M.考生投奔了纽约，只有少数外国律师考加州。纽约只允许ABA 认证(American Bar Association approved)的法学院的毕业生参加考试（全美大约只有180所学校），而加州则允许众多杂牌的加州法学院学生报考。加州对外国律师报考条件要求较严格（据说，外国执业律师通过审核后也可报考determination of educational equivalency，但过程很烦琐，报名费很高）。它对本州学生报考条件放得很宽松，加州通过率低的部分原因在这里。纽约集中了美国最多的超大型律师事务所，是国际金融、贸易和法律业务最发达的地方。如果你希望搞金融证券、资本运作、跨国投资等业务，我认为纽约资格会好些。加州地大物博，气候温暖，发展空间广阔。如果你想供车养楼，住好玩好，眺望太平洋，一解乡愁，还是加州“律”卡好。加州和纽约是最受欢迎的两个州，也是公认最难考的两个州。如果你通过了任何一个，职场前景应该是一片光明。不过，话说回来，机会多的地方，竞争也激烈，在美国发展，说到底要英语好。如果你在小州读法律，考了该州的执照，由于外来竞争较少，说不定你更有机会找到好工作。据我所知，德克萨斯、佛罗里达、内华达和伊利诺斯州的执照正变得越来越热。我想，如果你考下关岛、波多黎各，Paulau或者处女岛等美国海外飞地的律师执照，到那里去执业的话，你是老大，赚的钱应该不会少（因为这些地方是资本外流和洗钱逃税的天堂）。美国还有一个专利律师考试（Patent Bar Exam），一百道选择题而已。只要理工本科毕业都可以报考，和通常说的美国律考没有内在关系，许多法学院学生第二学年就考过了，应该不会太难。 以上是我这次纽约律考的简单回顾。这仅仅是个人观感，算不上权威说法。如果你希望得到全面可靠的信息，最好的方法是直接到各州相应的官方网站去查找。我希望更多的中国律师能够到美国来观察、学习和工作。 只有加快和国际接轨，不断地向国际同行学习，我们的跨国法律业务才会真正地发展起来。也只有把市场的蛋糕做大了，我们每个人的口袋才会饱满起来。 下面是就一些大家感兴趣的问题，做简单的提示。 全国统考科目： Multi-state subjects: Constitutional law, contract, sales, criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, real property and torts. 纽约州自考科目： New York subjects: Agency, commercial paper, conflict of laws, corporations, domestic relations, equity, federal jurisdiction and procedure, leases, mortgages, New York practice, no-fault insurance, partnership, personal property, secured transactions, trusts, wills, worker’s compensation, fine points, New York distinctions supplement. 允许LL.M.报考的11个州： Arizona, California, Connecticut, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Paula. 另外Texas, Kentucky也有可能。每一个州都有单独规定，报考前一定要亲自核实。 California: Foreign law school graduates must request individual evaluation to determine pre-legal and legal education equivalency. Graduates from common law foreign law schools may qualify to take additional year of law study at an ABA-approved or graduates generally are required to complete more practice law in foreign or U.S. jurisdiction will qualify to take the bar examination without further education. New York: Applicant must complete period of law study equivalent in duration to that specified in New York rules in law school recognized by competent accrediting agency of the government of such foreign country. All applicants must have their trans evaluated by the Board of Law Examiners to determine if further study, in the form of 20 credits at an approved law school in the U.S., including basic courses in American law, is required. 各州报考人数和通过率,请参考: http://www.ncbex.org/stats.htm 纽约和加州每年都超过一万考生，加州通过率大约50%， 纽约大约60%，通过率最高的州超过90%，如蒙大拿州、犹他州。 纽约报考条件： Qualifying: Applicants may qualify to take the New York bar examination four ways: 1) Graduation from an American Bar Association approved law school (see Section 520.3 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals); (2) Combination of law school and law office study (see Section 520.4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals); (3) Graduation from an unapproved law school and practice in a jurisdiction where admitted for five years (see Section 520.5 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals); (4) Foreign law study (see Section 520.6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals). 纽约州报考资格评估： Obtaining an Evaluation of Credentials: To determine if an applicant educated outside the United States is eligible to take the New York State bar examination the Board must evaluate his or her legal education. You may download a Request for Evaluation of Foreign Academic Credentials from the "Application Materials" section of this website. You should complete it in its entirety and mail it, together with all required supporting documents, t NYS Board OF LAW EXAMINERS, 1 EXECUTIVE CENTRE DRIVE, SUITE 202, ALBANY, NY 12203. If the supporting documentation is to be sent directly by your law school, you should indicate that on the form. An official tran is one that contains an original seal or certification While originals will be accepted and are considered the best proof of your legal education, please keep in mind that they will not be returned. Trans which do not contain the original law school stamp or certification will not be evaluated. Photocopies and fax copies will not be evaluated. While an evaluation from an independent evaluation service, such as World Education Services, may be ted to supplement your documents, it will not be considered as proof of your legal education, and the Board will conduct its own evaluation in any event. All requests for evaluation should be sent to the Board at least six months prior to the examination for which the applicant plans to apply. Due to the large volume of correspondence which the Board receives, you should allow several months from the date of the Boards receipt of your request for a response. Under no circumstances will an evaluation be given by phone, nor will an evaluation be expedited simply because the applicant needs to register for a bar review course therefore, we kindly ask that you do not tie up the Boards phone lines with such requests. Once the application filing period begins, no evaluations for that examination will be conducted. If a determination of eligibility is not completed before the application period begins, the applicant should file their application together with their official trans and assume the risk of being found ineligible to take the examination during the weeks prior to the date of the exam. Under no circumstances should an application be filed and a separate request for an evaluation be sent to the Board at the same time, as this merely delays and confuses the process. 外国法律学生报考条件： Eligibility of Foreign Educated Applicants: Section 520.6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals contains the provisions covering the eligibility of foreign-educated applicants for admission to the New York State bar examination. In order to be considered eligible to take the bar examination under Section 520.6, the applicant shall show fulfillment of the educational requirements for admission to the practice of law in a country other than the United States by successful completion of a period of study which is (1) the durational equivalent and (2) the substantial equivalent of the legal education required by Section 520.3. We strongly suggest that all interested applicants review Rule 520.6 prior to requesting an evaluation. A copy of the Court Rules are available on this website. Generally, a minimum of three years full-time or four years part-time law study in a law school is required to satisfy (1) the durational requirement. External study, correspondence study, and distance learning are not recognized by the Board, notwithstanding the fact that such study may be recognized by the admitting authority of the country where you were educated. In order to satisfy (2) the substantive requirement, the Board must determine, at a minimum that: (a) the foreign country where the degree was obtained is one whose jurisprudence is based upon the principles of the English Common Law and, (b) that the program and course of study successfully completed by the applicant was the substantial equivalent of the legal education provided by an approved law school in the United States. The Board must establish that the applicant meets both the durational and substantive requirements in order to qualify to take the bar examination. Additionally, the foreign law school which the applicant attended must be recognized by the competent accrediting agency of the government of such other country, or of a political subdivision thereof, as qualified and approved. For further information, go to see:http://www.nybarexam.org/foreign.htm. 关于职业责任考试： Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE): No applicant can be admitted to the Bar in New York without successfully completing both the New York State bar examination and the MPRE. The MPRE can be taken before or after the bar examination. The MPRE passing score is set by the individual jurisdictions requiring that examination. In New York, any applicant who took the MPRE prior to 2002 and attained a scaled score of 72 will be considered as having met the requirement. Commencing with the March 2002 MPRE, the passing score in New York is a scaled score of 85. Any applicant who did not designate New York as the jurisdiction to which the applicants score should be reported at the time of taking the MPRE must have an official score report sent to the Board by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), MPRE Records Dept., P.O. Box 451, Iowa City, IA 52243, telephone [phone]. Since October 1994, Section 520.12 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals has required applicants to file the materials required for admission to the Bar within three years from the date of the initial letter sent by the Board of Law Examiners notifying the applicant of having passed the bar examination. Thus, any applicant who has not taken and passed the MPRE at the time of receipt of notification of having passed the bar examination must pass the MPRE and be certified by the Board to the Supreme Court, Appellate Division within three years. The MPRE is administered three times each year, in March, August and November. Applications and explanatory handbooks may be obtained from the NCBE, MPRE Application Dept., P.O. Box 4001, Iowa City, IA 52243, telephone [phone]. The Board receives MPRE scores electronically, and matches them to our applicant files by Social Security Number and date of birth. Therefore, if there is an error in your Social Security Number on your MPRE score report, or if you do not have a Social Security Number and were assigned an identification number by the administrators of the MPRE, you should include that information when you make application to take the New York bar examination. This will enable us to match up your scores manually, and avoid any delay in certification if you are successful on the bar examination. Do not notify us prior to making application for the bar examination, since we do not have any means of storing such information until an application is received. 纽约律考电话、地址和考试日期： Telephone and Fax Lines: The Board of New York Bar telephone number is [phone]. New York State toll free line is [phone]. The voice system operates 24 hours a day. The Board switchboard is staffed Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern Time. The Board receives faxes 24 hours a day on [phone] using a Canon Laser Class 7000. Correspondence: New York State Board of Law Examiners 1 Executive Centre Drive - Suite 202 Albany, NY 12203-5195 The Board responds to all correspondence by first class mail, but do not reply by fax or e-mail. Dates of Bar Examinations/Application Deadlines: The bar examination is held twice a year, generally on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of July and February. Dates of the next scheduled bar examinations: FEBRUARY EXAM DATES JULY EXAM DATES February 25 - 26, 2003 July 29 - 30, 2003 February 24 - 25, 2004 July 27 - 28, 2004 February 22 - 23, 2005 July 26 - 27, 2005 一些有用的网络站点： 美国律师协会：www.abanet.org 纽约律考机构：www.nybarexam.org 加州律考机构http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_home.jsp 律考培训：www.barbri.com National Conference of Bar Examiners: www.ncbex.org American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar: www.abanet.org/legaled 购买旧书：www.ebay.com or www.findlaw.com 美国法学院排名：www.usnews.com 搜索引擎：www.google.com 我的电子邮件是: [e-mail]. 如果时间允许，我乐于给你们解答问题。