r/eulaw • u/Naive_Future_6530 • Jul 29 '25

Becoming a lawyer with a LLB in international/european law?

I want to be a lawyer in the EU/potentially somewhere else like UK or maybe even US in the far future.

I don’t want to study in my home country (spain), for personal reasons. I have been advised to study a LLB in international/European law in the netherlands (Uni Groningen, Uni Maastricht). Anyone who has done these programmes or could help me to understand webether or not I could become a lawyer in any european/another country in the future, if it’s possible with a LLB in this topic?

Ofc i’m aware that I need to do further education, like LLM’s and passing bar exams, but I was just wondering if a LLB in international law could get me to a place where I could do this and practice as a lawyer in one of these countries. Thanks! :)

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u/Naive_Future_6530 Jul 30 '25

Hey all! Do you recommend instead I get a LLB in national law in some country (say for example ireland at dublin, or another country in the EU) and then from there get a LLM in another country and qualify as a lawyer there? would that work? I just don’t want to be tied to the country where i’ve studied undergraduate my entire life.

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u/bskate123 Jul 30 '25

It depends very much on how each member state/country regulates its conditions for law practice (i mean full law practice including advice on national law and representing in court). In some jurisdictions you're allowed with an LLB and a qualification in another jurisdiction to "practice" as a foreign lawyer (separate treament in the national bar) but you're likely not allowed to advise on the national law of the host jurisdiction and can't go to its national courts.

In your example, if you do an LLB in Ireland, you will obviously be up to sit the bar exam and practice there. If you qualify there, you will likely be able to practice in other EUMSs but only on EU and international law and as the other redditor correctly said, you will be at a clear disadvantage. To fully practice in the other EUMS, it's all up to the national law that regulates law practice. In most cases it will mean something along the lines of taking up some form of additonal courses in national law and sit an exam in national law in that language.

If you do an LLB in Ireland and want to move to the UK to practice, it may be easier to qualify to full practice in the UK, but will still need additional courses and SQE. The disadvantage compared to UK LLB grads remains.

If you do LLB in one MS and want to qualify in another MS, some jurisdictions recognise the LLBs of other MSs right away, others require you to supplement with national courses if you want to sit the bar in a country other than the one you did the LLB in, it's not all clear.

You need may need to decide way beforehand which jurisdiction(s) you want to practice in and check the national rules for qualification. In all honesty, in our field, you're likely tied to the jurisdiction you first qualify in.

Obviously this is just when it comes to being a lawyer. You can still find jobs at international organisations, EU institutions etc and you don't need to qualify for those.

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u/Naive_Future_6530 Jul 30 '25

Hey! Thank you so much for your answer. Yeah, being disadvantaged would suck, but it is good news to hear that qualifying in ireland (which would take how many years btw? do i need a LLM as wel to sit for the bar?) will open doors to practice in other EUMS. I have no problem with taking additional courses in the UK or US or any EUMS to practice there, I do wonder how many years it would take though? I’m starting to see that I’m not a person fit to study law, since I really wouldn’t want to be tied to a single country for more than 11+ years living there.

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u/bskate123 Jul 30 '25

Not sure exactly how many years it would take but 5-6 years sounds reasonable to me. Can't say with certainty but i think the LLB is enough to allow you to sit the bar and qualify in Ireland.