Why I Didn’t Pursue a US Bar License?
In recent years, admission to the New York or California Bar has become extremely popular among Chinese lawyers.
Nevertheless, considering my own situation, I have long hesitated to pursue a US bar license. I do not deny that an overseas legal license has inherent merits; it undoubtedly symbolises a lawyer’s international profile. Yet I am unwilling to pay such a high price merely to attach an “international” label to myself.
It took me three years to obtain my Chinese practicing license. Only after another three to five years of deep engagement in dispute resolution was I truly able to practise independently and deliver professional, reliable legal services to clients. I keep asking myself: before digging deep into the domestic legal well, why rush abroad to dig a new one?
Can I genuinely master two entirely distinct legal systems? I harbour serious doubts. Human time and energy are limited. If one divides focus before achieving sufficient expertise within a single jurisdiction, they can only build superficial connections. Using the analogy of digging wells, I fear I would end up with two shallow pits. Such shallow excavation will never yield spring water.
Available data shows there are roughly one million licensed lawyers across the United States amid fierce competition, nearly 80 percent of whom are white practitioners. As a Chinese lawyer, I face inherent disadvantages in language, local networks and cultural understanding. Even relentless efforts can only partially bridge these gaps. Frankly speaking, as a lawyer pursuing professional excellence, I am reluctant to spend massive amounts of time making up for these shortcomings. For me, however, identifying competent, trustworthy lawyers worldwide is not difficult. If my clients encounter legal disputes in the United States, I would rather refer them to reliable local counsel than abandon the solid foundation I have built in Chinese law to claim, with some unease, that I can practice in the United States. I do not wish to spend years learning an entirely new legal system, only to express myself awkwardly and haltingly in an American courtroom.