Working in Europe: An Overview

The following summarizes the replies we’ve made to various Posse members who have requested information on working in Europe.  If you have more questions not answered here, feel free to mail us: manager@theposselist.com.  We have two staff members who live in Europe and they handle these questions.  Our affiliate company in Brussels staffs projects in Brussels, London, Frankfurt and other locations in Europe.  For more information click here.

1.  Almost all European-based projects require EU nationality because of work permit issues.  In most EU jurisdictions, the issue of “practicing law” is not an issue because you are under tighter supervision and “under the direction of …” to a greater degree, and the nature of your work falls outside the “practice” issue.

 2.  Many Posse members not having EU nationality hold a work permit(s) for specific jurisdictions and these can sometimes be transferred so it might work for multi-EU employment.

 3.  The easiest way to qualify to practice law in the EU is by taking the QLTT.  The following link is to a brochure published by QLTT International which is one of a myriad of companies offering QLTT prep courses.  It’s a nice summary of the process:

 http://www.qltt.com/91372%20p2%20QLTT.pdf

 For all the official Law Society information, go to:

 http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/becomingasolicitor/outsideengandwales.law

 If you are a licensed U.S. attorney who has passed the QLTT examination you will be able to work on any UK based project, and you may be able to work on projects on the Continent depending on the country’s rules.

If you are a licensed U.S. attorney who has passed the QLTT examination and you are a European national, you will also have the right to apply to practice under the provisions of the Lawyer’s Directive in all EU member States.

 4.  Many projects now require an EU bar but not all do.  Projects pay a higher hourly rate and give you more substantive work if you are EU barred.

 5.  As regards hourly rates, they seem to run between €25 and €50 an hour for most projects, most rates being higher if language proficiency is required.  In some cases, a work week is 50 hours before OT kicks in, rather than 40 hours.   Normally you are retained as a full “independent consultants” and are pay gross rates (no tax deductions) in Euros.

 6.  Most projects do not provide housing/per diems because of the large amount of locally based contract attorneys, although there are projects that do — either agreed to by the law firm or through “all inclusive” pricing by agencies to the law firms.

7.  Project work is building in Brussels, and has always been high in London.  For those of you trying to work in Brussels on a regular basis, you might want to apply for a Belgian professional card since this assists non-EU citizens seeking to work in Belgium.  Click here for more information.