NARIC issue--incorrect qualification comparison

[alicia_h]

I am in need of some urgent help!

I've posted a few HSMP questions here in the past. I am a lawyer in the US and this Monday I was lucky enough to get a job offer from a London firm that I would really like to work for.

I have an undergraduate degree from the UK and a law degree (JD) from the US (I'll be taking the transfer test to practise law in the UK). To qualify for HSMP at this point, I would need to fall into the 'masters degree' category as opposed to the 'bachelors degree' category. Considering that a JD is a 3-year postgraduate degree, I hadn't dreamed this would be a problem. However, this morning I got my letter from NARIC back saying that my JD is equivalent to a bachelors! Aside from the fact that my law school friends will laugh themselves silly when they hear what the UK thinks a JD is equivalent to, this is a massive problem for me as it would mean that I can't take the job in London...

I spoke to NARIC this morning without success. Does anyone have any experience of either dealing with them when they've made a poor comparison of qualifications and/or applying for hsmp as a lawyer and arguing that it's more like a masters than a bachelors?

Thanks for your help,

Alicia