Author: cdtalaw

Community Property Vs. Equitable Distribution: What Students Need To Know

Community Property Vs. Equitable Distribution: What Students Need To Know

Many CDTA graduate practice law in California, but some practice elsewhere throughout the United States. Those attorneys and lawyers-to-be that practice family law in the Western U.S. must be experts in community property. Most of the country does not use the community property system as California does. These states use the equitable distribution system of property in divorce and separation matters. To understand how a divorce settlement is affected by the law of a state, it is crucial to know the difference between community property and equitable distribution. Here’s a brief summary. Community Property Community property is observed in the following states: Alaska...

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CDTA’s Key To Student Success: Saturday Learning

CDTA’s Key To Student Success: Saturday Learning

It is important that everyone in the Coachella Valley and Inland Empire communities have an affordable and convenient law degree program available and nearby. The California Desert Trial Academy (CDTA) is a unique educational institution that offers a special curriculum over four years. These classes are offered during the evening to meet the needs of working students and students looking for an alternative to traditional legal education. Weekends are busy around the CDTA, as well. In fact, many students and faculty members believe CDTA’s Saturday program that spotlights learning, developing, and practicing examination skills is a major component of academic success. Studying...

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Analyzing And Interpreting Statutes

Analyzing And Interpreting Statutes

Statutory interpretation may be nuanced, complex, and even confusing. Whether you work in a private law firm, a government agency, or a public service or interest organization, analyzing and interpreting a statute for any legal position will be part of the job. When encountering a statute for the first time, it’s a good practice to take certain analytical procedures to learn as much as possible about the subject law’s provisions and their application. Start with the following actions: Understand the goals of the client. Firmly grasp your client’s goals and the underlying facts of your client’s situation. Read the...

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How to Spend Less Time Preparing for Class and More Time Preparing for Exams

How to Spend Less Time Preparing for Class and More Time Preparing for Exams

The California Desert Trial Academy meets the needs of modern law students. Those who are looking for a different approach to legal education need not look any further than the CDTA. Our four-year Juris doctorate program allows working adults of the Coachella Valley the opportunity to obtain a legal education. As exams approach, the following equation starts to change: 24 Hours - (Hours slept + Hours attending class) = Hours available to study When the semester (or quarter) begins, these precious and valuable hours available to study are largely utilized preparing for class. Most students prepare for class through the typical routine of...

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About CDTA’s 2nd Year Curriculum

https://cdtalaw.com/cdta/about-cdtas-first-year-classes/

As it provides a wide focus over a four-year period, CDTA’s broad curriculum allows second-year students to focus on three important core subjects for their full second year of law school. CDTA students are introduced to the law of property, specifically real property, and instructed on important components of trial and litigation, evidence and civil procedure. CDTA’s evening class schedule facilitates the intuitive organization of course materials for study and outline. Traditional schools tend to overwhelm students with multiple core subjects in their first year of law school. Breaking it up into two years strengthens focus and provides more time for...

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CDTA: Going Beyond The Basic Curriculum

CDTA: Going Beyond The Basic Curriculum

The California Desert Trial Academy meets the needs of modern law students. Those who are looking for a different approach to legal education need not look any further than the CDTA. Our four-year Juris doctorate program allows many older students the time and opportunity to obtain a legal education. Most traditional law schools teach only substantive core courses, cramming them into a three-year schedule. Rather than providing a traditional three-year curriculum that offers basic classes, the CDTA offers a four-year period of legal study that goes beyond traditional core subjects. As part of its standard curriculum, CDTA provides students with instruction...

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Most Law Schools Just Educate, CDTA Educates, Trains, And Develops

Most Law Schools Just Educate, CDTA Educates, Trains, And Develops

Many schools do an exceptional job of teaching students the black letter law of core subjects such as torts, real property, and contracts. Unfortunately, this is all that these law schools endeavor to do. Thus, most of the students in traditional law schools graduate with only knowledge of the substantive law and little practical instruction beyond it. Many traditional law schools would say that teaching the substantive law is their only function. At the CDTA, we go beyond educating our students: we also train and develop our students to be exceptional attorney-advocates in any courtroom. The core curriculum of most traditional...

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Preparing for Final Exams

Preparing for Final Exams

It’s that time of year. No, we’re not talking about the holiday season, even though it is that time of year as well. It’s the time of year when final exams are imminent and forthcoming. After a full semester of reading and briefing cases, as well as hours of lectures and copious note-taking, a subject’s final exam approaches like a white whale on the horizon. Once this test is finished, then, and only then, will the holidays start for law students. Until that time, here are some tips for preparing for final exams. *Devise a plan of attack You should have already...

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Bar Exam Basics: The Performance Test

Bar Exam Basics: The Performance Test

The California bar exam lasts for two days and consists of five one-hour essay questions, one 90-minute Performance Test, and 200 multiple-choice questions (Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). The essay questions and Performance Test are administered on the first day in two sessions. Applicants answer three essay questions in the morning session and two essay questions and the Performance Test in the afternoon session. Through the California bar exam of February 2017, the exam lasted three days and included two three-hour performance tests, one on Tuesday, the first day of the exam, and one on Thursday, the last day of the exam....

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The Importance Of Knowing Procedural Law

The Importance Of Knowing Procedural Law

In many ways, life is full of conflicts between procedure and substance, as is the law. Lawyers must never solely rely on their knowledge of the substantive law. They must realize that knowledge of the substantive law is as equally important as their knowledge of procedural law. Lawyers must respect the fact that law is a combination of both. They must painstakingly acknowledge this combination of substance and procedure or risk failure as attorneys. Lawyers also tend to categorize every situation they confront as falling into one or the other of two categories, which are apparently supposed to be mutually exclusive...

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