CDTA

Free Legal Research Resources

Free Legal Research Resources

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. Legal research is expensive, but there are various options available for free. In past years, these options were somewhat limiting. However, the field of legal research is in the middle of a long transition from traditional hard copy books to digital formats. Until you build your law library, there are more...

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CDTA Promotes Student Inclusion Not Exclusion

CDTA Promotes Student Inclusion Not Exclusion

CDTA accepted its first class of students in 2012, focusing on a more logical, practical approach to legal education in the 21st Century. This focus emphasizes the same extensive educational platform as traditional law schools while considering the traditional deficiencies of today’s law school graduates. At CDTA, not only do we educate students, but we also train and develop them to be exceptional trial advocates. A primary focus of the California Desert Trial Academy (CDTA) is the inclusion of all students in every phase and aspect of our learning platform and social environment. The competitiveness of law school can have a...

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Bar Exam Basics: What If I Failed?

Bar Exam Basics: What If I Failed?

Every law student is worth more than their ability to pass or fail the bar exam. Let’s get that straight. The bar exam does not define your self-worth. If you failed; it’s over and done. The next course of action after forgetting the past result is planning your preparation for passing the test the next time that you take it. If you dread the fact that you must take it again, then consider that you have the experience of just having experienced it. Remember what you did well and what was problematic. Use this knowledge as an outline to your...

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Running A Law Practice: The Business Plan

Running A Law Practice: The Business Plan

CDTA accepted its first class of students in 2012, focusing on a more logical, practical approach to legal education in the 21st Century. This focus emphasizes the same extensive educational platform as traditional law schools while considering the traditional deficiencies of today’s law school graduates. At CDTA, not only do we educate students, but we also train and develop them to be exceptional trial advocates. Formulating a business plan is the first critical step in planning your law practice. Where do you start? Creating a business plan involves answering questions about yourself that define you and clearly establish your goals. Define yourself...

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Planning To Run A Law Practice

Planning To Run A Law Practice

The California Desert Trial Academy educates, trains, and develops students with an emphasis on teaching them the practice of law, rather than just the knowledge of law. This includes teaching skills that enable graduates to start their own firm if they should choose this avenue of practicing law over working for a firm, government agency, or public interest organization. The first step in running your own law practice is to formulate a business plan. Knowledge of both hard and soft skills is critical to the practice of law. Anyone starting his or her own legal practice must have some minimal notion...

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About Conflicts Of Law

About Conflicts Of Law

There is a conflict of laws when a legal cause of action implicates the substantive law of more than one jurisdiction, and some determination must be made as to which law correctly applies. A good way to conceptualize “conflict of laws” is to think of its resolution, which is making a “choice of law” to resolve a legal issue. The outcome of this process may require a court in one jurisdiction to apply the law of a different jurisdiction. The conflict may be between federal and state laws, among state laws, or between the laws of different nations. Because the jurisdiction of federal...

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The Hard Skills

The Hard Skills

Hard skills are part of a job’s required skill set. These skills consist of the expertise necessary for an individual to successfully perform the job. They are job-specific and are acquired through formal education and training programs. Law students must learn hard skills to succeed as lawyers. In this context, this means learning the law, both substantive and procedural. Modern law firms, like most modern employers, also seek applicants who possess important soft skills. The soft skills include interpersonal skills that facilitate coordination, teamwork, and goal achievement in the workplace. These are skills that are more difficult to quantify, and which receive...

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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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