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Studying

18 February
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It’s Never Too Late For New Year’s Resolutions

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, First year law students, High Pressure, Studying
It’s Never Too Late For New Year's Resolutions

The California Desert Trial Academy (CDTA) provides students with a distinctive educational platform that focuses on students learning to become competent and effective attorney-advocates. While CDTA emphasizes those crucial skills that can positively affect an attorney’s legal practice after graduation, many traditional law schools fail to provide a similar focus. The result? Students at some traditional schools fail to receive adequate instruction in skills necessary to practice law and serve clients effectively from day one. It’s never too late for change. Although we’re well into 2020, there are still several months remaining in the spring semester and plenty of time for...

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10 February
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Bar Exam Basics: The Week Before

Posted by cdtalaw
in Bar Exam, CDTA, High Pressure, Studying
The February Bar Exam The Week Before

Many law students and bar examinees wonder what to do the week before the bar exam. Do not try to review everything every day during this final week! Reviewing too many subjects will make you feel overwhelmed and not help with retention. Always keep the daily workload manageable. Also, do not try to save time by eliminating sleep, exercise, or a good diet. These things are more important than ever. Here are some other useful tips for the week before. FOCUS Determine the likely primary subtopic areas that will be on the test and focus on them rather than focusing on those rarely...

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07 February
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Managing Time & Completing Daily Tasks

Posted by cdtalaw
in Law Practice, Soft Skills, Studying
The Soft Skills: Managing Time & Completing Daily Tasks

The importance of how attorneys manage their time is often overlooked. Some attorneys think this is an unnecessary task that they can easily manage “on-the-fly.” However, wise attorneys formulate and implement a time management system that prioritizes the completion of tasks into their law practices. This allows them to perform their job more efficiently so they may not only maximize their income but also have more time for other, i.e., leisure, activities. Many attorneys perform services pursuant to a retainer agreement where they bill hourly for their work. Poor time management will result in fewer hours expended performing services, which means less...

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06 February
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Time Management & Prioritizing Work

Posted by cdtalaw
in Law Practice, Soft Skills, Studying
The Soft Skills: Time Management & Prioritizing Work

The California Desert Trial Academy (CDTA) provides students with a distinctive educational platform that focuses on students learning soft skills, as well as the substantive law. Soft skills include people skills, management skills, technical skills, and analytical skills. While CDTA emphasizes these crucial skills that can make a positive difference in an attorney’s daily practice of law, many traditional law schools fail to properly ensure that students receive adequate instruction in the soft skills. One important soft skill is time management, which can make or break the profitability of an attorney’s practice. Today’s attorney has multiple phone lines, email addresses, and...

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03 February
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Updating Your Outlines

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Soft Skills, Studying
Updating Your Outlines

We ’ve seen all types of legal outlines. From the ten-page outline to the (gulp) 100-page outline, these valuable summaries come in all lengths and forms. They are valuable tools for helping students understand the substantive law. It is likely that outlines are the most important study tool law students will use throughout their time in law school. It’s important for students to keep outlines updated for reasons related to their academic and professional careers. At exam time, students need relevant information in the proper format to study efficiently and effectively. There are various tools and techniques that a law student...

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31 January
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Passing The Baby Bar The First Time

Posted by cdtalaw
in Baby Bar Exam, CDTA, Studying
Passing The Baby Bar The First Time

Students enrolled in the J.D. degree program at the California Desert Trial Academy (CDTA) who successfully complete their first year of law studies must pass the First-Year Law Students Examination (FYSLX), also known as the Baby Bar, required by Business and Professions Code 6060(h) and Rule VIII of the Rules Regulating Admission to Practice Law in California, as part of their requirements to qualify to take the California Bar Examination. At CDTA, your first year of law school is not only geared toward learning the first-year subjects, but it is particularly geared towards passing the Baby Bar. Our school boasts a...

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30 January
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Use Professor Office Hours To Your Advantage

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Studying
Use Professor Office Hours To Your Advantage

All students, especially law students, must take advantage of the one-on-one nature of meeting with professors during office hours. These student-teacher interactions are invaluable since they can often evolve beyond the course material into discussions relating to how the subject concepts are connected to other areas of legal study and relevant to the student’s professional goals. It’s the first day of class, and professors typically observe the ritual of telling students their office hours while telling them to stop in if they need assistance or just want to say hello. Sadly, many professors complain that they see very few students during...

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29 January
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Time Management & The Pomodoro Technique

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Soft Skills, Studying
Soft Skills: Time Management & The Pomodoro Technique

The California Desert Trial Academy’s (CDTA) unique educational platform focuses on students learning the soft skills in addition to the core substantive law. The soft skills that students at the CDTA can expect to learn are numerous. Training goes beyond bar-tested academic subjects and include skills training and values reinforcement. All the soft skills - critical thinking skills, logical, clear and concise writing skills, effective reading skills, and persuasive presentation skills – are important and beneficial to a student’s future success as a legal advocate. One such soft skill is time management. The Pomodoro Technique has been used effectively to...

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23 January
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A CDTA Student’s Checklist For Year Four

Posted by cdtalaw
in Curriculum, Studying
A CDTA Student’s Checklist For Year Four

Year Four of the CDTA’s unique, distinct curriculum includes 3.5-hour weekly sessions on the following subjects: Trial Advocacy Wills & Trusts Business Associations Community Property Legal Memorandum & Brief Drafting Remedies   Like traditional law schools, CDTA’s curriculum is designed to teach students the substantive law of core subject areas. In year four, students delve into business entities (Business Associations), the marital (Community Property), testamentary, and inter vivos dispositions of property (Wills & Trusts), and the enforcement of clients’ rights (Remedies). Unlike traditional law schools, CDTA emphasizes training and developing students to be capable and competent advocates in any courtroom. In year four,...

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16 January
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The Soft Skills: Critical Thinking

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Curriculum, Soft Skills, Studying, Training
The Soft Skills: Critical Thinking

Critical thinking has been the subject of much debate and discussion since the time of ancient Greek philosophers, Socrates and Plato. Critical thinking in the context of the practice of law requires law students to learn to question and analyze what they see, hear, read, think, and feel with the understanding that first impressions are often wrong conclusions and often change after studious, meticulous analysis. Critical thinking is one of several soft skills that attorney-advocates must utilize to meet the needs of their clients. The California Desert Trial Academy’s (CDTA) unique learning platform emphasizes that students learn the soft skills in...

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CONTACT INFORMATION

California Desert Trial Academy College of Law
45-290 Fargo Street
Indio, CA 92201
(760) 342-0900

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Statement of Nondiscrimination

Consistent with sound educational policy, CDTA College of Law does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, ancestry, religious creed, national origin, disability, medical condition, age, marital status, political affiliation, gender identity, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

California State Bar Standard and Required Disclosure

The method of instruction at this law school for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program is principally in physical classroom facilities.

Students enrolled in the J.D. degree program at this law school who successfully complete the first year of law study must pass the First-Year Law Students Examination required by Business and Professions Code 6060(h) and Rule VIII of the Rules Regulating Admission to Practice Law in California as part of the requirements to qualify to take the California Bar Examination.

A student who passes the First-Year Law Students Examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it will receive credit for all legal studies completed to the time the examination is passed. A student who does not pass the examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it must be promptly disqualified from the law school’s J.D. degree program. If the dismissed student subsequently passes the examination, the student is eligible for re-enrollment in this law school’s J.D. degree program, but will receive credit for only one year of legal study.

Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or to satisfy the requirements for admission to practice in jurisdictions other than California. A student intending to seek admission to practice law in a jurisdiction other than California should contact the admitting authority in that jurisdiction for information regarding the legal education requirements in that jurisdiction for admission to the practice of law.

Copyright CDTA California Desert Trial Academy College of Law. All rights reserved. The Desert’s first and only Law School. Proudly serving all of Southern California; accepting applications from Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.

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