Can I Take The California Bar Exam Without Going To Law School?
The California Desert Trial Academy (CDTA) focuses on providing an academic experience that emphasizes a practical approach to becoming a lawyer. The CDTA trains, educates, and develops students to be exceptional attorneys and trial advocates. At this time, the CDTA is in the process of applying for full accreditation as a California law school.
In 2021, only four states (California, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington) permit those aspiring to be lawyers to take the state’s bar exam without attending law school. The alternative is the option to apprentice with a practicing attorney or judge. Other states such as New York, Maine, and Wyoming offer a similar apprenticeship program, but also require applicants to attend some law school.
California utilizes the “Law Office Study Program” (Rule 4.29) that allows any future lawyer to forego law school. However, the following stipulations must be met by an applicant for a license to practice law in the State of California:
- Sit (work) in a practicing attorney’s office for 18 hours per week for four continuous years;
- Pass the First-Year Law Students’ Examination;
- Receive a positive moral character determination;
- Pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination; and
- Pass the California Bar Examination.
A major obstacle or challenge faced by anyone who wishes to forego law school is finding an attorney willing to accept him or her as an apprentice, which may be difficult. None of the aforementioned states that provide an apprentice program as an alternative to law school offer any assistance in finding a lawyer to mentor the applicant. However, of those apprentices who take the bar exam, the pass rate is typically a little more than 1/3 of the pass rate for those who attend law school.
With an emphasis on distance learning and a focus on online resources, the California Desert Trial Academy College of Law (CDTA) makes law school easier than ever to attend. Apprenticeships are not for every aspiring lawyer. Law school offers the structure that many people require to find success. On the other hand, most law schools fail to prepare law students for the actual practice of law, while an apprenticeship offers daily hands-on experience.
The California Desert Trial Academy College of Law offers the best of both worlds as it promotes the philosophy of not only teaching students the substantive law, but on training, educating, and developing students to be exceptional attorney-advocates. The CDTA believes that practical experience and apprenticeships with mentors while attending law school are both essential to success.
As 2021 begins, the CDTA continues to place students in the best position possible to obtain the valuable benefits, now more important than ever, that distance learning provides, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing an effective online learning platform for almost a decade, the CDTA has made distance learning a full feature of its curriculum, thus enabling working Californians to attend law school at their convenience. The California Desert Trial Academy College of Law provides a state-of-the-art online learning platform that takes full advantage of the benefits provided by distance learning. The CDTA is truly moving forward in 2021! The CDTA College of Law trains, educates, and develops students to be exceptional attorneys and trial advocates. Call us today at (760) 342-0900 or find out more online here.