Can you become a lawyer without going to law school in California?
California is one of the few U.S. states that is among the few that permit individuals into the bar without an academic background as key requirement. The route to lawyering here implies this to be either the "reading the law" or apprenticing with an attorney who is in practice. Here’s some key information about qualifying to take the California bar exam through this alternative path:
Requirements
In order to qualify to sit for the California bar exam without going to law school, you must:
- Attend law school in the state of California for at least four years under the supervision of a lawyer who has been giving an example of great professional legal practice for at least the last five years. This apprenticeship system back then was similar to what lawyers that were in existence before formal law schools in the society.
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Apply to the same ethical standards and requirements as other candidates who attended law school. You will definitely get tested like other candidates and scrutinized on your moral traits.
The program entails completion of at least 864 hours of preparation by studying broadly based legal subjects, including law, ethics, and probate law, among others. This is a great way to have a preview of critical legal knowledge so that you are not going into the bar exam “blind.”
The Bar Exam
Assuming that you fulfill the above conditions, you can be permitted to sit for the California bar exam together with the law student’s graduation. It is a tough three-day exam that addresses constitutional law, contracts, and torts and will cover more topics. This finals is the only thing that will decide whether or not you will be admitted to the State Bar of California.
Admission to the Bar
Following the state bar, you will attain license for practicing the state bar of California. This implies that more paperwork and criminal history checks are needed. When you graduate from law school, you will be eligible for a working license to practice as a lawyer in California, just like the regular lawyers who studied in law school.
Considerations
Legal education is not legally required to become a lawyer, though the process is not easy. Very few candidates while the competition in CA is very high, will make it to these careers each year. It is in the course of studying formal legal education where structure and strategic preparation all students are offered are absent. Finally, the fact remains that you must give total independence to the organization of a serious legal struggle for at least four years and a half.