How to Read the Law in California
I became a lawyer without studying law. Yes, this is possible in California, thanks to the Law Office Study Program (LOSP), which is administered by the California State Bar and allows students to study at a law firm or court associations instead of law school. These days, LOSP (sometimes called “reading the law” or training to become a lawyer) is an unusual way to become a lawyer. A few years ago, I researched all the available data on this program and learned that those of us who graduated without going to law school represent a tiny fraction (a small fraction of one percent) of licensed attorneys in California. Among the lawyers admitted to practice law in California today are several United Farm Workers lawyers, one of whom later became a judge of Kern County Superior Court, and renowned UCLA Law School professor Gary Blasi. In Contra Costa County, Christina Weed de Mendes Weed is the supervising attorney for her paralegal Jessica Rodriguez, who is enrolled in the state bar law program. Jessica has always had a passion for law, but due to family and personal circumstances, she was never able to attend law school. After joining the Mendes Weed team, Christina Weed and Lisa Mendes saw their passion as well as their ability to use logical and critical thinking to accomplish assigned tasks. That`s when they started researching the legal apprenticeship program, and Jessica was officially approved by the California State Bar in June 2019.
He has finished his reading on tort law and has just started with contract law. Jessica has found that reading and learning during a full-time job is not an easy task. She spent most of her free time reading textbooks while trying to prepare for the first “Baby Bar” law student exam. She looks forward to one day becoming a licensed attorney in the state of California, but until then, she will continue to read, study, and spend sleepless nights preparing to pass the California bar exam. If Kim Kardashian can do it, Jessica certainly can! In the 1700s and 1800s, “reading the law” was the normal way to enter the legal profession. Some of the greatest lawyers in American history – Abraham Lincoln, John Adams, John Marshall – became lawyers this way. But with the advent of law schools in the 1870s, the number of lawyers declined through teaching. In 2015 (the last year we found numbers), of all the lawyers who passed the bar exam in the United States, only 13 were admitted through training. Avoid the tasks of reading very long and philosophical textbooks that are appreciated by law professors, but do not provide much practical knowledge about navigating the law and serving clients (at least in my opinion, this is an advantage; for a small number of law students who like to engage in philosophical discussions in a classroom, This factor may weigh in favor of the law school) In 2014, California, Vermont, Virginia and Washington allow students to take the state bar exam after studying law with the help of a lawyer as an alternative to law school.
New York, Maine and Wyoming allow students to study at a law firm as well as study at law school. [7] In California, the state bar association`s law-reading requirements are set forth in Rule 4.29, Study in a Law Firm or Judicial Association. [8] Apart from a law firm where I can work my hours, what else should I do? Where can I get all the reading materials? And for how many hours/years do I have to take the training in total? I don`t know if the LOSP is the right choice for everyone. I think the most important factor in deciding whether you should pursue the LOSP is to know yourself and assess whether you have the personality and motivation to really advance your own legal education. Success in any form of legal education requires focus, perseverance, time, decent literacy skills and motivation to succeed, and I think the LOSP requires all of these qualities to a particularly high degree. If you know that you are a highly motivated person with strong time management skills and you have a pretty good idea of the area of law you want to specialize in, then I highly recommend the LOSP. If not, you should seriously consider applying to law school or exploring different career paths for a while before making a decision. In this sense, “reading law” refers specifically to a way to enter the profession, although in England it is still common to say that a university student “reads” a course, which may be law or another. “Was that cool?” Ehline said proudly.
“I was the big man on campus who got a law degree when I was already practicing law.” He believes he did a lot of business immediately after passing the bar because people respected his performance. He advises taking tutorials to prepare for bar exams – he swears by Paul Pfau – and using the knowledge gained from working as a clerk or paralegal. The Times points to more recent successes. Attorney Jeffrey Smoot received a license to practice law through training and education and recently became a partner at the law firm Oles Morrison Rinker & Baker in Seattle.
