Breaking Down California Law Apprenticeships
In California, the law cycle is slightly different from traditional law school pathways. There is no need to take the LSAT or apply to law school in order to become a lawyer. Instead, Law Examiners can take on an in-house history, and study for four years with a judge or lawyer. Generally speaking, there can be no less than 3,200 hours of supervised study. The judge or lawyer overseeing the Law Examiner must have been practicing law for a period of at least five years. At the end of this four-year program, the Law Examiner can sit for the Bar Exam.
The curriculum for a California law apprenticeship, or "reading the law" program, is a combination of lectures by the lawyer or judge overseeing the Law Examiner, and self-study , with most of the time being spent on self-study. The curriculum is controlled primarily by the State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners. There are a variety of entities which issue guidelines for the curriculum. The curriculum is based on the requirements for taking the California Bar Exam. These include a comprehensive curriculum of study based on the subjects listed below, on a 4-year tiered schedule.
As with traditional law school, there is also a requirement for no less than the 240 units of credit toward completion of the study plan, as well as 18 credit hours in legal ethics. Hours spent studying while enrolled in the program are treated as on-the-job training, similar to that provided to law school students working as clerks for a judge, law professor, or for an attorney. Note that the school curriculum is designed to mirror the First-Year Law Student’s Examination, and the Multi-State Bar Exam taken by California applicants.
California Law Apprenticeship Eligibility
Have you ever been gavel banged by four years of law school tuition and outrageous bar exam fees? If you live in California, there’s a way out. Divide what you owe in tuition by the amount to become a California attorney, and you get one of the lowest amounts in the Nation… $60.
California allows individuals to "apprentice" with an attorney for four years (or in certain cases, two years) in lieu of attending law school.
To be eligible to enter into a law office apprenticeship program, you must have completed at least two years of undergraduate study, or obtained at least two years of academic credit from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association or the Committee of Bar Examiners. You must also have a "qualifying attorney supervisor," defined as someone "who is an active member of the California State Bar and has practiced law for not less than five years, and who is responsible for training and supervising the apprentice." Aside from that there are no formal education requirements (except in regards to your attorney supervisor, who must have taken certain courses) and the only strict limits are that apprentices cannot work in a court clerk’s office and must be 18 years old.
As far as the application process goes, it’s sort of up to you. You may submit a package to the California State Bar Exemplary Admissions Program; however, if you want your application approved, it’s prudent to go through an intermediary. The National Conference of Bar Examiners has provided a law preparation kit for apprentices who want to apply for the Bar Exam. This comprehensive guide includes detailed information on how to structure your application package, how to do your case briefs, and how to handle all interview and qualification aspects.
My girlfriend did not heed this advice. She reapplied to California several times, without knowing what she was missing. Her application was rejected for years. Once she finally read this book and got a feel for what the bar examiners were looking for, everything changed. Her application went from an auto-reject, to an almost instant acceptance. She passed the Bar two months ago.
Becoming a Law Apprentice in California
The steps involved in becoming a law apprentice in California are divided into seven crucial areas as follows:
Research the Law and Find a Mentor
Research Your Learning Style
Prepare for the LSAT or Law School Exams
Find a Law Firm or Lawyer to Train with and Register with the State Bar
File in person the Notice of Intent to Study Law, the Statement of Intention to Study Law form, and the Affidavit of Supervisor, with the State Bar.
You have to pay fees and show proof.
Pass the required State Bar exams every year of your 4-year period of study.
Complete the requirements for ABC Certified Approval.
At first blush, the idea of learning the law by working in a firm may seem like a seat-of-the-pants experience. Nothing could be further from the truth. Every reputable law firm has journals and newsletters to keep the trainees and associates up-to-date in their area of specialty. The evolution of Internet-based law journals means access to up-to-the-minute case law on-line.
The Advantages of Law Apprenticeships
The law apprenticeship path offers a number of clear advantages over the traditional law school route for those who are willing to forego the familiar halls and ivy league hats of law school, eschewing the traditional three-year path to become an attorney. "Path" is an apt name for the law apprenticeship because seekers of justice need to understand that becoming a California attorney is still a marathon, not a sprint. Persistence, patience, and learning from mistakes matter! And nor is the "path" merely a walk in the park. At times, it can feel like an uphill trek. But with the right mindset and support from experienced mentors, it is possible to achieve both professional fulfillment and success in a relatively short period of time.
Compared to the three years of law school plus another year of study for the California bar exam, the apprenticeship route requires only two years of study in the law office, plus extra time studying for the bar exam. Thus, for those who learn better through practical experience than from books in a classroom, the apprenticeship route is ideal.
When compared to the approximately $140,000 in tuition at Stanford law school, this is a big cost savings of roughly 99 percent. In addition to the hefty program expenses, students are also forgone earning wages during the three-year law school period. Thus, the total cost trades into a five-year period of law school attendance and earning wage loss of $250,000, including the average starting salary of $79,000. Yet those who do not want to pay such a high price for taking career security-school should seriously consider the law apprenticeship option. Indeed, law school tuition continues to increase annually. Using current tuition rates and salary levels, tuition over the five years would cost about $248,000, and the opportunity cost of wages lost would be about $330,000. This means that the law school path would be roughly 1,500 percent more expensive than the law office path.
In addition to the significant monetary savings, the law office path also offers valuable job experience that is now required for many general practice attorneys who intend to establish their own law office. For example, to become an immigration attorney, practical experience is critical because not only do you have to learn the law but you also need to know how to deal with government agencies and apply the law in the real world. Most law schools do not offer this experience. Thus, for those who wish to establish and operate their own law office, the ability to learn from a judge or seasoned attorney is paramount.
Even where attorneys do not plan to operate their own office, the flexibility of study offered by the law office route is significant. The total class time is only approximately 18 hours per week, which means that the law office apprentice can also take up part-time employment and earn wages on a regular schedule.
Considerations for Law Apprentices
One of the primary issues of this pathway is finding the right mentor for the practical instruction. The law office must be within the bounds of the state of California, but this can be difficult to find. There are strict requirements for the mentor even once a firm is located. The mentor must be an attorney in good standing with the state bar and should not be your relative or someone who already works in your firm. Once a mentor is chosen, the apprentice must not have any business arrangements with the mentor and they essentially become estranged from the other lawyers in their place of employment for the period of employment. Aside from the difficulties with location and fitting in, the apprenticeship requires a significant amount of self-motivation and discipline . The program is broken down into four parts, the first two-thirds of which involve the apprentice "learning by doing" under the mentorship and reading literature on aspects of the law and legal issues. They may also attend law school courses of their choosing to supplement knowledge. The apprentice must show their work for the majority of this time, gather documentation, and write detailed essays to explain it all as they go along. Any missed hours can create an issue because the apprentice must then make up those hours over the next period. While taking days off for travel and vacation is permitted, the apprenticeship is still its own job that must be adhered to as such. A single client meeting can cause the apprentice to go over hours if they are not adequately labelled and reviewed during the week.
Law Apprentice Success Stories
Several successful California lawyers have completed the law apprenticeship pathway. For example, David P. Williams graduated from the Law Office Study Program in 2011, and is a founding partner of the Williams & Williams law firm. The California law license by examination process includes a test that reviews and analyzes cases to make a strategy in a legal understanding of cases. This system of analysis has developed my critical thinking to effectively give me the ability to see all sides of an issue and present information to my client and the court. I was a full time apprentice, working alongside side my attorney-boss six days a week, learning directly from him for a year… I felt confident enough to take the attorney’s exam in 2009 while still serving my 4-year program. When I started the program I was given a huge textbook "law library" reading list that I followed throughout the program. I loved this path because it was very clear cut, and in some ways, the best way to learn how to study law…When anyone in California talks about law school, I first tell them about the LAO program, which they have never even heard of. I let them know what a useful process this is to really, truly learn law…By having a smaller class size I had more individualized attention so I could learn at my own pace, I was more involved in the teaching and was given more responsibility. I have mentored many students who have been successful in their pursuit. It’s about dedication and staying focused.
The Future of California Law Apprenticeships
In recent years, the landscape for law apprenticeships in California has seen a dynamic shift, providing a greater opportunity for those interested in pursuing a legal career through non-traditional means. In September 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2744, which modified the current law governing law office study in lieu of attending law school. The new rules, which took effect January 1, 2020, are designed to increase flexibility and adaptability for apprentice programs while at the same time maintaining high standards for the practice of law.
As a result of this legislative change, a total of 41 states (including Alaska and Vermont), as well as Washington D.C. now allow students to take the Bar Exam after studying and working in a law office, cutting down the costs and time that usually come with pursuing a Juris Doctorate degree. In California, the number of programs has multiplied since the recent changes, and it’s expected to continue to grow .
So far, more than three dozen legal apprenticeships have been accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California accounting for more than 200 first-year students in total. The number of applicants has steadily increased in both 2019 and 2020, and according to some observations, the way law students view the legal profession as a whole has also changed recently. As the legal industry evolves into a digital and tech-savvy business, younger apprentices see the opportunity that is presented by utilising technology to enhance the way law is practiced, as well as the value of becoming a lawyer because of their ability to not only excel in traditional courtroom litigation, but also in the area of business development.
The future of law apprenticeships in California looks bright and as the economy continues to fluctuate, there will undoubtedly be further migration to this lower-cost pathway to becoming a licensed attorney.