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Mvellius mentioned that lawyers who don't even go to law school can take the bar exam in California
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<p>It actually goes further than that. Technically speaking, you don't need even a bachelor's degree to be admitted to the California Bar. You just need either 2 years of college work or a certain combination of CLEP credits. Then you also need to have completed other requirements for the legal education portion, but these can be achieved in a variety of ways. </p>
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and, to my knowledge, they can never leave California if they want to practice.
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<p>I believe they are eligible to take the Bar in a number of states, including Washington state, after having practice in California for awhile. In fact, I think I know a guy who passed the California bar and is now practicing in the Seattle area, and I don't think he ever went to law school. </p>
<p>"Admission to the practice of law [in Washington state] by examination, together with current good standing, in any state or territory of the U.S. or the District of Columbia or any jurisdiction where the common law of England is the basis of its jurisprudence, and active legal experience for at least three of the five years immediately preceding the filing of the application;" </p>
<p>Here are all of the requirements of all of the state bar exams. It's interesting that there are actually 8 states (California, Maine, New Mexico, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming), plus the District of Columbia that allow eligibility for the bar exam without actually graduating from law school - i.e. through either law office or correspondence study</p>
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The postings and discussions on College Confidential about this matter are not dispositive with respect to this issue. Once again, in practice, it does not matter which law school you attended. For a prospective lawyer, it does not matter which law school you attend (assuming the law school is accredited in the jusrisdiction(s) where you want to practice, allows you to take the bar exam in that jurisdiction, and practice). That's a fact. If you don't believe that, then contact the ABA or Committee of Bar Examiners, in any State you choose. See what they have to say.
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<p>The issue is not about whether you can practice or not. Clearly anybody who has been admitted to the bar is allowed to practice.</p>
<p>What sallyawp is talking about is your career as a lawyer. The truth is, whether we like it or not, the better law firms, NGO's, and government organizations, tend to hire from the better law schools. The best judicial clerkships tend to go to the students from the best law schools. There is a reason why, say, none of the Supreme Court justices graduated from no-name law schools. </p>
<p>I agree with sallyawp that there are a lot of lawyers out there who don't get good jobs. They end up going to no-name firms or taking lower-level jobs that don't pay them particularly well, and basically, don't have good careers. The question is not about eligibility to practice, but rather about who is going to hire you, for what money, and what sort of jobs you will be given.</p>
<p>Its mainly because that the creation of law schools and the number of law school admits is not stringently controlled ala an informal monopoly like you have with medical schools.</p>
<p>As such there can be and often is an oversupply of lawyers.</p>
<p>Also since law isn't particularly difficult for many people (since many law schools admits are also med and engineering school rejects), you have a lot of people going through law school and a lot of people with a comparable skillset to your own, making it hard to make rent-extracting incomes the way a good doctor or engineer (head designer) can, unless you go to the very best law schools.</p>