<p>In California, you can skip law school and study law under a judge for four years as an apprentice and still be admitted to the bar. Does anyone know if you get payed during your studying for helping in the courthouse/firm or am I dreaming?</p>
<p>have you looked at the info linked on the following page?</p>
<p>in one of the links there is a form on which it emphasizes that this is supposed to be a course of study -- not merely working for the person.</p>
<p>This month's California Lawyer magazine contains an article on the program.</p>
<p>To summarize: it requires a course of study and a commitment by an attorney or judge to administer it over at least four years. Very few people are willing to put in the necessary time to set up and run such a program.</p>
<p>Statistics: Since 1980 there have been 436 people studying in this program in California. Of those, as of two years agho, only 64 had passed the bar exam. That's a little over 1 in 7. A very low passage rate. Last year it was 1 in 5; still very low. Other states showed similar low numbers.</p>
<p>In short, there is a very low chance that anyone can get such an individual program set up (yes, you can get paid becasue you will be working - but if you want to work for free for four years, go right ahead) and, if it happens, your chances of completing that program and passing the bar exam are also low.</p>
<p>"your chances of completing that program and passing the bar exam are also low."</p>
<p>And you also are going to have a tough, tough time when you get out even if you pass, unless you want to spend your whole career as an apprentice to the lawyer who trained you. When you get right down to it, I think it's a better investment of time to go to a low-ranked law school that will give you a big scholarship. And that's saying a lot, coming from me.</p>
<p>If you have the ability in your state to READ law rather than attend law school-jump at it.<br>
Jump at it now and don't think about being paid for this privilege.</p>
<p>I disagree with Hanna -sorry Hanna.<br>
Sorry, Hanna, but I disagree. If this person is serious about the law-reading Law may be more beneficial than Law School. But again, the seriousness of the student is the question.</p>
<p>I completely agree with Hanna. While you might learn the law from a much more hands-on, practical perspective if you become eligible to sit for the bar exam by "reading" the law, the statistics show that you are much less likely to actually pass the bar exam, and I agree that even after passing the bar exam, such a person's career prospects may be limited.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the only situations in which one should try to get into such a program are (a) where one will take over the practice of the attorney doing the training or (b) if one is committed to opening and maintaining a sole practice. And even then your chances of success at either are quite low, considering the bar passage rates I mentioned.</p>
<p>Otherwise in seeking your first position as an attorney you will be under the tremendous disadvantage of having no educational qualifications and competing with those who do. In effect, your educational qualifcations will be looked at as no better than those of a low-ranking graduate of a poor law school who was able to pass the bar (if you passed the bar, that is). In the case of one reading the law, chances are no-one is going to hire you without your first having passed the bar (and by the way, not all law school graduates wind up getting jobs, and certainly not right away).</p>