Top Law Schools

For those who are deciding which law school to apply to, I want to bring your attention briefly to correspondence/distant learning law schools in California as your option. However, that is only if you are someone who would be qualified to go to top law schools like UCLA, Stanford, etc, and you have brain to do well in such schools. I'll explain why.

Good summary of such schools is here.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/californ ... y-bar.html

These schools are not accredited by ABA, however, in California, you can sit for the Bar exam upon completion of the program. You also have to pass the baby bar at the end of the first year. Pass rate for that is about 25%.

As seen in this article by LA times,
https://www.latimes.com/local/education ... story.html

most students don't even make it to the end of the program and they drop out.



I want to recommend this kind of school to those


1. who are qualified to go to top tier schools like UCLA, Stanford, etc.
2. who already have places to work without getting bothered by the school caste system in top law firms.
3. who don't want to spend fortune to go to a traditional law school.

Clearly, this type of school is not for everyone, like someone in the article by LA times. Some people are just not good for schools, or they don't think like a lawyer, or maybe they are just bad at taking exams. (I don't want to say they are not smart, because that may not be true..)

What I want to recommend here is that if you are someone who would be qualified to go to Stanford, for example, choosing to go to a correspondence school is a great option. This might sound counter intuitive, but really only those kind of people can make it to the end in this type of school. I even think that this type of school exists only for those limited gifted number of people. Less than 1% of students who start this type of school pass the CA bar at their first attempt. That's so rare. However, if you are that 1%, you are so lucky because this type of school pretty much exists for you. Everyone pays tuition for you for the school to exist. All other students are paying tuition for their "educational" purpose only but you get to get out with CA bar license in your hand with only $12,000.

Why not take advantage of this system?



At the same time, I understand there is a caste system in top law firms, where law school names do matter. If you are going for that path, I know this is not even your option, justifiably.

I also know that your pride gets in and you want to go to a reputable law school. I understand that. I went to UCLA for undergrad. If someone told me then, Cal state is much cheaper and you get equally good education, I probably wouldn't have listened. However, it had been some years since I graduated form college and going to top name law school didn't matter to me any more. I also knew that if I took LSAT (yes, you don't even need to take LSAT. You can just start the day you decide to start, but you have to pass the baby bar later), there was a good chance I could have gone to UCLA Law School as my GPA was pretty good, but I didn't need to, paying $150,000. I also already had been working closely with law firms as a non-lawyer, bilingual staff and all I needed was to get licensed.

This scenario does not work for everyone, but if it does for you, again, this is a great option.

I know a lot of my lawyer friends are paying debts way into their 30s. If your parents are paying for it, your parents are spending their retirement money on you. $150,000 is a lot even if you become a successful lawyer and there is a good chance you don't earn that much money quickly in your career. That's downpayment for a million dollar house, or the money for your kids to go to college. If you are getting scholarship, then yes that's another story. I also can't deny the benefit of meeting fellow students on campus. However, I can't close my eyes for the difference between $150,000 and $12,000.

If you are planning on opening your practice, or if you already have a place to work, like helping your family practice, etc, I highly highly recommend this option. Again, however, only if you are smart enough to go to top law school because self-study all the way to the Bar exam is not easy. You need discipline and you need intelligence, a kind of intelligence necessary to do well in school and pass a tricky exam.

I wrote this just to bring the idea of going to this type of school because now to look back, this program was a bargain for me. I feel pretty lucky I chose this option. Now I can think of buying a condo.

scarletpiggy wrote:Why not take advantage of this system?

You kind of answered your own question:

scarletpiggy wrote:I want to recommend this kind of school to those . . . who already have places to work

scarletpiggy wrote:You also have to pass the baby bar at the end of the first year. Pass rate for that is about 25%.

scarletpiggy wrote:Less than 1% of students who start this type of school pass the CA bar at their first attempt.

Congrats on passing the bar (I assume), but it's reckless to recommend this program to any random person on the internet. It should be considered malpractice to recommend it to people who would have the option to go to Stanford.

The reality is that although you currently have less debt than most graduates and are going to be immediately better positioned to do something like buy a condo, your career prospects are not remotely comparable to a graduate from a top school. There's nothing wrong with recommending this to someone with a guaranteed legal job whose only other prospects would be a low-tier CA school with no scholarship (although, as you correctly note, it's a hell of a gamble).

This site is generally debt-averse, and rightfully so. But there's a difference between being debt-averse and being blind to reality. You're just being willfully blind when you equate Cal State undergrad to UCLA undergrad. The students from these schools don't end up in the same places, period, and the difference in career outcomes based on school ranking/reputation is even more pronounced in the legal field.

Do you own a correspondence school?

I go to one and for me, it is working out well. It's not a hokey institution. I have a BA from CSU Fresno.

I think the reason the dropout rate is so high, is that most of the students are in foreign countries and English is their second language. It's hard enough to learn the law, let alone do an MBE in a second language.

I am studying for the BBar exam to be held in June. The dismal pass rate on the BBar could be from how many students do not study for the darn thing. Also, the school(s) seem to attract people who do not want to spend a lot of money on any of the bar review programs. Find the people who have passed on the first or second attempt and stay away from those who are "saving money" as they take the exam for the sixth time.

I am also finishing up a paralegal certificate and next summer I will start interning. My goal is to have two years of legal office experience by the time I am finished with my fourth year.

I interviewed a lot of graduates before I plunked my $7/a day tuition down and they were very happy with their choice and most do well. There is one former student who works for the DA of Stanislaus County and that person works with at least one graduate of McGeorge School of Law. When you put the tuitions side by side and factor in where both graduates ended up, my school was the best choice.

If I had the chance to go to Stanford, I would have gone in a heartbeat because those graduates are going to get a hell of a better experience than I or a graduate of McGeorge.

Distant learning schools are simply another choice. They are only good if you are going to bust your butt. It is not easier, just less expensive.

Now back to crime review I go.

Tankeryanker wrote:I go to one and for me, it is working out well. It's not a hokey institution. I have a BA from CSU Fresno.

I think the reason the dropout rate is so high, is that most of the students are in foreign countries and English is their second language. It's hard enough to learn the law, let alone do an MBE in a second language.

I am studying for the BBar exam to be held in June. The dismal pass rate on the BBar could be from how many students do not study for the darn thing. Also, the school(s) seem to attract people who do not want to spend a lot of money on any of the bar review programs. Find the people who have passed on the first or second attempt and stay away from those who are "saving money" as they take the exam for the sixth time.

I am also finishing up a paralegal certificate and next summer I will start interning. My goal is to have two years of legal office experience by the time I am finished with my fourth year.

I interviewed a lot of graduates before I plunked my $7/a day tuition down and they were very happy with their choice and most do well. There is one former student who works for the DA of Stanislaus County and that person works with at least one graduate of McGeorge School of Law. When you put the tuitions side by side and factor in where both graduates ended up, my school was the best choice.

If I had the chance to go to Stanford, I would have gone in a heartbeat because those graduates are going to get a hell of a better experience than I or a graduate of McGeorge.

Distant learning schools are simply another choice. They are only good if you are going to bust your butt. It is not easier, just less expensive.

Now back to crime review I go.

What states do this/do they take transfers/how much it cost?

Bingo_Bongo wrote:Do you own a correspondence school?

My thoughts exactly. Hell, I'd like to invest.

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:What states do this/do they take transfers/how much it cost?

You wouldn't be transferring, because there is no law school to transfer to.

You can read law and be eligible to take the bar in California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. It's an extremely difficult process, and as the OP conceded, the overwhelming majority of people who try it fail. I'm also not sure if the few people who are successful would be eligible to then waive in to other jurisdictions; my guess is that they can't.

But this is a strange question. I thought you were thrilled with your choice of law school and your career prospects.

cavalier1138 wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:What states do this/do they take transfers/how much it cost?

You wouldn't be transferring, because there is no law school to transfer to.

You can read law and be eligible to take the bar in California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. It's an extremely difficult process, and as the OP conceded, the overwhelming majority of people who try it fail. I'm also not sure if the few people who are successful would be eligible to then waive in to other jurisdictions; my guess is that they can't.

But this is a strange question. I thought you were thrilled with your choice of law school and your career prospects.

Asking for a friend from undergrad who wants to be a lawyer

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:What states do this/do they take transfers/how much it cost?

You wouldn't be transferring, because there is no law school to transfer to.

You can read law and be eligible to take the bar in California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. It's an extremely difficult process, and as the OP conceded, the overwhelming majority of people who try it fail. I'm also not sure if the few people who are successful would be eligible to then waive in to other jurisdictions; my guess is that they can't.

But this is a strange question. I thought you were thrilled with your choice of law school and your career prospects.

Asking for a friend from undergrad who wants to be a lawyer

They're concerned about whether they can transfer, huh? Sounds like you're getting the important information to them.

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:What states do this/do they take transfers/how much it cost?

You wouldn't be transferring, because there is no law school to transfer to.

You can read law and be eligible to take the bar in California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. It's an extremely difficult process, and as the OP conceded, the overwhelming majority of people who try it fail. I'm also not sure if the few people who are successful would be eligible to then waive in to other jurisdictions; my guess is that they can't.

But this is a strange question. I thought you were thrilled with your choice of law school and your career prospects.

Asking for a friend from undergrad who wants to be a lawyer

Be assured, Johnny, even a Cooley J.D. is leagues and bounds ahead of reading the law on your own/with a "correspondence law school." At least Cooley will give you an ABA-accredited J.D. and you'll be eligible to take the bar in all 50 states.

QContinuum wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:What states do this/do they take transfers/how much it cost?

You wouldn't be transferring, because there is no law school to transfer to.

You can read law and be eligible to take the bar in California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. It's an extremely difficult process, and as the OP conceded, the overwhelming majority of people who try it fail. I'm also not sure if the few people who are successful would be eligible to then waive in to other jurisdictions; my guess is that they can't.

But this is a strange question. I thought you were thrilled with your choice of law school and your career prospects.

Asking for a friend from undergrad who wants to be a lawyer

Be assured, Johnny, even a Cooley J.D. is leagues and bounds ahead of reading the law on your own/with a "correspondence law school." At least Cooley will give you an ABA-accredited J.D. and you'll be eligible to take the bar in all 50 states.

QFP, as everyone on this says

cavalier1138 wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:

You can read law and be eligible to take the bar in California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. It's an extremely difficult process, and as the OP conceded, the overwhelming majority of people who try it fail. I'm also not sure if the few people who are successful would be eligible to then waive in to other jurisdictions; my guess is that they can't.

Yeah, CA seriously needs to stop letting this be a thing. I think around 2% of the people who "read law" instead of going to a law school are ever able to pass the bar. Those applicants also need to commit several years of their life to apprenticing with an attorney or judge before they can sit for it, so it's not like there isn't a cost to them.

Also, correspondence schools usually boast around a 10% passage rate, or so, of the very select group of students who actually make it through the program.

So, if California wants to make its bar passage rate be north of 40% again, a really good way to do that would be to simply require that everyone sitting for the bar have graduated an ABA accredited law school, like pretty much every other state requires.

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:

QContinuum wrote: Be assured, Johnny, even a Cooley J.D. is leagues and bounds ahead of reading the law on your own/with a "correspondence law school." At least Cooley will give you an ABA-accredited J.D. and you'll be eligible to take the bar in all 50 states.

QFP, as everyone on this says

That's not a recommendation for Cooley.

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:

QContinuum wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:What states do this/do they take transfers/how much it cost?

You wouldn't be transferring, because there is no law school to transfer to.

You can read law and be eligible to take the bar in California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. It's an extremely difficult process, and as the OP conceded, the overwhelming majority of people who try it fail. I'm also not sure if the few people who are successful would be eligible to then waive in to other jurisdictions; my guess is that they can't.

But this is a strange question. I thought you were thrilled with your choice of law school and your career prospects.

Asking for a friend from undergrad who wants to be a lawyer

Be assured, Johnny, even a Cooley J.D. is leagues and bounds ahead of reading the law on your own/with a "correspondence law school." At least Cooley will give you an ABA-accredited J.D. and you'll be eligible to take the bar in all 50 states.

QFP, as everyone on this says

Yeah, Q, this post is going to age like raw milk when Cooley loses its accreditation and doesn't even have that paper-thin veneer of usefulness

The Lsat Airbender wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:

QContinuum wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:

Johnnybgoode92 wrote:What states do this/do they take transfers/how much it cost?

You wouldn't be transferring, because there is no law school to transfer to.

You can read law and be eligible to take the bar in California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. It's an extremely difficult process, and as the OP conceded, the overwhelming majority of people who try it fail. I'm also not sure if the few people who are successful would be eligible to then waive in to other jurisdictions; my guess is that they can't.

But this is a strange question. I thought you were thrilled with your choice of law school and your career prospects.

Asking for a friend from undergrad who wants to be a lawyer

Be assured, Johnny, even a Cooley J.D. is leagues and bounds ahead of reading the law on your own/with a "correspondence law school." At least Cooley will give you an ABA-accredited J.D. and you'll be eligible to take the bar in all 50 states.

QFP, as everyone on this says

Yeah, Q, this post is going to age like raw milk when Cooley loses its accreditation and doesn't even have that paper-thin veneer of usefulness

As nixy says, that post isn't an endorsement of Cooley. It's a simple statement that an ABA-accredited J.D. - "even" one from Cooley - is leaps and bounds ahead of 3 or 4 years of a non-ABA J.D. or "reading the law" independently.

I did not, and do not, assert that a Cooley J.D. guarantees any kind of employment. Merely that it is better than, well, a non-ABA "correspondence" J.D. or spending 3/4 years "reading the law."

Obviously if Cooley were to lose its ABA accreditation, my statement would no longer apply to Cooley as it would no longer give its graduates an ABA-accredited J.D.

Here is a list of some of the states and how they deal with NON-ABA attorneys. Note that after one passes the bar, they are illegible to join the ABA. FOR MYSELF, I have no need to leave California and as you will notice, many states will allow you to practice after you have a few years of practice under your belt. I have no idea how accurate it is. Some of it is funny.
https://www.sjcl.edu/index.php/prospect ... california

Alabama
Graduates of unaccredited law schools who wish to sit for the bar exam must be licensed and in good standing for the past 5 years in the state where the unaccredited law school from which they graduated is located and that state must have a reciprocal agreement with the state of Alabama allowing graduates of Alabama’s unaccredited law schools to sit for that state’s bar examination. At this time no state or jurisdiction has such a reciprocal agreement with Alabama.


Alaska
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools who have passed the bar exam in another state are eligible to take the bar exam without additional legal education after 5 years’ active practice in another jurisdiction in which they have been admitted.


Arizona
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools can write the examination if they have at least 5 years of active and continuous practice within the last 7 years in some other state or states.


Colorado
Must have practiced 5 of the previous 7 years in order to sit for bar exam if a person is a graduate of a non-ABA-approved law school. Graduates of unapproved (not ABA- or state-approved) law schools are not eligible for this option.


Connecticut
Connecticut currently does not have any non-ABA-approved in-state schools. An applicant who otherwise does not meet the educational requirements may be eligible to sit for the exam if he/she meets certain conditions. Conditions include admission before the highest court of original jurisdiction in a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a U.S. District Court for 10 or more years, good standing in such jurisdiction, active practice of law in that jurisdiction for 5 of the last 7 years, and an intention to actively practice law in Connecticut and to devote a majority of his/her work to such practice.


District of Columbia
All graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools, including those who have attended via correspondence or online study, must have successfully completed at least 26 semester hours of study in the subjects tested on the DC bar exam in a law school that at the time of such study was ABA-approved. These additional semester hours cannot be earned through correspondence or online study.


Florida
After 10 years’ active practice in another jurisdiction (District of Columbia or other states in the United States or in federal courts in the United States or its territories, possessions, or protectorates) in which applicant has been duly admitted, the applicant may file a representative compilation of work product for evaluation by the Board.


Georgia
Published waiver policy lists criteria considered by the Board in determining whether waiver standard has been met.


Hawaii
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools who have passed the bar exam in another state are eligible to take the bar exam without additional legal education if they have actively practiced law for 5 of the 6 years immediately prior to application.


Kentucky
Non-ABA-approved law school graduates can apply to take the bar exam, but must first have an education equivalency evaluations conducted and must have been actively and substantially engaged in the practice of law as a principal occupation for 3 of last 5 years and meet other standards set by the Board. Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools who have passed the bar exam in another state are eligible to take the bar exam without additional legal education if they are admitted elsewhere, have 3 years’ active practice out of 5 preceding the application, and establish that the non-ABA-approved law school is the substantial equivalent of a Kentucky ABA-approved law school.


Maine
Applicants may have either graduated from a law school accredited by the jurisdiction where it is located and have been admitted to practice by exam within the U.S. and have been in the active practice of law in a jurisdiction in which they are admitted for at least 3 years; or have completed 2/3 of graduation requirements from an ABA-approved law school and within 12 months after successful completion pursued the study of law in the law office of an attorney in active practice of law in Maine on a full-time basis for at least 1 year. Also, graduates of the Massachusetts School of Law may take the exam after graduation, once they are admitted to the Massachusetts bar.


Maryland
The approved law school must first be admitted by exam in another U.S. jurisdiction to qualify to apply for a waiver to take the Maryland Bar Examination. An attorney applicant who is a graduate of a non-ABA-approved law school is eligible for special attorney exam if the attorney applicant has practiced law for 10 years, or 5 years in the immediate past 10 years, following admission by examination in another jurisdiction.


Massachusetts
Graduates of law schools which at the time of graduation were approved by the ABA or authorized by a statute of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may sit for the exam.


Michigan
Applicant must have a J.D. from a reputable and qualified law school. Law schools fully or provisionally approved by the ABA on the date the applicant’s degree is conferred are considered to be reputable and qualified. A non-ABA-approved law school may ask the Board to determine that it is reputable and qualified.


Minnesota
Applicants to the Minnesota bar must have either (1) a degree from a law school that is fully or provisionally approved by the ABA or (2) all of the following: (a) a J.D. from any U.S. law school, (b) a bachelor’s degree accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and (c) evidence that the applicant has lawfully practiced law in a U.S. jurisdiction for 60 of the preceding 84 months.


Missouri
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools who have passed the bar exam and have been admitted in another state are eligible to take the bar exam after full-time practice for 3 of the 5 years preceding application or completion of 24 credit hours in residence at an ABA-approved law school.


Nevada
An attorney who is not a graduate of an ABA-approved law school and has at least 10 years of active and continuous practice in some other state(s) must first have an education equivalency evaluation conducted.


New Hampshire
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law school in Massachusetts are permitted to sit if they have first been admitted in Massachusetts.


New Mexico
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools, including correspondence and online law schools, may write the examination if they are licensed and in good standing in another U.S. state and have engaged in the practice of law in the state where admitted for 4 of the 6 years prior to application.


New York
Law office study permitted after successful completion of 1 year at an ABA-approved law school. The amount of credit awarded for the lawschool study is computed after a review of the law school transcript. Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools can write the examination only if they (1) have been admitted to practice in another jurisdiction and (2) have at least 5 years active and continuous practice within the last 7 years in a jurisdiction(s) where they are admitted to practice.


North Carolina
An applicant who was educationally eligible prior to August 1, 1995, remains so.


Oregon
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools who have passed the bar exam in another state are eligible to take the bar exam without additional legal education if they have been admitted to practice before the highest tribunal in another state, the District of Columbia, or a federal territory, have graduated from a law school equivalent to a law school approved by the ABA and where requirements for admission are substantially equivalent to those of Oregon, and have been actively, substantially, and continually engaged in the practice of law for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately preceding the taking of exam. Evaluating satisfaction of educational requirements is made without regard to whether the education was received via traditional fixed-facility courses or online courses.


Pennsylvania
Applicant must be a member in good standing of the bar of a reciprocal state and have met specified practice requirements for 5 out of the past 7 years.


Rhode Island
A graduate of a non-ABA-approved law school is eligible to take the Rhode Island Bar Examination if he or she qualifies for attorney admission (i.e., an out-of-state attorney who has been engaged in the active full-time practice of law in another jurisdiction for at least 5 out of the 10 years immediately preceding the filing of the bar application), provided he or she meets the other qualifications for admission.


Texas
Generally, Texas requires an applicant to have a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school. An attorney licensed in another U.S. jurisdiction may be eligible for exemption from the ABA-approved J.D. requirement to take the Texas Bar Exam if he or she has been actively and substantially engaged in the lawful practice of law in a U.S. jurisdiction for at least 3 out of 5 years before the application is filed. However, the legal education must be substantially similar to an ABA-approved J.D. program. Texas has no provision for admitting an applicant whose law degree was obtained through distance education, correspondence study, or “external programs.”


Utah
Non-ABA-approved law school graduates must meet a combination of graduation and active practice requirements. The applicant’s law school cannot be based on correspondence or online study, it must be accredited in the state where it resides, and the degree must be the substantial equivalent of the legal education provided by an ABA-approved law school. The applicant must also have been lawfully engaged in the practice of law for 10 of the 11 years immediately preceding the filing of the application.


Vermont
4-year law office study program; must have completed 3/4 of work accepted for a bachelor’s degree in a college approved by the Court before commencing the study of law. Non-ABA or online law school can be approved by the Supreme Court is in the process of seeking ABA accreditation and may include up to 2 years of law office study before eligible to sit for the bar exam. If a graduate of a non-ABA-approved law school has passed the bar exam in another state and is admitted and actively engaged in the practice of law in another jurisdiction, eligibility to take the bar exam without additional legal education may be granted by the Board.


Washington
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools must obtain an LL.M. degree for the practice of law at an ABA-approved law school in order to qualify to sit for the exam; course requirements are in the rules. Law office study refers to Washington’s Law Clerk Program (Admission to Practice Rule 6); an LL.M. is not required.


West Virginia
Non-ABA-approved law school graduates must show that legal education is equivalent to ABA-approved law school unless admitted by bar examination in another state. If applicant graduates from law school in a state where the law school’s graduates may take the bar examination, an applicant may qualify for West Virginia examination by completing 3 years of law office study in West Virginia and getting a certification of 2 West Virginia attorneys regarding knowledge, competence, and good moral character. Graduates of correspondence schools or online schools are not eligible under any circumstances.


Wisconsin
Must have received a first professional degree in law from a law school whose graduates are eligible to take the bar exam of the jurisdiction in which the school is located, and must have taken and passed the bar examination and been admitted to that or another U.S. jurisdiction.


Wyoming
A combination of ABA-approved law school and time of study in the office of a member of the Wyoming State Bar (to total 3 years) may be permitted with prior approval by the Board of Law Examiners.


Puerto Rico
The general rule requires that the applicant must have graduated from a law school approved by the ABA or the Court.

Tankeryanker wrote:Here is a list of some of the states and how they deal with NON-ABA attorneys. Note that after one passes the bar, they are illegible to join the ABA. FOR MYSELF, I have no need to leave California and as you will notice, many states will allow you to practice after you have a few years of practice under your belt. I have no idea how accurate it is. Some of it is funny.
https://www.sjcl.edu/index.php/prospect ... california

Alabama
Graduates of unaccredited law schools who wish to sit for the bar exam must be licensed and in good standing for the past 5 years in the state where the unaccredited law school from which they graduated is located and that state must have a reciprocal agreement with the state of Alabama allowing graduates of Alabama’s unaccredited law schools to sit for that state’s bar examination. At this time no state or jurisdiction has such a reciprocal agreement with Alabama.


Alaska
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools who have passed the bar exam in another state are eligible to take the bar exam without additional legal education after 5 years’ active practice in another jurisdiction in which they have been admitted.


Arizona
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools can write the examination if they have at least 5 years of active and continuous practice within the last 7 years in some other state or states.


Colorado
Must have practiced 5 of the previous 7 years in order to sit for bar exam if a person is a graduate of a non-ABA-approved law school. Graduates of unapproved (not ABA- or state-approved) law schools are not eligible for this option.


Connecticut
Connecticut currently does not have any non-ABA-approved in-state schools. An applicant who otherwise does not meet the educational requirements may be eligible to sit for the exam if he/she meets certain conditions. Conditions include admission before the highest court of original jurisdiction in a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a U.S. District Court for 10 or more years, good standing in such jurisdiction, active practice of law in that jurisdiction for 5 of the last 7 years, and an intention to actively practice law in Connecticut and to devote a majority of his/her work to such practice.


District of Columbia
All graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools, including those who have attended via correspondence or online study, must have successfully completed at least 26 semester hours of study in the subjects tested on the DC bar exam in a law school that at the time of such study was ABA-approved. These additional semester hours cannot be earned through correspondence or online study.


Florida
After 10 years’ active practice in another jurisdiction (District of Columbia or other states in the United States or in federal courts in the United States or its territories, possessions, or protectorates) in which applicant has been duly admitted, the applicant may file a representative compilation of work product for evaluation by the Board.


Georgia
Published waiver policy lists criteria considered by the Board in determining whether waiver standard has been met.


Hawaii
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools who have passed the bar exam in another state are eligible to take the bar exam without additional legal education if they have actively practiced law for 5 of the 6 years immediately prior to application.


Kentucky
Non-ABA-approved law school graduates can apply to take the bar exam, but must first have an education equivalency evaluations conducted and must have been actively and substantially engaged in the practice of law as a principal occupation for 3 of last 5 years and meet other standards set by the Board. Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools who have passed the bar exam in another state are eligible to take the bar exam without additional legal education if they are admitted elsewhere, have 3 years’ active practice out of 5 preceding the application, and establish that the non-ABA-approved law school is the substantial equivalent of a Kentucky ABA-approved law school.


Maine
Applicants may have either graduated from a law school accredited by the jurisdiction where it is located and have been admitted to practice by exam within the U.S. and have been in the active practice of law in a jurisdiction in which they are admitted for at least 3 years; or have completed 2/3 of graduation requirements from an ABA-approved law school and within 12 months after successful completion pursued the study of law in the law office of an attorney in active practice of law in Maine on a full-time basis for at least 1 year. Also, graduates of the Massachusetts School of Law may take the exam after graduation, once they are admitted to the Massachusetts bar.


Maryland
The approved law school must first be admitted by exam in another U.S. jurisdiction to qualify to apply for a waiver to take the Maryland Bar Examination. An attorney applicant who is a graduate of a non-ABA-approved law school is eligible for special attorney exam if the attorney applicant has practiced law for 10 years, or 5 years in the immediate past 10 years, following admission by examination in another jurisdiction.


Massachusetts
Graduates of law schools which at the time of graduation were approved by the ABA or authorized by a statute of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may sit for the exam.


Michigan
Applicant must have a J.D. from a reputable and qualified law school. Law schools fully or provisionally approved by the ABA on the date the applicant’s degree is conferred are considered to be reputable and qualified. A non-ABA-approved law school may ask the Board to determine that it is reputable and qualified.


Minnesota
Applicants to the Minnesota bar must have either (1) a degree from a law school that is fully or provisionally approved by the ABA or (2) all of the following: (a) a J.D. from any U.S. law school, (b) a bachelor’s degree accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and (c) evidence that the applicant has lawfully practiced law in a U.S. jurisdiction for 60 of the preceding 84 months.


Missouri
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools who have passed the bar exam and have been admitted in another state are eligible to take the bar exam after full-time practice for 3 of the 5 years preceding application or completion of 24 credit hours in residence at an ABA-approved law school.


Nevada
An attorney who is not a graduate of an ABA-approved law school and has at least 10 years of active and continuous practice in some other state(s) must first have an education equivalency evaluation conducted.


New Hampshire
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law school in Massachusetts are permitted to sit if they have first been admitted in Massachusetts.


New Mexico
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools, including correspondence and online law schools, may write the examination if they are licensed and in good standing in another U.S. state and have engaged in the practice of law in the state where admitted for 4 of the 6 years prior to application.


New York
Law office study permitted after successful completion of 1 year at an ABA-approved law school. The amount of credit awarded for the lawschool study is computed after a review of the law school transcript. Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools can write the examination only if they (1) have been admitted to practice in another jurisdiction and (2) have at least 5 years active and continuous practice within the last 7 years in a jurisdiction(s) where they are admitted to practice.


North Carolina
An applicant who was educationally eligible prior to August 1, 1995, remains so.


Oregon
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools who have passed the bar exam in another state are eligible to take the bar exam without additional legal education if they have been admitted to practice before the highest tribunal in another state, the District of Columbia, or a federal territory, have graduated from a law school equivalent to a law school approved by the ABA and where requirements for admission are substantially equivalent to those of Oregon, and have been actively, substantially, and continually engaged in the practice of law for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately preceding the taking of exam. Evaluating satisfaction of educational requirements is made without regard to whether the education was received via traditional fixed-facility courses or online courses.


Pennsylvania
Applicant must be a member in good standing of the bar of a reciprocal state and have met specified practice requirements for 5 out of the past 7 years.


Rhode Island
A graduate of a non-ABA-approved law school is eligible to take the Rhode Island Bar Examination if he or she qualifies for attorney admission (i.e., an out-of-state attorney who has been engaged in the active full-time practice of law in another jurisdiction for at least 5 out of the 10 years immediately preceding the filing of the bar application), provided he or she meets the other qualifications for admission.


Texas
Generally, Texas requires an applicant to have a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school. An attorney licensed in another U.S. jurisdiction may be eligible for exemption from the ABA-approved J.D. requirement to take the Texas Bar Exam if he or she has been actively and substantially engaged in the lawful practice of law in a U.S. jurisdiction for at least 3 out of 5 years before the application is filed. However, the legal education must be substantially similar to an ABA-approved J.D. program. Texas has no provision for admitting an applicant whose law degree was obtained through distance education, correspondence study, or “external programs.”


Utah
Non-ABA-approved law school graduates must meet a combination of graduation and active practice requirements. The applicant’s law school cannot be based on correspondence or online study, it must be accredited in the state where it resides, and the degree must be the substantial equivalent of the legal education provided by an ABA-approved law school. The applicant must also have been lawfully engaged in the practice of law for 10 of the 11 years immediately preceding the filing of the application.


Vermont
4-year law office study program; must have completed 3/4 of work accepted for a bachelor’s degree in a college approved by the Court before commencing the study of law. Non-ABA or online law school can be approved by the Supreme Court is in the process of seeking ABA accreditation and may include up to 2 years of law office study before eligible to sit for the bar exam. If a graduate of a non-ABA-approved law school has passed the bar exam in another state and is admitted and actively engaged in the practice of law in another jurisdiction, eligibility to take the bar exam without additional legal education may be granted by the Board.


Washington
Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools must obtain an LL.M. degree for the practice of law at an ABA-approved law school in order to qualify to sit for the exam; course requirements are in the rules. Law office study refers to Washington’s Law Clerk Program (Admission to Practice Rule 6); an LL.M. is not required.


West Virginia
Non-ABA-approved law school graduates must show that legal education is equivalent to ABA-approved law school unless admitted by bar examination in another state. If applicant graduates from law school in a state where the law school’s graduates may take the bar examination, an applicant may qualify for West Virginia examination by completing 3 years of law office study in West Virginia and getting a certification of 2 West Virginia attorneys regarding knowledge, competence, and good moral character. Graduates of correspondence schools or online schools are not eligible under any circumstances.


Wisconsin
Must have received a first professional degree in law from a law school whose graduates are eligible to take the bar exam of the jurisdiction in which the school is located, and must have taken and passed the bar examination and been admitted to that or another U.S. jurisdiction.


Wyoming
A combination of ABA-approved law school and time of study in the office of a member of the Wyoming State Bar (to total 3 years) may be permitted with prior approval by the Board of Law Examiners.


Puerto Rico
The general rule requires that the applicant must have graduated from a law school approved by the ABA or the Court.

This is the kinds of detail that takes a man or woman far