[gnicholas]

In CA, you don't even need to attend an accredited law school to become a lawyer! There are some additional hoops you have to jump through, but at the end you can take the bar just like anyone else. However, if you wish to ever practice outside of CA, there is zero reciprocity (except DC) so you are treated as if you never went to law school.

[throwup238]

To be clear, very few people become licensed lawyers in CA taking this path. The vast majority can't pass the Bar and the state often goes years without a single person passing via the apprenticeship track.

[gnicholas]

Oh sure, I was referring primarily to people who attend non-accredited law schools. There are several law schools that are not ABA-accredited but that are CA-accredited. There are a few more that are not accredited by either. The apprenticeship track is probably less popular than either of these routes, although recently it's been made famous by Kim Kardashian.

[tobinfricke]

You don't have to attend an _accredited_ law school, but it looks like there is no escaping studying in a formal capacity for 3-4 years:

https://www.calbar.ca.gov/Admissions/Requirements/Education

[gnicholas]

Sure, but studying under a lawyer or judge would look very different from law school. I have wondered if a prestigious lawyer would ever open up a few slots of paid apprenticeships, a la Thiel Fellowships. I don't know what the rules are regarding paying apprentices, but anything beats $60k/year in loans! If you can get some bright students who want to learn, they could probably work 10 hr/wk in the first year, 20 hrs/wk in the second year, and 30 hrs/wk in the last two years, while being more than prepared for the bar exam (especially since it has been 2x made easier in recent years).

[bombcar]

And WI lets you practice law with only a degree (diploma privilege) so I think (somehow) there must be a way to go to school in WI and be a lawyer in WI and CA .... ;)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diploma_privilege

[memco]

Some states do have a way to become barred without starting from zero if you are barred in CA. For example in WA you still have to take a test, but it isn't a full three-day bar exam.

[gnicholas]

Oh cool — do you know where to find info on which states offer this?

[yumraj]

So you’re saying that Mike would have been just fine had Suits been based in CA?

[gnicholas]

He definitely would have had a path to apprentice, pass the bar, and then practice law. Lying about being an HLS grad would have presented some challenges for his character-and-fitness assessment by the bar, if he had tried to go that route first.