My mother in law told me that if you are working as a paralegal specialist for a long long time and doing very?

[BUMP] Coming July '09

Not just anyone can take the bar exam.

In order to obtain a license to practice law, almost all law school graduates must apply for bar admission through a state board of bar examiners. Most often this board is an agency of the highest state court in the jurisdiction, but occasionally the board is connected more closely to the state's bar association. The criteria for eligibility to take the bar examination or to otherwise qualify for bar admission are set by each state, not by the ABA or the Council for the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

It varies state to state. In California to be eligible to take the Bar Examination, one must have completed at least two years of college before beginning the study of law or must have passed certain specified College Level Equivalency Program examinations before beginning law study and must have graduated from a law school approved by the American Bar Association or accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar or have completed four years of law study at an unaccredited or correspondence law school registered with the Committee or studied law in a law office or judge's chambers in accordance with the Rules Regulating Admission to Practice Law.

Those studying law who did not successfully complete their first year of law study at a school approved by the American Bar Association or accredited by the Committee must take the First-Year Law Students' Examination upon completion of their first year of law study. They must pass the examination within three administrations of first becoming eligible to take it in order to receive credit for law study accomplished up to the time of passage. If they pass the examination on their fourth or more attempt, they will receive credit for only one year of law study.

Search "aba requirements to take state bar examination in (your state)".

**If you are the type of person to look for short cuts instead of obtaining something the right way then you are going to make one crappy attorney, if you even pass the bar and can find a law firm to hire you.**

ronimg

Don't look for short cuts. Go to school, study, take the bar. That's the best road to take. The other way may be cheaper but it will take a long time --- decades --- in order to get in a position to take the bar.

Cube Dweller

If you pass the bar exam then you can practice law in that state. Anyone can sign up and take the test.

irishmom91562

I don't think this is correct. I believe the criteria for examination before the bar in most states, is a Juris Doctor degree from a nationally accredited law school. California is a notable exception, with the criteria there set forth in another answer.

I am a senior paralegal and I've actually had three semesters of Juris Doctor coursework in California, but in a law school that was accredited in that state only. I'd love to be able to study Constitutional Law and the remaining areas independently, take a bar prep course and sit for the exam in New Jersey, but it's not that simple. Sorry.

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