To apply for the Law Office Study (LOS) Program, you must fulfill the same requirements for pre-legal education that apply to students who attend law school. You must have completed at least two years of college work, or show equivalent intellectual achievement by attaining a score of 50 or higher on specified College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) examinations, as detailed on the College Equivalency Education webpage.
You must register as a law student with the State Bar’s Office of Admissions, stating your intent to study in the LOS Program. At least 30 days prior to your intended date of beginning your legal studies within a law office or judge’s chamber, you must also submit the LOS application in Applicant Portal.
You will need to submit the following documents with the online application:
A completed declaration form from the attorney or judge who will be supervising your legal studies; and
The supervising attorney’s or judge’s outline of the planned course of study for the full four years of required study. The study outline must be separated by year and include the subjects that will be covered for each six-month session. Students will not receive credit for repeated courses or taking a substantially similar course. In creating the outline, students and their supervisors may wish to review what is covered on the First-Year Law Students’ Examination and the California Bar Examination.
In addition to the documents listed above, you must mail official, sealed transcripts of the required pre-legal education and any legal studies previously completed to the State Bar office, c/o Office of Admissions, 845 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90017.
All items must be submitted before an application will be deemed complete. The State Bar will notify the applicant if the application is incomplete. The applicant must correct all deficiencies within 60 days of receiving the notice, or the application will be considered abandoned and the fees will not be refunded. You must receive State Bar approval of your LOS application before beginning study in a law office or judge’s chamber.
Students in the LOS Program must submit an application and fee to change supervisors at least 15 days before beginning study with the new supervisor. The application must include a declaration from the new supervisor and an updated outline of the proposed course of study. If a supervisor change occurs during a six-month study period, the student must, within 30 days of starting with the new supervisor, submit a report from the previous supervisor covering all study completed up to that point, along with the required semi-annual report fee. The first semi-annual report under the new supervisor will cover only the remainder of that six-month period.
Questions?
For questions related to the LOS Program, please contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@calbar.ca.gov or 800-843-9053.
