No. Each start has their own requirements for admission into their bar and the vast majority require a Juris Doctorate degree. Many aspiring lawyers wonder if they can take the California Bar Exam without actually going to law school.The short answer is yes, they can. You cannot be licensed to practice law in the state of California without passing a bar examination. You can have a JD without attending law school physically. A student in the LOS Program must complete four years of study in a law office under the supervision of a licensed California attorney. New York State permits admission on motion, without examination, for applicants who have practiced for five of the preceding seven years. Students must first register with the Bar before they can apply to be certified as law student practitioners (California Practical Training of Law Students). If the supervising attorney leaves a firm or something happens, you do not want to be stuck without the forms. If you are a licensed lawyer in another jurisdiction, you are eligible to sit for CA bar exam even without having a LL.M degree.