This form is a sample letter in Word format covering the subject matter of the title of the form.
This form is a sample letter in Word format covering the subject matter of the title of the form.
All applicants for admission to practice law in California must receive a passing score on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination and pass the California Bar Examination.
California has the most difficult bar examination in the country. The pass rate on the California bar exam is the consistently the lowest in the US, and it's usually several percentage points lower than the other states. New York, on the other hand, is an unusually easy state to pass the bar examination in.
Contact Center To speak with a representative, please call 800-843-9053 if you are in California. If you are calling from out-of-state, please call 415-538-2000.
Applicants who are already licensed to practice law in another state or jurisdiction must register as an attorney applicant, complete a positive moral character determination and pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination as well as the California Bar Examination.
California was one of the first states to unify its bar (1927). A unified, or integrated bar, means simply that membership is mandatory for all attorneys who are licensed to practice law in the state.
The country's thirty-one mandatory state bar associations are fac- ing an existential threat following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Janus v. ACSME, 138 S. Ct. 2448 (2018).
In California, qualified applicants can take the bar exam without going to law school. Most law schools require a college degree, but some may only ask for equivalent course work, and some law schools focus on your legal interest and life experiences and not on your grades or LSAT scores.
Transition Away from the MBE: Starting in 2025, California will no longer use the National Conference of Bar Examiners' (NCBE) Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) for its multiple-choice component. Instead, Kaplan will develop new multiple-choice questions specific to California.