How can one become a tort law buff without going to a law school?
Sure. Go to your local law library and see if they have a copy of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Failing that, most have a "digest" which would have categories such as "trespass", "negligence", considered types of torts, with listings of relevant case law.
Is it possible to be admitted to the Bar without going to law school?
Straight answer is NO! Now, the Bar simply is an association of Barristers or you may say lawyers in general. And by the provisions of existing laws, a person seeking to be a lawyer, must go through:Legal Education: This begins from your High school which would determine your course of study in college.Whilst in college, you gotta undertake the BACHELOR OF LAWS DEGREE. (LL.B Hons) which covers the major subjects of law. For example: Constitutional law, Contract law, Employment law, Torts, Criminal law, Commercial law, Equity & Trusts, Land law or Property law, Law of Evidence, Jurisprudence, Company law, Legal drafting and so forth. All these are designed to lay a solid foundation of the law. But these courses in some regions are mixed with other disciplines like Economics, Computer, etc.Afterwards, you must proceed to the respective Law school to absorb the Adjectival aspect of the law, where you'll be studying: Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Legal Ethics and others.Your success at the Bar Final Examinations would then entitle you to be CALLED TO THE BAR.In a nutshell, your doorway to the Bar is the Bar Final exams only undertaken at the Law School. THANKS!!
What is the best way to learn corporate law without going to law school?
Thanks for the a2a.“Corporate law” is a pretty broad concept.Do you want to know “securities law” — how to comply with the law that applies to to raising money from investors? “Contract law” — what it takes to make binding contracts and enforce them? “Labor and employment law” — how to comply with hiring and firing rules? Or the law of project finance, or tax law, or many others?Do you want to know one topic in depth or a survey of many topics?Do you want to learn corporate law in connection with a job you already hold, or are you looking for a job, or are you simply interested in knowing about corporate law?Do you want this to be cheap/free? Or be part of a program at a university that requires registration and leads to a certificate or degree?Why not go to law school? Takes too long? Costs too much? Covers too many other courses?If you can define your objectives a little more precisely, I think we can provide a useful answer.
What do you learn in law school?
To be honest, you do NOT learn how to be a lawyer. You learn a process of analysis that is an essential function of being an attorney and practicing law. You will cover a lot of subjects that teach you where to begin researching the problems of your clients, but rarely will you have learned the "answers" in law school. You will also learn to manage stress and a complex calendar. If you can't do that by the end of law school, you will simply flunk out. The courses that are typically taken in the first year are: Legal Writing, Property, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Torts, and Criminal Law. After that, you have a lot of choices in the classes you take but most students choose "Bar" courses, classes that prepare them for subjects on the Bar Exam, and then take practical courses in their last year. If you wish to see what law school classes are like, most law schools will invite you to come sit in on a class. My law school let people watch pretty much any class they wanted, and some professors even let them participate in a class discussion. Contact a law school near you and ask if you can come see what it's like.
Is it possible to pass the BAR test without law school?
It is definitely possible to pass the bar exam without having gone to law school. You can definitely take the bar exam in a few states like Washington and California without having gone to law school by fulfilling the specific state requirements of reading the law and doing the apprenticeship under an experienced lawyer.It won’t be easy at all! Those that attempt to take the bar exam without having gone to law school have the lowest pass rate. Like I said again, it is definitely possible, but the odds are against you. I know one lawyer who went to a state accredited distance learning law school, obviously not ABA accredited, and he graduated and got his law degree in the mail. He and his cohort of more than 50 graduates took the California Bar exam. The first time they took it, only he had passed and everyone else failed. His remaining cohorts took it a second time and all of them failed again. He doesn’t know the success rate of the third time test takers.Most law school graduates in the states of California and New York fail the bar exam the first time. It is only those law school graduates like Stanford, Columbia, and NYU that have a bar passage rate of 90% or better.Law school in itself does not prepare you at all for the bar exam.
What are some ways of learning to think like a lawyer without going to law school?
This question intrigued me because so many people believe that the most critical legal skills employed by lawyers are logic, rhetoric and understanding legal concepts. This is certainly the training you receive in law school and it does absolutely nothing for you when you begin to practice law.If you want to think like a practicing lawyer, read literary novels that deal with the vagaries of the human condition. Dicken's Bleak House is not a bad place to start. The law, while based on written statutes and logic, still has to deal with ideological Justices, corruption, greed, tragedy and triumph. Robert Cover, a former Yale Law Professor, wrote in his essay, "Violence and the Word": "The Judges deal pain and death." To really think like a lawyer, you would need to develop the compassion to understand that legal issues are society's attempt to deal with pain and death.
Can you become a good lawyer without going to a good law school?
Chief Justice Warren Burger attended a less-than-prestigious law school, now called Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Those were different times, of course, and he rose the judicial ranks through politics as much as anything. Law is one of those professions where pedigree seems to matter a lot, unlike engineering or business, where demonstrated skills and what you've accomplished matter far more than your school. Still, if you have the ability and dedication you will have a great career in law notwithstanding where you went to school.
Did a year of law school, not going back. Should I have it on my resume?
Based on the limited info you provided here, I would generally say include it. I've been to many an interview and never had an employer ask me about my GPA, so I just would leave that out. If it does come up, as long as you have a good GPA in the relevant field I think that that will be much more important. Just make sure you have a really good explanation for why you didn't finish, because the interviewer will very likely ask you about it. If you're applying for jobs in non-law-related field the person interviewing you can probably understand why you don't want to be a lawyer. So as long as you emphasize how you realized you really had a passion for X (the field that you're now in), and that's why you left law school -- I think that will work in your favor. For example, I'm a writer. If I had a year of law school on my resume, the editor I'm interviewing with would not hold it against me that I decided I didn't want to be a lawyer. Obviously, I want to be a writer. But I think the experience of being in law school could be seen as valuable. That's why I would include it. The key question here is: what is the unrelated field that you're getting your masters in? What types of jobs are you looking for? The answers to those questions is really key in being able to accurately access whether it makes for you to include the law school experience on your resume. Update: After reading the additional info you posted, I say with more confidence that you should go ahead and list it. Like one other person responded, it does show that you were able to get into law school. And it's also a plus that you took a leave of absence to pursue your true passion; that's different than if you say, flunked out. I don't see any negative to listing it. The only reason I would leave it out is if you have so much other fabulous stuff taking up space on your resume that you just don't have room. (I am of the opinion that resumes should be one page, but that's a whole other can of worms!)
Is going to a Non-ABA approved Law School worth it?
Go to the ABA School. This is not to say that non-ABA schools don't produce good lawyers, but ABA schools will give you the tools you need to succeed. They have the resources to make sure you pass the exam. It may save you money to go to a non-ABA school, but you'll end up paying for it in bar prep fees. I have several friends whose bar prep fees equalled what it would have cost to just go to an ABA school in the first place. BTW, Golden Gate University in San Francisco IS ABA approved.