The standard route to becoming a lawyer is to take the bar exam administered by the state the person wants to practice in. Law school prepares individuals with the knowledge to pass the bar exam and therefore practice as a lawyer. In some states there is a way to circumvent this method.

Take the example of Jennifer O’Brien  a California lawyer who never attended law school. She worked for 15 years as a legal assistant to lawyer. She took the exam for the first time this summer and in November learned she passed.   She studied law under the mentorship of her employer and will work in their law office as an attorney.

California is one of only a few states that allow people to become lawyers through apprenticeship and legal study.  Other states include Maine, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. California, New Mexico and Washington, D.C., also allow correspondence courses. The practice is rarely done though.  In 2006, a total of 44 self-taught applicants nationwide took the bar exam, versus 74,215 law school graduates. Their respective pass rates were 41 percent, for the self-taught, and 71 percent, for the law grads.

Some may consider it given the rising costs of law school tuition. Columbia Law School,  for example, cost just over$ 43000 a year. The time commitment of pursuing a self-taught program as well as the low rate of passing probably convinces people to pursue a law degree in the more recognizes fashion.