People's College of Law

Encyclopedia : P : PE : PEO : People's College of Law

The People's College of Law (PCL) is a private, non-profit law school located in Los Angeles, California. PCL offers a part-time, four-year evening law program centered around work in the public interest.

Aimed at addressing inequities in law and society, PCL was founded in 1974 for individuals historically denied access to legal training and representation. The school maintains a socio-political requirement that states: "An eligible candidate will be able to demonstrate a commitment to progressive social change." As such, PCL uses an alternative method of law school admission which rejects the LSAT due to what the school views as its cultural and sociological limitations. Tuition is kept low through the use of unpaid volunteer faculty and the work of students and members of the PCL community to maintain the facilities. Student involvement is coordinated through an accountability system, in which each student works at least 40 hours per year to help maintain PCL.

PCL is currently authorized to grant juris doctor degrees by the California State Department of Education and is listed with the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California as an unaccredited law school. As such, students must take and pass the First-Year Law Students' Examination, also known as the "Baby Bar", at the end of their first year in order to receive credit for their law study and eventually qualify to sit for the California Bar Exam. It is not accedited by the American Bar Association.

The current Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, is a graduate and most famous alumnus.

External link

[People's College of Law] official site

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