In almost all circumstances, in order to practice law in a state, you must first pass that state's bar exam. The National Conference of Bar Examiners publishes a yearly guide to bar admissions requirements for each state. Most states require those sitting for the bar exam to have earned a JD from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. However, some states allow alternate educational paths; either participating in an apprenticeship program or completing online or correspondence courses.
As of 2011, seven states allowed people to take the bar exam after completing an apprenticeship program, also known as "reading the law." These states are California, New York, Virginia, Vermont, Maine and Wyoming. Each state has different requirements, but these programs generally require you to complete a set period of time working in a law office while studying the law on your own. States may have additional requirements; for example, California requires all participants in this program to pass the California First Year Law Students Examination, or "Baby Bar," after their first year of study in order to continue.
California, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC, allow a person to sit for the bar exam if he has completed online or correspondence courses. Many other states will allow you to take the bar if you have completed non-ABA-approved courses and passed the bar in another state.
While reading for the law and correspondence courses, these students face some significant hurdles. Students who read for the law have a statistically lower bar passing rate; for example, from 1993-2003 only 49.6 percent of students who read for the Vermont bar passed the exam, compared to 73.4 percent of law school graduates. Some students who complete the program also have found difficulty securing employment in law firms, as many firms prefer students from accredited law schools despite the fact that self-study job applicants have also passed the bar.