Established 1974 Phone +1 213-483-0083 Dean Garo Ghazarian | Location Los Angeles, CA, US Undergraduate tuition and fees 4,600 USD (2012) Founded 1974 | |
School type Private, Non-profit Law School Website www.peoplescollegeoflaw.edu Address 660 S Bonnie Brae St, Los Angeles, CA 90057, USA Motto Producing Social Justice Lawyers Notable alumni Antonio Villaraigosa, Gil Cedillo, Maria Elena Durazo, Ilka Tanya Payán, Jeff Cohen Similar California Southern Law Scho, Pacific Coast University, Western Sierra Law School, Oak Brook College of Law and, Glendale University College o Profiles | ||
The People's College of Law (PCL) is an unaccredited, private, non-profit, Juris Doctor-granting law school located just off Wilshire Boulevard in the downtown Los Angeles community of Westlake-MacArthur Park. PCL offers a part-time, four-year evening law program centered on work in the public interest.
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History
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." PCL uses alternative methods of law school admissions, which does not rely on the LSAT because it is considered culturally biased. Tuition is kept low through the use of volunteer faculty, consisting of working Attorneys, Judges and law professors. Students and members of the PCL community volunteer to maintain the facilities, allowing all students to graduate debt free.
State Bar registration
PCL is registered with the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California as an unaccredited law school and may grant the juris doctor (J.D.) law degree. Its 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 Examination. It is not approved by the American Bar Association.
Bar pass rates
For the years 2010 through 2015, 32 Peoples College graduates have taken the California Bar Examination; of that number, 6 passed the examination for a pass rate of 18%.
Cost
The People's College of Law has one of the lowest tuition rates for a J.D. program in the United States. The annual tuition in 2016 was only $4,000.