The Peoples 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.
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
Peoples College of Law is regulated by the California State Bar Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California as an unaccredited law school that 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 or accredited 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
Peoples 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 $4,000.
Noted alumni
- Antonio Villaraigosa, former Mayor of Los Angeles,
- Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the [Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
- Gilbert Cedillo, former state senator and city councilor
- commentator for Fox News Channel's Fox News Watch, for MSNBC and CNN, Jeff Cohen
- Publisher of the LA Progressive, Sharon Kyle
- Director of the UCLA Labor Center, Kent Wong
- Carol Sobel, formerly of the ACLU and currently Ex. VP of the National Lawyers Guild
- AIDS activist Ilka Tanya Payán became a lawyer in 1981, practiced immigration law and was a New York City Human Rights Commissioner
References
External links
- Official website
- Peoples College of Law at the LA Progressive
