Pacific Coast University School of Law (PCU) is registered with the State Bar of California Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE), as an Unaccredited Fixed-Facility Law School, and is authorized by the CBE to confer a Juris Doctor degree on all graduates of its J.D. program.

Requirements for The Degree

Juris Doctor (J.D.) Degree candidates must fulfill the following minimum requirements:

  •  Satisfactory completion of a course of classroom study requiring a minimum of 270 hours of classroom attendance a year for four (4) years. A year is defined as any consecutive twelve (12) month period; 
  •  Successful completion of 84 or more semester units;
  • Maintain a grade point average not lower than 2.0;
  • Successful completion of the thirteen Bar-tested subjects: Business Associations, Civil Procedure, Community Property, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Property, Remedies, Torts, and Wills and Trusts;
  • The Juris Doctor with Distinction is awarded to students who pursue their entire Law course at PCU with an overall 91% (3.5 GPA) or higher.

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Library / Legal Research Facilities

In line with the common practice in the legal profession, PCU provides each student with instruction and access to the industry’s premier legal research engine, Lexis Nexis.

Law-library research
PCU-Letters

First-Year Law Students’ Examination
(“The Baby Bar”)

Guideline 1.3 of the California State Bar’s Guidelines for Unaccredited Law School Rules, provides: 

“Students attending unaccredited law schools intending to qualify to take the California Bar Examination must take the examination upon successful completion of their first year of law study. Students who pass the examination within the first three administrations the examination after first becoming eligible to take it will receive law study credit up to the time of the passage of the examination. Students who pass the examination on an attempt following the third administration of the examination after their first becoming eligible to take it will only receive credit for one year of law study toward qualifying to take the California Bar Examination.”

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The examination covers three subjects: Contracts, Criminal Law and Torts

The First-Year Law Students Exam is composed of 4 essay questions and 100 multiple-choice questions. The exam is given online in June and October of each year. Four hours are allocated for completing the essay portion of the exam and three hours are allocated for completing the multiple-choice portion.

Questions and Facts

After you complete your first year of law school in May. You will have to take the June FYLSE exam. June results are given in mid-August, and from the October administration in mid-December. If you pass, you can register for the 2nd year of law school in August.

Students that do not pass the FYLSE exam and wish to advance to their second year of law study will risk not receiving credit for course units taken in the first and second year of law school. The units will not be transferable to other law schools.

Those enrolled in our law degree program must register as students with the State Bar of California. Registration requires the completion of a form directly on the State Bar’s official website, www.calbar.ca.gov.
 
“The method of instruction at this law school for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program is principally in physical classroom facilities( principally by correspondence/ principally by technological means including interactive classes).”
 
“Students enrolled in the J.D. degree program at this law school who complete the first year of law study must pass the First-Year Law Students Examination required by Business and Professions Code 6060(h) and Title 4, Division 1, Chapter 1 Rule 4.3(I) of the Rules of the State Bar of California as part of the requirements to qualify to take the California Bar Examination. A student who passes the First-Year Law Students Examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it must be promptly disqualified from the law school’s J.D. program. If the dismissed student subsequently passes the examination, the student is eligible for re-enrollment in this law school’s J.D. degree program but will receive credit for only one year of legal study.”
 
“Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or be admitted to practice law in jurisdictions other than California. A student who intends to seek admission to practice law in a jurisdiction other than California should contact the admitting authority in that jurisdiction for information regarding the legal education requirements in that jurisdiction for admission to the practice of law.” 

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PCU Certificate

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Eligibility to Sit for the Bar Exam in Other Jurisdictions

The Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements, a publication by the National Conference of Bar Examiners and the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, provides detailed information on bar admissions requirements in all jurisdictions.

Information About Admission to the State Bar of California and the California Bar Examination

The State Bar of California maintains information about qualifications to sit for the California Bar Exam, including dates, fees, and locations at https://www.calbar.ca.gov/admissions/examinations

PCU’s Bar Examination Passing Rate

Statistics 
Statistics for previous bar exam pass rates, including historical data for individual law schools in California, can also be found here.
 

Complete our 2021-2022 Application Form

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