Like Lincoln

05/21/2013 0

Where am I? How I decided Legal Apprenticeship was the right path for me.

I woke up particularly early this morning, and I was surprisingly reflective (given how very early it was). “It’s sunny,” I thought. “I’m back in the East Bay,” I thought. “I’m doing exactly what I want to do,” I thought. But to be honest, working full time for a nonprofit law center and reading the law outside of law school was not what I [...]

04/29/2013 0

Rising Debt While Studying Law? Not for this Legal Apprentice!

By Christina Oatfield “What? You can do that!? I’ve never heard of that before…” “Yes, in California you can do that, really, yeah, I know, not that many people know about it. Lots of attorneys don’t even know about it.” This is how many conversations go when I first meet people who ask me what I do and I explain that I’m an apprentice at a law [...]

04/27/2013 0

Worth the Read: Belva Lockwood’s “My Efforts to Become a Lawyer”

Belva A. Lockwood I discovered a new hero tonight, and it’s not just because Belva Lockwood advocated in the 1860s for the notion that girls should be taught to roller skate. Lockwood was one of this country’s first woman lawyers, and the first woman to be admitted to practice under and argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. My partner was reading a history book about Lockwood, CA this [...]

04/01/2013 0

This. Is. [NOT.] Jeopardy. Thoughts On How to Write an Apprentice Exam

The first apprentice exam was all about housing cooperatives. One of the responsibilities of an attorney supervising legal apprentices in California is to administer an exam to apprentices once per month. When I sat down to write the first apprentice exam, it suddenly hit me that I had no idea what I was doing. “Pretend you are a Jeopardy contestant,” I told myself, “start with the answers, [...]

03/23/2013 0

One Revolution

Two years ago I was living in a grass thatched, mud hut. My communication with the outside world was done from atop a two-story termite mound. I bathed from a bucket under the shade of trees. And my diet consisted of boiled leaves, caterpillars, and hard porridge. Now, I’m beginning a Law Office study program in one of the most technologically advanced and innovative areas of the world. I’m [...]

03/04/2013 0

Following in Lincoln’s Footsteps

Abraham Lincoln never went to law school; yet, he is one of the most celebrated lawyers in U.S. history. Society take note: Going to law school is not the only route to becoming a skilled and knowledgeable lawyer. In fact, becoming a lawyer by apprenticing may be an incredibly effective way to learn how to practice law. The apprenticeship route to becoming a lawyer makes the legal profession [...]