The Peoples College of Law (PCL) is an unaccredited, private, non-profit, Juris Doctor-granting law school located in the downtown

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

community of Westlake-MacArthur Park. PCL offers a part-time, four-year evening law program centered on work in the

public interest The public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. Overview Economist Lok Sang Ho in his ''Public Policy and the Public Interest'' argues that the public interest must be assessed impartially and, therefor ...

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."

State Bar registration

PCL is not accredited by the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

, and 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 The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

. It is not approved or accredited by the

, nor is it accredited by the State Bar of California.

Bar pass rates

From 2010 through 2015, 32 People's College graduates took the California Bar Examination; of that number, 6 passed the examination for a pass rate of 18%.

Cost

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 2022 was $5,000.

Noted alumni

Maria Elena Durazo Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, California State Senator for the 24th District and former Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO * Gilbert Cedillo, former state senator and city councilor * Jeff Cohen, commentator for '' Fox News Watch'',

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

, and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

* Sharon Kyle, Publisher of the ''LA Progressive'' * Kent Wong, Director of the UCLA Labor Center * Eileen Luna Firebaugh, Professor Emeritus University of Arizona American Indian Studies * Carol Sobel, formerly of the ACLU and former Vice President of the

National Lawyers Guild The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is a progressive public interest association of lawyers, law students, paralegals, jailhouse lawyers, law collective members, and other activist legal workers, in the United States. The group was founded in 19 ...

Ilka Tanya Payán Ilka Tanya Payán (January 7, 1943 – April 6, 1996) was a Dominican-born actress and attorney who later became a prominent HIV/AIDS activist in the United States. Early life Payán was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and immigrated ...

, AIDS activist, former New York City Human Rights Commissioner *

Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillar ...

, former Mayor of Los Angeles,

References

External links

*
Peoples College of Law at the LA Progressive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peoples College Of Law Law schools in California Educational institutions established in 1974 Universities and colleges in Los Angeles County, California Private universities and colleges in California Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in California 1974 establishments in California