Does going to a law school outside of California make it harder to pass the California bar?

Answer 1

It depends on which law school - any tier 1 school would allow you to do well on the California BAR Exam...you may be pushing it after that. Also, you have to consider where you want to work. Unless you go to a tier one school, you should go to school near where you want to work - you have to think about where the law firms recruit from.

Answer 2

I am not sure about California, but I went to law school in North Carolina and also took the NC Bar. My understanding (and I think it is the same in every state, except Louisianna), is that there is a slight advantage to attending law school in the state you plan on taking the bar in. However, most law schools do not teach state specific law (there are a few exceptions), so you will pretty much learn the same law regardless of which school you attend. In addition, everyone takes a bar review course before taking the bar and that is where they learn state specific law. I do know that California is one of the hardest bars in the country. As a law school survivor, my advice is to attend the highest ranked law school that you think you will actually be happy at. Law School is really stressful - think about things like where you will have a good support network, which school offers courses in the field you are interested in, and the amount of tuition/cost of living (I went to UNC as an in state student and still graduated with almost $100,00 in debt). Hope that helps.