• Free Peoples Legal Clinics

    Free Legal Clinics

    March 23 & 30, 2024

    Clínicas Legales Gratuitas

    sabados marzo 23 y 30

    Book An Appointment/Haga Cita

  • Tomas Olmos — In Memoriam

    Learn more about Peoples College of Law Dean Emeritus Tomas Olmos… Continue Reading

  • Tuition at PCL

    Annual tuition at Peoples College of Law (PCL) is $5,000.00. Each student is assessed $600.00 in … Continue Reading

  • PCL Philosophy

    PCL was created to bring legal resources to under-represented communities and train Social Justice Advocates and Attorneys…Continue Reading

Our Services

FREE LEGAL CLINICS!

Free Peoples Legal Clinics offered in March… Read More

ABOUT PCL

PCL was founded to address the problem of the underrepresentation of financially limited persons in courts of law by opening a law school accessible to those who are interested in representing the poor. Click to read more.

PCL PHILOSOPHY

PCL was created to bring legal resources to under-represented communities and train legal advocates who … Read More

NOTICE OF RECENT CBE DECISION

On December 14, 2023, the Committee of Bar Examiners ended The Peoples College of Law J.D.- granting program. Please read more below.

On December 14, 2023, the Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE) terminated the J.D.- granting ability of The Peoples College of Law (PCL), the longest-operating social justice law school on the West Coast and, very likely, the entire United States.

PCL was founded in 1974 by a coalition of organizations who saw the need to become and prepare social justice attorneys.  These organizations included The National Lawyers Guild, La Raza National Students Association, the Asian Law Collective, and the National Conference of Black Lawyers. Since 1974, courses at Peoples College of Law have been taught by volunteer instructors, the overwhelming majority of whom were practicing attorneys. PCL was also unique in that students help run the school, including occupying board positions.  It was and has been a law school of the people, for the people and run by the people.  

 PCL has faced a number of challenges over the past few years, which were exacerbated by the pandemic.  We are saddened by the decision made by the CBE because PCL achieved substantial compliance with the regulations and believed it would demonstrate its ability to sustain compliance by the end of the probationary period, which the CBE had originally set for May of 2024. Unfortunately, the CBE did not provide PCL with the chance to finish out its probation. We are disappointed with the State Bar’s actions and would have hoped that it viewed PCL not as a problem, but as a partner in addressing the problems with the practice of law, especially the underrepresentation of people of color among bar membership.  In California, for example, Latinx make up almost 40% of the population, yet make up only about 6% of attorneys. 

As a nonprofit and largely volunteer run organization, PCL has kept its tuition intentionally low in order to allow students to graduate debt-free. Graduating without the debt load that is typical for most students from traditional law schools, PCL graduates have gone on to represent communities who face economic and societal barriers to equal legal representation. Where a legal education now typically costs over $50,000.00 per year, PCL’s tuition is only $5000.00 per year. In California, poor people, working-class people, and middle-class families struggle to find affordable legal help. As is the case in many states, most Californians simply cannot afford an attorney. In Los Angeles, for example, where PCL is located, over 90% of persons facing eviction are unrepresented, while most landlords have legal representation. Almost all of those tenants, according to recent reports, will lose their case, and therefore their home.

PCL’s 4L students will be able to graduate from PCL in May of 2024. PCL is working with the rest of its students individually to create and support a plan for transfer to another institution or Law Office Study Program, both options allow the student to qualify to take the California Bar Exam and become a licensed attorney.

 We hope that the California State Bar takes action to fill the void that will be left by PCL and tackles the problems of lack of diversity in the Bar, the lack of affordability of legal service for working class people, and the predatory actions of non-attorneys who prey on the communities PCL served.  This is what PCL did, with great success, for 49 years.

Below are notices from the Committee of Bar Examiners related to the Notice of Noncompliance and probation since December 2022.