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To begin your CDTA course of study you must:

  • Be a least 18 years old or older

  • Complete at least two years undergraduate college work, obtain 60 approved and acceptable credits, obtain an AA degree from a California Community College, or pass certain equivalency tests

  • Achieve an appropriate LSAT score

  • Complete an initial admissions application

  • And, if qualified, complete a comprehensive CDTA admissions application

While CDTA does not require a pre-law course of study, we encourage and coach our prospective students to develop relevant skills that will prepare them for success at CDTA and ultimately as practicing lawyers.

Critical thinking skills, logical, clear and concise writing skills, effective reading skills, and persuasive presentation skills will all be beneficial in your future success as a legal advocate.

The pass rate of students who have taken the California First-Year Law Students’ Examination and the California Bar Examination is reported here and posted on the California State Bar of California website.

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Academic Program

Our CDTA academic program includes all California Bar tested areas of legal study, including:

  • Contracts

  • Torts

  • Criminal Law

  • Civil Procedure

  • Constitutional Law

  • Evidence

  • Real Property

  • Wills & Trusts

  • Criminal Procedure

  • Business Enterprises

  • Remedies

  • Professional Responsibility
     

Class Schedules

Classes for the California Bar test courses of legal study are taught on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings from 6:00 P.M. to 9:30 P.M. and Saturdays from 8:30 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.

 

Fall semester is fifteen (15) weeks and Spring semester is fourteen (14) weeks. Courses begin the day after Labor Day. There are no classes the week of Thanksgiving. Classes conclude in mid-December. Classes resume the first Tuesday following MLK day and conclude mid-May. There will be a one week break during the Spring.
 

Tuition

Tuition is $15,000 annually.

Tuition includes textbooks and study aids, including Fleming’s Fundamentals of Law Course Reviews and Legal Writing Course, Lexis Nexis and Exam Soft. A deposit of $7,000 is due by mid-August. Thereafter, a $1,000 per month payment is due on the 1st of each consecutive month for the remainder of your first academic year. Beginning June of your second year you would make payments in the amount of $1,250 per month for the remainder of your academic program or 36 months.  Feel free to discuss with the Registrar a payment plan that would work best for you.(4 Years @ $15,000 = $60,000 total Tuition.)

Please check with administration on the cost of tuition as it is subject to change.

At CDTA, we believe that a thorough study of California Bar test areas of legal study, examined regularly, and supplemented with skills, values and historical perspective is a winning formula for educating, training and developing extraordinary legal advocates.

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Address

California Desert Trial Academy College of Law
45-290 Fargo Street
Indio, CA 92201

Contact

Irene Dolan - Regestrar

(760) 342-0900

Hours

Classes are held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. at CDTA College of Law in Indio, CA

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Statement of Nondiscrimination

Consistent with sound educational policy, CDTA College of Law does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, ancestry, religious creed, national origin, disability, medical condition, age, marital status, political affiliation, gender identity, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

CONTACT INFORMATION

California Desert Trial Academy College of Law
45-290 Fargo Street
Indio, CA 92201
(760) 342-0900

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California State Bar Standard and Required Disclosure

The method of instruction at this law school for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program is principally in physical classroom facilities.

Students enrolled in the J.D. degree program at this law school who successfully complete the first year of law study must pass the First-Year Law Students Examination required by Business and Professions Code 6060(h) and Rule VIII of the Rules Regulating Admission to Practice Law in California as part of the requirements to qualify to take the California Bar Examination.

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A student who passes the First-Year Law Students Examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it will receive credit for all legal studies completed to the time the examination is passed. A student who does not pass the 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. degree 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.

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Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or to satisfy the requirements for admission to practice in jurisdictions other than California. A student intending 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.

Copyright CDTA California Desert Trial Academy College of Law. All rights reserved. The Desert’s first and only Law School. Proudly serving all of Southern California; accepting applications from Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.

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