Program at a glance
- Program name: Combined Law Office Study / Law School Program
- Governing rule: Maine Bar Admission Rules (Rule 10 and related provisions)
- Duration: Typically framed as roughly 1 year of ABA law school plus 2 years of law office study, or similar Board-approved combinations
- Time commitment: Full-time study for the law-office-study portion, at a level the Board considers equivalent to full-time law study
- Who can supervise you: A qualified, actively practicing Maine attorney approved by the Board of Bar Examiners for the law-office-study portion.
- Registration: Requires advance approval of your specific combined course of study from the Maine Board of Bar Examiners.
The bar exam path
Because this is a hybrid pathway, you still need to gain admission to and complete part of an ABA-accredited law school program before or alongside your law-office study, then sit the Maine Bar Examination once the Board certifies your combined course of study is complete.
Why apprentices choose Maine
- Can reduce total law school tuition compared to a full three-year JD, since part of your training happens in a law office instead.
- Still gives you real law school credentials and classroom grounding for part of your legal education.
What to weigh before committing
- This is not a debt-free path: you still pay for a meaningful chunk of law school tuition.
- The exact combination of school time and office time requires individualized Board approval, so you can't just DIY a schedule the way California or Vermont apprentices largely can.
- Because it's a hybrid, most of the community and infrastructure built around 'pure' reading-the-law states doesn't map directly onto Maine's process.
Step-by-step process
- Contact the Maine Board of Bar Examiners early to discuss and get approval for your proposed combination of law school and law office study.
- Complete the ABA-accredited law school portion of your approved plan.
- Complete the law-office-study portion under a Board-approved supervising attorney.
- Apply to sit the Maine Bar Examination once the Board certifies your combined study is complete.