A teenager from California, Peter Park, has just become the youngest practicing attorney at the tender age of 18.
Park passed the famously difficult California state bar exam when he was just 17. Now 18, has was recently sworn in as a prosecutor for the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office.
Peter’s journey to this point stated at age 13 – a time when most kids are still playing with Pokemon cards or basketball in the back yard – when he started at an online law school. His father, Byungjoo Park, was the catalyst, telling young Peter he had found a pathway that would mean he would be an attorney by 17, and convincing him that law was the profession to follow.
But Peter won’t be handling murder trials just yet – like any junior attorney he will start on less serious cases as he gains experience working alongside more senior colleagues and professional development training. Peter says he is currently handling misdemeanor cases in the main.
Peter’s route to being attorney is noteworthy as he mostly bypassed the traditional route of going through high school and college. But he could go for the California state bar exam as a rule in the state allows students to apply for law school through the College-Level Examination Program.
He has worked hard for his qualification too. For two years, Peter would go to high school from 8am-3pm, then come home and do his online law school coursework. Then he was able to pass a high school equivalency exam. His biggest challenge at this point was time management, he says.
If you want to follow in Peter’s footsteps – or you parents would like you to – Byungjoo has published a 110-page book on how to do it.
In addition, Peter’s younger sister, aged 16, is also working her way through online law school, so watch out for her in a couple of years too.
