A 17-year-old prodigy has created historical past by turning into the youngest particular person to go the California State Bar Examination, making her a practising lawyer within the state. Sophia Park’s achievement eclipses the report beforehand held by her older brother, Peter Park, by three months.
On November 8, 2024, Ms Park realized she handed the bar examination taken by over 8,000 candidates in July. She was 17 years and eight months previous when she sat for the examination, leaving her brother of 17 years and 11 months behind. “I’m very comfortable and excited,” she stated in a family-uploaded YouTube video.
Based on a New York Instances report, the California State Bar Examination is understood for its rigorous requirements, with slightly below 54 per cent of the candidates who tried the examination in July clearing it.
Ms Park’s achievement was additionally introduced by her employer, the Tulare County District Lawyer’s Workplace. “Sophia’s superb accomplishments converse for themselves, and we couldn’t be prouder as an workplace household,” stated Tulare County District Lawyer Tim Ward.
Sophia Park accomplished highschool, school and regulation college in an accelerated timeline of roughly 4 years, by superior on-line programs. Starting regulation college at 13 in 2020, Ms Park juggled her research alongside attending junior excessive at Oxford Academy in Cypress, California. By 2022, she accomplished highschool, having cleared the California Excessive College Proficiency Examination (CHSPE). In 2024, she earned her regulation diploma from Northwestern California College College of Regulation.
Based on the NYT report, Ms Park, like her brother, utilised a provision in California regulation allowing college students to enter regulation college by passing Faculty-Stage Proficiency Exams (CLEP), bypassing conventional undergraduate necessities.
At 16, Ms Park gained sensible expertise by a summer time internship with the Los Angeles County District Lawyer’s Workplace. Since 2024, she has labored as a regulation clerk for the Tulare County District Lawyer’s Workplace.
Ms Park will begin as a practising lawyer in March 2025, when she turns 18 and is sworn in as a licenced lawyer. She plans to hitch the Tulare County District Lawyer’s Workplace as a prosecutor, following in her brother’s footsteps.
“As a prosecutor, I’ll work to see justice served and be certain that victims’ voices are heard,” she stated.