A 17-year-old has now become the youngest person ever to pass the California Bar Examination.

Law clerk Peter Park passed the exam on his very first attempt. He took the test back in July and received his results last month.

On December 5th, he was sworn-in as one of California’s youngest practicing attorneys.

“Passing the California Bar Exam is a major accomplishment at any age, and for someone as young as Mr. Park, it is quite an extraordinary feat and one worth celebrating,” State Bar of California Executive Director Leah Wilson said, adding, “The State Bar of California wishes him the best of luck as he embarks on a career in the legal field.”

Park, who emigrated from Korea with his family at the age of 4, grew up in Southern California.

He fast-tracked his journey to earning his law degree at a young age. He was 13 when he began high school at Oxford Academy in Cypress, in Orange County.

While in high school, the teenager concurrently enrolled in a four-year online Juris Doctor (JD) program at Northwestern California University School of Law in Sacramento, taking advantage of a state bar rule allowing students to apply to law school through the completion of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP).

It took him two years to complete high school, graduating in 2021 and then focusing his studies on law school, earning his JD earlier this year.

In August 2023, he took a position as a law clerk with Tulare County’s DA’s office.

Park says that he plans to work as a prosecutor.

“I am driven by a moral obligation to uphold liberty, equality, and justice in society,” he said, adding, “I admire how prosecutors keep our community safe and bring closure to victims.”

You can read more about this story here.

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