California attorney Ben Lyon has practiced out of corporate offices in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, working with many internationally known technology companies as a senior executive, general counsel and adviser. In addition, he has served as adjunct professor of law at the University of San Francisco School of Law as well as visiting professor at Charles University Law School in Prague instructing students on both the law and practice of law.
In 2020, the California State Bar launched the Provisional Licensure Program to help graduates transition from law school to practicing law during the pandemic. The initiative launched in November 2020 allowed graduates to start practicing law immediately without passing the bar exam, providing a valuable service to the public. Under the supervision of a qualified attorney, program participants can offer clients a broad array of legal services.
An expansion of this program in January 2021 allows those who took the state bar exam between July 2015 and February 2020 and scored 1390 or higher on any California State Bar exam to work under a provisional license regardless of when they graduated from law school. Moreover, with a provisional license, an attorney can complete 300 hours of supervised legal practice, in addition to other program requirements, to qualify for full licensure without retaking the bar exam. The California State Bar expects at least 2,000 attorneys to apply for the program.
