An experimentally simple method for the synthesis of aromatic polycarbonates is described. Reaction of commercially available p-nitrophenyl chloroformate with bisphenol A afforded BPA polycarbonate in good yields with M-n = 26,000 g/mol. This laboratory procedure avoids the use of phosgene or phosgene equivalents in the laboratory. The process requires the use of 2 equivalents of triethylamine and a catalytic amount of 4-dimethylaminopyridine.