“I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.” — Daniel Boone

My recent posts about my wife getting into law school focused on why she was interested specifically in a British university, and how that might enable her to practice here in the U.S. while we're still here.  She's very happy with her decision, and she's sent the deposit for fees to secure her place and looks forward to receiving more materials from them so that she can start in September.

However, I also mentioned the distance learning programs available from a few California law schools and the usefulness of their JD degrees for becoming eligible to take the California bar exam and practice law there.  Since it didn't really apply to her, I glossed over the types of institutions there are there and sort of quality assurance (e.g., legal accreditation) they have.  Truth is, I think I might have been a little confused about it, so I wanted to clarify how things work in the Golden State for those who might be interested in this path to practicing law there.  

So I've checked out the web site of the State Bar of California and also learned a bit from a few other online discussions.  Explanations from Bill Dayson and CalDog, two longtime distance learning observers, have been particularly illuminating.

In California, there are three levels of quality assurance for law schools. 

1. First are law schools that are accredited by the American Bar Association.  JD degrees from these "ABA accredited" schools are accepted in every state in the U.S.  These schools are forbidden by the ABA from offering JD programs through distance learning, I believe solely so as to meter the number of new lawyers entering the profession and driving down rates for legal services.
   
   
2. Second is the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California.  Unlike most state bar associations, California's accredits law schools, and there are eighteen "CalBar accredited" schools at this level.  These schools also do not offer JD degrees through distance learning.
   
   
3. Finally, there are unaccredited law schools.  These schools must register with the state bar, but are not accredited by them.  However, while the schools are not subject to state bar oversight, their students are.  In particular, their students must take a special exam after their first year of law school to demonstrate how well they are being prepared for the profession.  This exam is formally known as the "First-Year Law Students' Examination" or "FYLSE", but it's more commonly called the "baby bar".

It's this last group, the schools without accreditation from the national or state bar, where one can find distance learning programs.  There are available from institutions that offer eLearning, like Concord Law School (now part of Kaplan University), and those that offer old fashioned correspondence courses, like Oak Brook College of Law.

Now, just in case this isn't confusing enough, there's a difference between accreditation from the national or state bar, and "normal" institutional accreditation.  A few of the schools from the third category, that don't have accreditation from the national or state bar, do have accreditation from a national or regional accreditor.  It's just that the national or regional accreditation that is useful for every other profession isn't of primary importance for the legal profession, and vice versa.

So, if you're a Californian who'd like to become a lawyer through distance learning would become, you do have options.  They're just so confusing that if you're interested in this you just might want to... consult an attorney!

Next up, some tech tips that save typing time.