Hello! I'm new to the forum.  I have two BAs and am looking forward to continuing my education.  I work for the federal govnerment and in my paritcular agency an ABA approved course of study is not required for attorneys - only that you are a member of the bar in any state.  The nearest law school is two hours away and unfortunately,I'm not in a position to quit work to attend full or even part-time.  So, I'm currently researching online schools in CA.  I hope to learn from the experts at this forum and share where I can :-)

If you MUST study law online there is no better school than William Howard Taft University in my opinion.  They are inexpensive so as not to invest too much.  They are also accredited by the DETC.

Oh yeah....I also meant to say that the above is just my humble opinion.  There is no one "best" school for everyone.

Northwestern California University and Oak Brook College of Law both also offer online JD programs whose graduates are eligible to take the California bar, and my understanding is that they're among those with better pass rates.

Good luck, 

-=Steve=- 

Hi shirah!

Our Web site has a quick "mini guide" about earning a law degree online. You may already be aware of the information provided, but just in case!

Victoria

The 2006 edition of Bears' Guide lists the following distance learning law schools that qualify you to take the California Bar Exam: Abraham Lincoln University www.alulaw.com ; British American University www.british-american.edu ; Concord University www.concord.kaplan.edu ; University of Honolulu www.thevision.net/uhlaw ; University of London www.lon.ac.uk ; Newport University www.newport.edu ; Northwestern California University www.nwculaw.edu ; Oak Brook College of Law www.obcl.edu ; Southern California University for Professional Studies www.scups.edu ; and William Howard Taft University www.taftu.edu . Of these Concord and Taft are nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council www.detc.org , Concord is regionally accredited by the North Central Association www.ncahlc.org now that it is fully merged with Kaplan www.kaplan.edu , and the University of London is considered accredited-equivalent Generally Accepted Accrediting Principles, which holds that, if a school has met the relevant quality control standards in its own country, it should be considered the equivalent of accredited in othercountries. The others are unaccredited but will allow you to take the California Bar.      

My understanding is that Concorde's accreditation is serpate from Kaplan's even though Kaplan is the "mothership".  I went to the College for Professional Studies which was owned by Kaplan but accredited by DETC and was a seperate sister school...

Seperate but equal was what I believe I was told by one of the Kaplan people.  My understanding is that Concorde falls in the same boat.

Cajun:

My understanding is that Concorde's accreditation is serpate from Kaplan's even though Kaplan is the "mothership".  I went to the College for Professional Studies which was owned by Kaplan but accredited by DETC and was a seperate sister school...

Seperate but equal was what I believe I was told by one of the Kaplan people.  My understanding is that Concorde falls in the same boat.

The DETC website does not mention accrediting the College for Professional Studies and Concord's own site claims NCA accreditation. Seems they both now ride on the Kaplan mothership's accreditation.   

Cajun:

My understanding is that Concorde's accreditation is serpate from Kaplan's even though Kaplan is the "mothership".  I went to the College for Professional Studies which was owned by Kaplan but accredited by DETC and was a seperate sister school...  Seperate but equal was what I believe I was told by one of the Kaplan people.  My understanding is that Concorde falls in the same boat.

That's changed as of fairly recently.  So as part of Kaplan, yes, Concord is now regionally accredited.  It doesn't help much, though, since ABA accreditation is the one that counts here and Kaplan/Concord can't have that as a distance institution.  The ABA is intractably opposed to distance learning for law schools.

-=Steve=- 

The ABA does have something against distance ed.....sadly. 

SteveFoerster:

Cajun:

My understanding is that Concorde's accreditation is serpate from Kaplan's even though Kaplan is the "mothership".  I went to the College for Professional Studies which was owned by Kaplan but accredited by DETC and was a seperate sister school...  Seperate but equal was what I believe I was told by one of the Kaplan people.  My understanding is that Concorde falls in the same boat.

That's changed as of fairly recently.  So as part of Kaplan, yes, Concord is now regionally accredited.  It doesn't help much, though, since ABA accreditation is the one that counts here and Kaplan/Concord can't have that as a distance institution.  The ABA is intractably opposed to distance learning for law schools.

-=Steve=- 

It does, however, help somewhat in that the number of states allowing graduates of regionally accredited (but non-ABA) law schools to sit for their Bar Exam has got to be greater than the number of states allowing graduates of nationally accredited law schools to sit for their Bar Exam.

tedmeister:

It does, however, help somewhat in that the number of states allowing graduates of regionally accredited (but non-ABA) law schools to sit for their Bar Exam has got to be greater than the number of states allowing graduates of nationally accredited law schools to sit for their Bar Exam.

I don't believe that's so -- my understanding is that ABA accreditation is the only one that counts when determining bar qualification, and that California is the only state that allows recent holders of non-ABA accredited JDs earned online to sit the state bar. 

But I could be wrong, so I've just written Concord Law asking whether their now being under Kaplan's regional accreditation umbrella means there are now any states other than California where their JD holders can immediately sit the bar.  I'll pass their response on here.

-=Steve=- 

You should be aware that distance learning law programs are notorious for the low pass rates of their students who take the bar exam for the first time.  You might consider taking a program closer to home on a part-time basis, even if it does require some travel.  DL law schools ARE convenient, but that convenience could come at a price if they do not adequately prepare you for the bar.

 According to some, you can take the "Baby Bar" and the bar exam in California without even going to law school, through something called the California State Bar Law Office Study Program (LOSP).  This requires you to study under a judge or attorney who has practiced law in California for at least five years.  It requires at least four years of study under the judge or attorney.  Of course, this would probably require you to be a California resident, and I'm sure the bar pass rates are even lower for folks who attempt it this way than if they had gone through a law school program.   There are other requirements as well.  I'm not an attorney, so you would have to investigate this program more.  You may even find a similar program in your state. 

One California attorney who went this route has written a blog about it. 

 

SteveFoerster:

tedmeister:

It does, however, help somewhat in that the number of states allowing graduates of regionally accredited (but non-ABA) law schools to sit for their Bar Exam has got to be greater than the number of states allowing graduates of nationally accredited law schools to sit for their Bar Exam.

I don't believe that's so -- my understanding is that ABA accreditation is the only one that counts when determining bar qualification, and that California is the only state that allows recent holders of non-ABA accredited JDs earned online to sit the state bar. 

But I could be wrong, so I've just written Concord Law asking whether their now being under Kaplan's regional accreditation umbrella means there are now any states other than California where their JD holders can immediately sit the bar.  I'll pass their response on here.

-=Steve=- 

There are fifteen states (plus DC) where people with non-ABA law degrees may be eligible to take the Bar exam: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. 

There are eight states where people who have studied law by apprenticeship may petition to take the Bar exam: Alaska, California, Maine, New York, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.   

There are five states (plus DC) where foreign law graduates may petition to practice law without taking the Bar: the District of Columbia, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Washington, and Wisconsin.

There are twenty-two states (plus DC) where foreign law graduates may practice law after passing the Bar exam: Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

There are nine states in which a person with an unaccredited JD and accredited LLM may petition to take the Bar exam: Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, New York, Virginia, and West Virginia.   

- Mariah Bear and Tom Nixon, _Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning_, 16th edition (Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2006),p. 262

tedmeister:

There are fifteen states (plus DC) where people with non-ABA law degrees may be eligible to take the Bar exam: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Other than California, those states all require one to have practiced for a number of years in another state, don't they? 

tedmeister:

There are eight states where people who have studied law by apprenticeship may petition to take the Bar exam: Alaska, California, Maine, New York, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.

All but California, Virginia, and maybe Washington state require some time in a law school, just not to the point of JD completion. 

tedmeister:

There are five states (plus DC) where foreign law graduates may petition to practice law without taking the Bar: the District of Columbia, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Washington, and Wisconsin.

There are twenty-two states (plus DC) where foreign law graduates may practice law after passing the Bar exam: Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

There are nine states in which a person with an unaccredited JD and accredited LLM may petition to take the Bar exam: Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, New York, Virginia, and West Virginia.

I think petitioning is far from automatic, and that the other two categories overlap -- in other words foreign LLB holders who have an ABA LLM can sit the bar.  I know that's how Maryland and D.C. work.  The law schools around here have special "LLM in U.S. Law" programs to accommodate them.

Anyway, yes there are loopholes, but they all have restrictions on them. What I'm talking about is whether or not there are any states other than California where a JD from Concord means one can immediately sit the state bar.  I believe that the answer is still no, even now that they're under the Kaplan's regional accreditation.

-=Steve=-