Northwestern vs Taft

First, I want to thank nosborne48 for his assistance thus far.

My questions and confusion lie in accreditation vs. state approval in DL law degrees. Northwestern California Law is affordable only 2000 yearly and reputable but does not have any accreditation only state approval. Taft is both state approved and DETC accredited with twice the cost of NWC.

I understand unless a law school is ABA approved it should not matter since both will let you take the bar in California. I am interested in doing the DL law from either one on the above schools and the going to St. Thomas Law LLM (ABA approved distance learning program) program after finishing my JD degree.

Now with all that said my questions are as follows.

1. Does DETC account for anything other than being able for financial aid?
2. Can I be accepted to St. Thomas Law LLM after completing either school?
3. Can I be able to teach law later from either of the programs?
4. Although I live in New Jersey, I plan to eventually take the New York bar exam. Can combining California school with St. Thomas Law LLM be acceptable for taking that exam?

I am favoring Northwestern mainly due to the cost factor, they both have reputable programs, and both are challenging. Any help will be appreciated.

Regards,

 

In addition, if I go to Executive JD non-bar route can I still go to St. Thomas and practice law or does it have to be JD bar equivalent program.

Regards,

 

An answer to one of your questions:

From NWCal's website:

Some states, it should be noted, may allow our graduates to take their bar exams for bar membership without prior membership in California or elsewhere and without prior active practice if they have a JD law degree from our school and an LLM degree from an ABA approved school. Officials at St.Thomas University School of Law in Miami, Florida (an ABA approved law school) have confirmed that they will accept graduates of our JD program into their totally online LLM program in International Taxation.

 

Nick,

Although I live in New Jersey, I plan to eventually take the New York bar exam. Can combining California school with St. Thomas Law LLM be acceptable for taking that exam?

I have found this site very helpful in answering all the Bar questions I had-

http://www.geocities.com/baradmission/home.html

Good luck.

 

I will be interested to see what the rest of the forum has to say about your excellent questions.

The St. Thomas LL.M. might, or might not, be acceptable in some states whether your JD is a Bar degree or not. In those states that do allow LL.M. holders to take the Bar, however, the St. Thomas degree may not qualify. These states require specific classes; the St. Thomas degree is a tax degree and therefore not sufficient for them.

If it is your firm intention to go the LL.M. "parlay" route with a non Bar JD (see Bears' Guide), give serious thought to taking the University of London LL.B. instead of a non Bar JD. I don't see much use in getting a non Bar JD in the first place and the London degree has a world wide reputation. It should get you into a resident LL.M. program for foreign law gradutes at a number of ABA schools.

A year in residence will expose you to classes designed to prepare you for Bar admission and practice in those states that will allow LL.M. holders to take the Bar. There are MANY of these programs.

As always, CHECK FIRST!

I hope someone more knowlegeable than I am will comment on the tax treatment of Taft's tuition and fees as an accredited (and therefore qualifying) institution as opposed to NWCalU.

If you look on Jonnie's D/L pages, you will find a link to a California lawyer who completed the Taft program and is now in practice.

Good luck!

 

This link provides some information regarding NY Bar admission and distance learning degrees. I caution you that the info is about 3--4 years old, so you should recheck. However, it does not look promising. In fact, it appears unlikely that even a DL first law degree combined with a residential ABA LLM would do the trick.

http://www.malet.com/bar_admissions1.htm

 

Thank you for the replies thus far. I do hope that I can silicate some more opinions and suggestions from this vast educated form. Although I have some idea of what to expect I always respect the opinions and suggestions of others prior to taking the plunge. Any and all help is appreciated.