Concord Law School eJD - ??

I've been looking at Concord Law school's eJD program (executive JD program) and thank all of you for the good general comments about passing the bar, etc.
Assuming that I had some good reason to ignore those comments and pursue their eJD, I had some concerns about Concord based on the two conversations I had with their admissions counselor:
1. they wouldn't give me the names of anyone in the program, or an alumni. This is strange. I got my mba, online, from UoPhx, and they have an alumni network you can chat with.
2. they wanted a sizeable nonrefundable deposit, and kept using the phrase "then X will happen, and you'll move to the next stage." When I hear things like that, I think scam - that's the process people use to get your committment to a bad idea: get a big chunk of money up front, have you go through fake hoops, etc.
All that being said, the program seemed fine, the school seemed real, etc.

 

article on concord graduates

see here:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/920131.asp?0cv=TA00

 

I am currently a Concord student....I understand your fears given the number of scams that are out there, but once you give your down payment, and classes begin, you are given access to the professor and alumni...

I do not understand why it is that way....I never questioned it being that they seem to be a trustworthy Kaplan institution.

If you are interested, go for it. I'm not disappointed. I am doing the JD, and I have no reservations about it. I have a good solid technical degree, so I know it will not impair my ability to try cases. (even for a major firm) You may see my other post in the Accredited vs Unaccredited discussion forum.

HTH,

itshark

 

How much work, daily, is the JD?

 

You need to allot about 2.5 hours daily for studying for the JD.

 

You'd need to commit to 2.5 hours of work for the JD a day.

 

I STRONGLY recommend that you consider a Bar qualifying JD program. Learning the law is an awful lot of work. I can't imagine getting to the end of it and not being able to engage in the profession that my "professional" doctorate program was designed to prepare me for.

 

Nah, go for it. If you are doing it to enhance your other degrees, and only plan on practicing in CA anyways.

Although, I graduated from an ABA law school, I have a good friend who is doing the Concord program, and she is very happy with it. She is in Colorado, but is thinking about taking the CA bar so that she is a licensed attorney, but is using it to further her in the insurance world in another state. She is a liability adjuster right now.

Have you looked at Oak Brook College of Law? It appears to have the highest bar passing rate right now. Although, I think Concord will start showing the effect of Kaplan owning them

It's funny in law school, if you go the traditional route and take 3 years full time, most student take the Kaplan crash course to pass the bar. Kaplan does a good job in the legal arena.

 

Concord Law School/Florida

I too am interested in the exective JD Program at Concord Law School. I live in Florida and I am interested in becoming a Legislative Analyst. Initially I thought the only way I could achieve my goal was to go to law school here in Florida but I am having difficulty passing the LSAT although I am completing Barry University with a 3.7 grade point average this month. I dont seem to be able to get scores higher than 135.

Another issue I have is that I really do not relish the idea of attending a traditional college or university. I am a wife and I do have young children and the demands of a growing business to attend too. I am able to dedicate and be committed to obtaining a vigorous advanced degree through online delivery. The only reservation I have though, is after I complete the eJD program, I really would like to be able to qualify to get into a state/regionally accredited Ph.D/doctorate program. I am not sure if graduating with an eJD degree from Concord Law School will afford me the ability to do that. I am interested in knowing what other members of this forum think.

Kind regards,
Shannon

 

From what I've seen, Concord offers just about the best DL format out there. Students receive a ton of feedback and instruction. (actually, much more feedback than a traditional law student who typically only receives feedback by receiving a grade at the very end). The video lectures are given by heavy-hitters like Arthur Miller. The down-side is that someone can't coast by like in a lot of DL programs; it's structured like a real university.

I'd say go for the regular JD vs the eJD to keep your options open. Does the eJD have significantly less requirements?

 

A lot of DL programs are not structured like a "real university?" What is a "real university" and what DL programs can one "coast by" in?

 

The eJD takes three years to complete and the JD takes four.

 

Thanks for the great comments. I'm not concerned about them being scammy - I must have just had a bad advisor.
The eJD program would meet my needs, as I can't go to a brick-and-mortar JD program, and it has more flexibility. All things being equal, I'd get a brick-and-mortar JD/PhD combination, but all things aren't equal (I have to keep my current job and do a lot of work for that) ;-)
I'm glad the quality of distance learning continues to improve. I got my MBA from UoPhx and was very satisfied.

 

I have repeatedly beaten this particular horse but perhaps it isn't yet entirely dead...one reason, I believe, for pursuing the Bar program (if you must resort to a non ABA program) is that membership in a state bar, ANY state bar, should go far to bolster the credibility of your unaccredited degree.

Also, philosophically, I just don't understand the concept of the non Bar JD. The JD is a "professional doctorate", designed to prepare the student to engage in the practice of law. It seems to me that a JD that doesn't qualify the holder to take a Bar exam somewhere is no JD at all.

Keep in mind, folks, that the JD is NOT the academic equivalent of a PhD, nor even close.

 

Thank you for your comments, nosborne48. Maybe if I added some context, this would help.
I've been working as an IT manager for a County Attorney (think Law and Order). Prior to this, I was always interested in the IT part of my work, and the overall business process stuff, but not the "product" (e.g., I didn't really have a passion for how Hewlett Packard made printers).
However, I love criminal law! I'm actually passionate about the subject, though I don't necessarily have a driving interest to practice it. I'm also very interested in organizational behavior, technology, process, and how this all interrelates.
My constraint is: (1) I don't have 3 hours a day to devote to a degree (but I do have regular chunks of time); (2) I can't practically get a brick and mortar degree.
I don't necessarily want to "do" anything with the degree, though being able to teach or at least show "look, I'm not completly unschooled in the law, but I'm not a lawyer".
There are some nice DBA/PHD business programs out there, but I wouldn't get any legal schooling. If I was a full time student, this wouldn't be an issue. Most PHD programs I've seen are pretty flexible if you want to take courses outside your discipline (or in addition to), or grab a masters along the way.

 

I would respectfully like to put in my two cents regarding the eJD degree.

The eJD is a degree that I would stay away from, it is NOT worth the money and has little if any value for the following reasons:

1. A JD degree qualifies you either to practice law (if you sit for the bar) or teach (all law schools and many colleges use those with a JD as opposed to a Phd to teach law classes). An eJD does not qualify one for ANY of those options.
NO, I repeat, NO law school will accept an eJD.

2. You can NOT sit for the bar in ANY state with an eJD.

It appears the purpose of the degree is giving somebody the ability to say "I have law degree" without infact having a "law degree" as it commonly understood today.
Keep in mind that giving any type of legal advice without a license is a crime in all states.
This CANNOT occur unless you either graduate from an ABA/AALS law school with a JD or sit for the bar in CA (with a non-accredited JD NOT an eJD), pass and practice their for 5 years, and hope that your state allows a waiver into their bar (which many, many states do not).

If you want law related knowledge, why not take specific courses that relate to your desired area of interest? Paying for an eJD is a very expensive 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper.

 

I undersand your interest in the criminal law. I am, as I said, working on the U of London LL.M in crim law and criminology and I have spent the majority of my professional life in the criminal law.

Now, some points:

-A JD from an ABA school requires no more than 6 semester hours in the criminal law. For my degree, I took 9. That's all there was. Nine hours; approximately 10% of my three years was criminal. All the rest was torts, civil procedure, property, contracts, corporations, wills and estates, taxation, ethics, research and writing...you get the idea. True, some of the other general classes, like evidence and writing apply to all areas of practice but they aren't particularly enlightening as regards crime and criminals.

-There are GOOD R/A Master of Criminal Justice programs available on line at very reasonable cost.

-A JD is not particularly useful except to teach or practice law. It seems to me that a non Bar qualifying JD is useless for either endeavor.

-An unaccredited JD coupled with Bar admission has been in the past sufficient to teach law, to hold various public offices, and to seek graduate legal education.

-If you really want to study law for its own sake, don't care about the Bar, and want a well respected credential, think about the University of London Bachelor of Law external degree. Very cheap, world renowned University, qualifying in England and a few other common law countries, acceptable undergrad prep for an American Master of Laws...

(note that a "qualifying" law degree in England means "qualified to undertake two or three years of professional training to become a barrister or solicitor", not "qualified to practice" as it means here.)

 

That would actually be better. However, I'm looking for something that includes some of the law, and not just administration and why people commit crimes.
The PhD program from Nortcentral looks GREAT, but the criminal justice stuff is all administration, no actual law. A lot of the most interesting stuff that happens here is driven by law, statute, etc., which then impacts processes and activities.

 

I join Nosborne in strongly urging you to go for the bar qualifying JD. If you pass the Baby Bar, and complete the course, you have the option of sitting for the General Bar Exam. If you choose not to, you do not have to.

However, if you go for an eJD, and later decide you want to take the bar exam, you're out of luck. You will receive no credit for doing much of the same work.

To me, an unaccredited, non-bar qualifying JD has little or no utility.

Christopher

 

I disagree. It all depends upon the individual. If you know you will never sit down for the bar, and want a JD to give you a professional up, and knowledge of law and business it might be okay. BUT......I do agree that at the very least a CA qualifying law school would probably be best. So that you can have that option, and be able to inform employers and such, that you could possibly sit down for the CA bar.

Although, I am licensed to practice law in 2 states, I use my degree more like a MBA. Meaning I work in the corporate area where I do not do litigation in the courtroom anymore, but work more in an advisory role. My JD has helped me get ahead in the nursing field, marketing, business areas as an advanced degree that reveals knowledge in business and law, which is so helpful in so many fields. However, if you want to teach, I think you need a JD and a license to practice law. I was an adjunct for 8 years at the state university, and it was very important to them that I was a practicing attorney teaching business law.