Law School

Hi Everyone,
I was a senior Member here but haven't been on for a few months and my password didnt work so I needed to
join again . A friend of mine wants to start an online Law School she is a practicing Lawyer in the LA area any sugestions?

 

Why not go through this forum's normal "lost password" process? Just a thought.

Tell her to start by copying absolutely every single thing and aspect (except for the generally wacky behavior of the javascript menu, as well as the script that opens the browser window to full screen on the front page of the web site) of Northwestern California University School of Law...

...only tell her to also get DETC accreditation.

But seriously... she should begin by consulting Section 94310 of the California Educational Code to get a feeling for what the law says about what will be required of her to become authorized to grant degrees.

Then have her inquire of the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (which is the body that will authorize her to grant degrees within the state) and explain what she wants to do. They'll help her from there with that part of it.

She will also need to get approved by the California Committee of Bar Examiners to grant a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree that the Committee will accept as requisite to sit for the Bar exam. I suggest she begin by calling the Committee's Gayle Murphy at (415) 538-2322 and she will steer your friend to the person(s) with whom she would need to chat.

Bear in mind that if her school is not accredited by the American Bar Association (which it cannot possibly be because the ABA does not approve of distance learning J.D. degrees, it will be looked-down upon by a great many people in the legal community -- especially those outside of California, but also by a great many within it -- and may be considered little more than a Bar Exam preparatory school (as opposed to a true, full-blown, bona-fide law school). Of course, those who truly understand distance learning law schools in California -- especially the good ones -- know that that is not true, but your friend should be prepared for it.

Finally, before doing any of the above, your friend should become familiar with the whole distance-learning law school thing, generally, by consulting Jonnie's Distance Learning Page: Law.

Of course, if she's a lawyer -- one presumed to be trained, generally, in the subtleties of how to figure out the requirements of law in order to do a certain thing -- it surprises me a bit that either she or you would need to make such an inquiry of this august body as you have made. That she would need to get approved by the state, somehow, to grant degrees; and that she would also need to get approved by the Bar to issue a Bar-acceptable J.D. degree -- just for starters -- seems like something a practicing lawyer like her should have been able to intuit. Perhaps either you or she should stop for a moment and think about what kind of basic research skills and essential resourcefulness she would be able to inspire in her students if she, herself, does not already possess such attributes.

 

There's a bunch of them already.

 

Well Sue is trained as am I somewhat but I wanted to hear from others who been through it before and always appreciate the feedback from this forum also considering starting the Dr John Bear Fan Club its great to be back on and will work hard at putting in my 2 cents worth so I can get back to my senior status

 

When Roger Agajanian decided to start British American Law School, he did a lot of talking to people who had already done it, and got a lot of feedback that suggested Sacramento was not moving at a brisk speed. So he camped out in Sacramento and was sitting in waiting rooms at opening time every morning. This on several occasions. And he got his state approval in something like 3 months.

Another thought: it has been suggested here, in recent weeks, that Saratoga University has dropped off the radar. Perhaps there is still an opportunity to buy something that already has approval and, presumably, course materials.

 

I have two questions:

1. Why does your friend want to start a law school? I think that the most credible non-accredited schools have a clear purpose, an obvious reason for being.

2. Does starting a law school require a background in legal education? Is it even something that a single individual can realistically pull off?

 

You know, a way to avoid this problem might be to offer a degree at the doctoral level that is not labelled "J.D." or "LL.B." Maybe a "Doctor of Professional Studies in Law" or something like that.

I don't think you should offer an LL.M. or J.S.D. because these degrees are for people who either have a first degree in law or are attorneys. I get the impression your target market is broader than that.

Since there is no desire to produce Bar qualified graduates, there's no need to confer Bar-type degrees, is there?

 

DL JD - Is the equilavent to a Doctorate?

Just what is the JD degree? Is it the equivalent to a PhD? Or is it more like an MBA? Can an attorney be techically addressed as a Dr. much like a Phd holder?

Also, I understand only California allows a person to be admitted to the CalBar through Distance Learning. Other than Wisconsin, what are the other states than would allow the person admitted to CalBar to take their Bar exam? How about Federal law? E.g. Immigration Law, etc.? Can this person practice this inside or outside of California?


James

 

Re: DL JD - Is the equilavent to a Doctorate?

It's a "first professional" degree, more like an OD or MD than a PhD.

Can a Juris Doctor use the address "Doctor"? Technically, I suppose, but I don't think I've EVER seen it.

Being admitted to other state bars with a distance California JD has been well covered elsewhere. As far as practicing in a Federal court, I believe once you are admitted to any state bar, you are eliglble to practice in any Federal court.

 

James,

a cursory look at www.usajobs.opm.gov keyword "attorney" netted some interesting results. DOD positions seem to require ABA school degrees, other agencies and positions varied. Some even specified that you must be a practicing member of a state or territory. So perhaps a DL Law degree would work. A caveat would be that the degree must come from an accredited school. So at least in theory a DL DETC or better accredited degree would work. There were some positions that only required a successful moot court.

 

It's been... what... almost a month since John posted the above... anyone know what Saratoga's current status is?

 

I stumbled across this discussion:

http://counsel.net/chatboards/lawstudents/topic1086/7.16.04.11.40.54.html

Makes you wish they were using vBulletin (kind of hard to follow).

 

Kind of hard to follow? Kind of hard to stomach, you mean! [grin]

Man! I thought this forum had its share of knuckleheads. And to think that some of those guys over there either are or soon will be admitted to the California Bar! Yikes!

It boggles the mind... and it should be a lesson to anyone who is afraid to go into law in California because of the glut of attorneys and so much unemployment among them. If most of the postings in that forum are any indication of the reasoning power, resourcefulness, literacy or just plain intelligence of typical newly-admitted members of California's Bar, then getting work for someone who becomes an attorney in California and who actually has a brain should be like shooting fish in a barrel.

Sheesh!

And, yes, their forum is kind of hard to follow... which also boggles the mind. There's no excuse for any web site using such dysfunctional, difficult-to-use forum software. Any web site owner who can't or won't pay for a copy of vBulletin, and who wants FREE forum software that's easily on-par with it, can download and install PhpBB instead and, trust me, he/she will be deliriously happy with it.

 

Calbar just put the results of a RAND study on their web site; California is no longer over-lawyered.

'Course, they are REALLY saying that CA no longer has radically more lawyers per capita than the rest of the country, so maybe the whole country is overlawyered?

 

Re: Re: DL JD - Is the equilavent to a Doctorate?

If I recall correctly, the president of a DETC approved law school previously used the "Dr." title.

 

Re: Re: Re: DL JD - Is the equilavent to a Doctorate?

Was the JD his highest degree? Or did he also have an SJD, PhD, or other proper doctorate?

If I were shopping around for a personal attorney, I think one of the disqualifying factors would be use of the "Dr." title.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: DL JD - Is the equilavent to a Doctorate?

The highest degree listed is the JD.

 

Heck, when I graduated from UNM Law, the President of the University was called "Doctor" but HIS highest degree was his LL.B.!