Maybe I AM a "Concord Hater"!

Am I getting too nit picky here?

I have elsewhere posted my misgivings about Concord's recruitment we site representations but I noticed something else just now.

Under "Institutional Approval", Concord accurately states that it is DETC accredited and licensed by BPPVE to offer J.D. degrees. It also states correctly that under California law Concord Bar graduates are eligible to take the California Bar Exam and that Concord students must pass the FYLEX after their first year of study.

It points out that neither the ABA nor CalBar accredits correspondence programs but that DETC is a DOE recognized national accrediting agency.

Everything correct and detailed.

EXCEPT.

Except that NOWHERE that I could find does Concord STATE in plain language that a J.D. from Concord might not qualify the student to take the Bar in a State other than California. Nowhere. Neither as far as I coiuld see does the Concord web site anywhere suggest that a potential student contact the Bar of any state where he might wish to practice to see if and under what circumstances the Concord degree might qualify.

CalBar considers this disclosure so important that it is REQUIRED of CalBar accredited schools.

Taft, the other DETC law school, devotes a significant number of FAQ entries to this very subject.

AM I a Concord hater? Or is this all of a piece?

 

Hate Concord? We all hate Massachusetts.

But there's also Concord Law School which states:

Offhand, I see nothing wrong with that.

 

Where did you find that? I agree that it is MUCH better than the statements I found. It STILL doesn't come out and SAY, as a CalBar school must, that "study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify" for Bar admission in other states, as CalBar accredited schools are required to do.

It still seems to me to at least IMPLY that SOME states may require an LL.M. or California law practice experience to allow the Concord grad to take their Bar exam, the CLEAR implication being that many state do NOT require these additional things.

But the truth is, a little more than half of the states will not allow Concord grads to take their Bar under ANY circumstances, regardless of experience or additional education (other than a second J.D., of course).

Nope. I STILL think it is misleading. Carefully crafted, to be sure, but misleading. A lawyer who skated this close in professional advertising would be risking professional disciplinary action, I think.

But as I said, it IS much better than what I was able to find.

 

That's here.

When I read your post I thought of B&M law schools and that they likely do not advertise that they prepare for the state they are in. Given that Concord is national, maybe they should give more of a disclaimer.

 

Thanks.

Well, I cannot say that anything Concord says is actually FALSE and "misleading is in the eye of the beholder" (or a jury) so I guess I will return to disgruntled silence.

Still.

When taken together with the other eyebrow raising issues I have with this school, I really think I'd recommend making careful comparasons with other California D/L law schools before signing up with Concord.

Actually, all CalBar accredited non ABA schools DO say that their degrees might not be accepted outside California.

All ABA schools' degrees DO qualify the student to take the Bar in every state.

 

I didn't know that. Is Louisiana an exception?

 

No, Louisiana is not an exception. Seems odd, doesn't it? But a J.D. from LSU will qualify the student in all fifty-one states (Including D.C.) and a J.D. from any ABA school, including the University of Puerto Rico, will qualify the student for the Louisiana Bar.

PASSING is another matter...

You know, though, my statement isn't QUITE accurate when it comes to states like Kansas that require a bachelor's degree before commencing law study. Kansas might be perfectly happy with a J.D. from, say, Costly University School of Law in Salliemae, Virginia but if you got into Costly U. with the ABA minimum of ninety semester hours of pre legal education in lieu of a B.A., Kansas might not let you take their Bar, ABA J.D. or no ABA J.D.

As a practical matter, only a tiny, tiny sprinkling of students at ABA law schools don't have a completed B.A., but such people DO exist. I know of one, myself! (Perfectly good lawyer, too.)

 

I never knew that. Interesting, I always thought that having a bachelor's was an ironclad requirement for admission to every law school, irregardless of ABA minimums.

This might sound obsequious, but I've learned a lot reading your posts, Nosborne, where do you come up with all these arcane facts?

 

I make most of it up!

After all, who checks?

No, I get interested in things and dig around. Usually when I should be doing something else, like studying jurisprudence. I am SO far behind. (Sigh)

I got interested in legal education when I was in law school. It was then that I began to realize that I could never be a law professor.

 

Here's an example

Whittier Law School (ABA-accredited since 1978) offers info for "Applicants Who Do Not Have A Bachelor’s Degree" at their admissions information page, located at http://www.law.whittier.edu/pros_student/admissions.asp

The pathway does exist at some ABA schools, but it is rarely used, as noted above. Even at Whittier: "This category is reserved for exceptional cases...Admission under this category is strictly limited to a few, if any, applicants each academic year."