Distance Law School

Hello,
I am planning to start Law school in a few months. After quite a bit of research and reading many discussions here I decided to attend Northwestern California University. However a new school has come to my attention, Laurel University. They're new. Does anyone have any info on the school? Or what about St. something eUniversity???

Thanks,
Kristi

 

Good for you!

But remember that, in order to satisfy the California Bar Association, you must actually log 864 hours of study time per year for four consecutive years. That's two and one-half hours per day, seven days a week. So be warned! This is truly "doing it the hard way".

You should also keep in mind that only a few D/L students even GET to the Bar exam.

Also remember that the only state that will allow you to take the Bar exam based on a brand new D/L law degree is California. After a few years of active practice, perhaps two dozen other states and territories will allow you to apply but there are no guarantees.

Okay.

Neither St. Francis eU nor Laurel has much of a track record yet. I think Laurel used to be somebody else but I don't recall.

You can look up Bar and Baby Bar exam pass rates by school at www.calbar.ca.gov but you probably already knew that. NWCUlaw is one of the more prominent and successful schools at making new lawyers, along with Taft University, Concord Law Center, and Oak Brook. Really, any one of these schools will give you what you need to succeed.

 

Doesn't Nova Southeastern University www.nova.edu have a JD program? Do you know anything about it, nosborne?

 

Oh, I see that you are new here, so you might not have known this, but it is traditional to post weblinks to specific schools asked about; accordingly, I have inserted them in my quote of your post hereinabove.

 

Nova

Nova offers a resident J.D. through full time day and part time evening programs. Nova does not offer the degree via D/L.

 

Thanks for all the information. I still think online Law is my only option.
I took my Liberal Studies degree from Cal State and revamped it in to a History Degree through Excelsior with the addition of several history specific exams and classes from clep to dantes to other university transferable classes. Now I want to pursue Law school, but as an older student and a full time mom the option of a B and M school just isn't there. I have to agree, online studies may not be the easiest way to get an education but may be my only option.

Thanks,
Kristi

 

Oh, sorry! I had mentioned Nova, which does have a lot of distance options, and does have a JD program, but nosborne was just replying to me that Nova's JD (unlike its other programs) was only by night school or by day school but not by distance. Sorry. Good luck in law school from a fellow history major!

 

Kristi, what do you hope to do with the JD? This influences which school you choose.

 

Re: Good for you!

Laurel mentions Dr. Agajanian as "our video lecturer"; it may be that there is some link with the British American Law School www.british-american.edu .

 

Law school

That is an interesting connection.
Laurel University does point out in several areas of their web page that they offer CD ROM lectures as part of their tuition package. If I remember correctly British-American also offers a CD-ROM package. I also remember that British-American did not have a very good bar record.
I also looked into Oakbrook but they require a week long retreat prior to attending Law school and they do not have one scheduled in California this year, also I would have to wait until August to begin school.

The reason I am interested in Law school is I have a passion for history. I am very interested historical documents, especially the Constitution and like the idea of studying Constitutional Law.
The only other avenue I have looked into is a Masters in History or Political Science from American Public University. http://www.apus.edu/
It just seems that a law degree would be a better choice. Although not an easier or quicker choice.
Kristi

 

Re: Law school

According to Bears' Guide, 15th edition, page 245, from July 2000 to February 2002, British American had 2 of 5 Bar exam takers (40%) pass, not a bad pass rate compared to other California correspondence law schools. On the other hand, I'm not sure how they've done lately. The other problem with Bar exam pass rates for correspondence law schools is that the number of students at some of these schools is so small that you've got to wonder how statistically significant the results are. On the MA in History or MA in Political Science or JD issue, why not find a way to stay in graduate school all your life and do all three?

 

Law School

OUCH!

I would like to be done with school and have a workable degree before my children are finished with High School. ( they are kindergarten and 5th grade) After all, I'll need to working by then to help them pay for college, since I'm not going to encourage them to get an online degree.

Kristi

 

Re: Law School

I was just joking around with you! It's always been a fantasy of mine to just go get one grad degree after another!

 

Re: Re: Law school

An even bigger problem is the fact that most California correspondence law students never even make it as far as the General Bar exam. They drop out, or fail the First Year Law Students Exam (FYLSX), a preliminary screening exam required of students at unaccredited schools. More correspondence students are disqualified by the FYLSX than by the General Bar, so it's quite misleading to look at Bar pass rates alone.

The exam statistics at www.calbar.org indicate that some 500-1000 correspondence law students take the FYLSX every year, and thereby enter the bar exam "pipeline". The statistics also indicate that some 50-100 correspondence law students pass the General Bar exam every year, thereby exiting the "pipeline" as fully qualified attorneys. These numbers imply that the overall attrition rate for correspondence law students is somewhere around ~ 90%.

If you enroll in an ABA-accredited law school, odds are that you will eventually qualify as an attorney. If you enroll in a correspondence law school, it is possible to achieve the same result, but the odds are heavily against you.

 

Re: Re: Re: Law school

Wonder why. Is it because the quality of instruction is not as good? Or because the quality of the students is not as good?

 

British-American closed and left many students and graduates without transcripts. Ten years from now, Lauren might be the greatest correspondence law school in world.

But why on earth would you invest in a new program. Northwestern California is not a bad alternative but it concerns me that they have not sought accreditation.

Have you looked at Concord and/or Taft? Both are DETC accredited.

 

You may also want to look at the University of London external LLB program.

http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/prospective_students/undergraduate/panel/law/index.shtml

You won't be able to practice law stateside with it, but that doesn't sound like what you want to do anyway.

Best wishes.

 

I would gently advise AGAINST the University of London LL.B. www.londonexternal.ac.uk program for kristibc for two reasons:

1) Her interest is specifically in constitutional law and history. Although English law students certainly study constitutional law, they learn nothing whatever about the American constitution. The two have virtually nothing in common.

2) She is apparently a Californian and looking for something to do once her children are in school. Being able to practice might end up as a great asset.

It IS possible to become a California lawyer with the London LL.B. but it will probably require two semesters in a resident LL.M. program offered by an ABA approved law school. Look here:

www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?cid=10115&id=1013

 

It isn't easy!

Kristi--

DL law school is an arduous undertaking. I know--I did and, and am now admitted to practice law in California.

I'm a BAU grad, and enjoyed the program. Be certain that you have the time and self-discipline before making this commitment. You CAN do it, but it won't be easy. Be aware of the practice limitations associated with a non-ABA JD.

Of the 30 something BAU students who attended a live review for the FYSLX (Baby Bar), I know of 5 who became attorneys: 3 in California, one in AZ, and one in DC. The AZ lawyer completed a B & M LL.M. after BAU, and the DC attorney also completed the requiements to sit for DC at another school.

See this thread for more info on BAU and Laurel.

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21899&highlight=BritishAmerican

I will repeat the aqdvice I have given in the past: If your goal is to practice law, I strongly recommend an ABA approved program. Why? The ability to be licensed in almost any jurisdiction. There are part time classes available at many ABA schools. Check out your state university, and see if they have such a program. It may be significantly less expensive than private schools.

The DL courses are very affordable. Yet the llimitations are significant.

If your goal is to establish a private practice in CA, DL is a great bargain.

Best wishes,

Christopher

 

kristi,

Listen to cbkent. He really KNOWS whereof he speaks.

I can only tell you that MY D/L law studies are very hard for me because there isn't the kind of student to student and student to teacher interaction that I found so valuable in law school.

You know, you might consider setting the FYLEX as as your initial goal and committing only to one year of study. If you pass the FYLEX after a year of correspondence work, you might be able to transfer it into a CalBar accredited evening program. So even if D/L doesn't work for you, the effort and expense won't be wasted. Just a thought.

cbkent,

So c'mon! Give us some gossip! Have you decided what to do, yet? We're all sitting here with bait on our breath!