Is British-American School of Law back?

This is a confusing issue. The ABA at one time actually issued formal opinions against JDs using the title of "Doctor", and I understand that this usage is specifically banned by some state bar associations. So it is not general.

Arguments against:

(1) The first professional law degree was traditionally known as the LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) in the US; the J.D. is simply a re-branded LL.B. In fact, there are still older attorneys who hold LL.B. degrees, rather than J.D. degrees; for professional purposes both two degrees are considered equivalent. It seems rather misleading for some attorneys to claim the title of "Doctor" based upon the wording of their degrees, when other equally qualified attorneys hold degrees that happen to lack this wording.

(2) In other English-speaking countries, like Canada or the UK, the first professional law degree is still the LL.B. Again, the foreign LL.B. represents an equivalent level of study (in fact, it is possible to enroll in a joint LL.B/J.D. degree program in the Detroit/Windsor area). So again, some attorneys hold degrees that happen to include the word "Doctor," but other comparably qualified attorneys do not.

(3) In all other academic disciplines, the title "Doctor" refers to the highest level of academic study. The previous post noted that there can be professional titles like "board-certified," which represent a higher level of achievement than the doctoral degree. But professional titles like that those don't count in this respect, because they are not academic titles -- they are conferred by professional organizations or state licensing boards.

No university confers titles higher than the doctorate -- except in the field of law, where the Master of Laws (LL.M.) is a higher degree than the Juris Doctorate (J.D.).

In fairness, I can understand why the legal profession wanted to rebrand the LL.B., because it did evolve from an undergraduate degree to a graduate degree. But in terms of plain, simple, common sense, the LL.B. should have been rebranded as a master's degree, and the LL.M should have been rebranded as a doctoral degree. Now American law schools are the only place in the English-speaking world where the master's degree is higher than the doctoral degree, and obviously this is confusing.

 

I think it's confusing to clients to call practicing attorneys Dr. Don't know any practicing attorneys who do.

Besides sounding pompous, I generally work with them on a first name basis, especially in family law cases, makes them and opposing parties more comfortable with me.

I also have a bad taste in my mouth for "Doctor" and attorneys. All of the so-called professors at BAU insisted on that title, but none had passed the california bar as I recall (except for Roger and he was relegated to a back-burner role by his ex-wife around 2002).

I believe the proper term for a licensed attorney in most jurisdictions is Esquire. I believe that it is illegal to use that term in California if you are not a licensed attorney.

The California Bar is also correcting a serious flaw in the JD. If a school offers one, they have to have the capacity of assisting a student in passing the bar.

I think someone posting that he decided not to take the bar more than once and then calls himself "professor emeritus" at a school that is allegedly trying to give out bar-qualified degrees is a copout. Truth is, AFAIK no one who got a "JD" from BAU ever passed the bar exam in less than 3 attempts. Truth is, there are DL students with the license practicing federal law (patent, immigration etc) in other states.

And kudos to the four students who did pass in the 10 years the school existed! You had to pretty much do this on your own!