ABA Business Law without JD/LLM matriculation

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by SweetSecret, Mar 23, 2021.

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  1. SweetSecret

    SweetSecret Well-Known Member

    I am currently pursuing an MBA degree with plans to go into a JD program after. I realize I need to take a business law course, and I can take that somewhere else to transfer back into my MBA program. I want to take the business law course at an ABA accredited law school. My hope is for the course to count towards both the MBA and the JD because I really hate taking the same class numerous times. I have taken Marketing one too many times to count through no fault of my own, and do not want to repeat the experience. However, I seem to have run into a few challenges:

    1) I have not found an ABA law school willing to let me take a course without being enrolled as a JD or LLM student. Theoretically, I could push my MBA graduation off until after I enroll in a JD program, but I would prefer not to. I would like to take a few months off after the MBA and put it to use. Does anyone know an ABA accredited school that allows people to take classes without being matriculated? If not, I may go straight to the ABA to ask them.

    2) While the idea of running off and doing law school in Puerto Rico or some other island is appealing, another side of me thinks maybe I should keep all my options open and not take courses anywhere that might make me ineligible for honor societies such as the Order of the Coif. Not that I need that, or that it would even mean anything after graduation. I am typically not a competitive person, but I have found myself in a very particular situation where the competitive side is coming out. This brings me to my second question. Does anyone know of any schools with legal honor societies where transfer courses would not make the person ineligible for the honor society?

    I fully realize I will be lucky to find just one of these two things but figured I should ask and see what information I can gain.

    Thanks!
     
  2. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    I think the best way is to ask the ABA or the law school that you are targeting to attend. Law school credential is a little tricky because pretty much they have their own acceptance rules. Even you can take the course without JD program matriculation, but what if they won't accept earned credits without being admitted to the program?
     
  3. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    The only way I've seen this work is if the student is currently enrolled in both programs at the same University. I've never heard of any law school allowing students to register for just one class and the reason, I suppose, is that the ABA places a strict time limit for the completion of the J.D. degree. If you could accumulate credits here and there over time, that rule would be defeated. As a practical matter, too, I'm not sure what law school class would equate to "business law" for an MBA candidate. There is no such catch all course. Contracts I and II, Torts, Administrative Law, Property Law, Partnerships and Corporations and many more are all substantive "business law" classes and most J.D. candidates take most of them.
     
  4. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Also, I think doing law school in Puerto Rico (or at the University of Hawai'i) sounds like a GREAT idea!;)
     
  5. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    It's a clever idea but I don't think it will work. As noted earlier, the only possible exception would be if you targeted the law school you hope to attend.

    Beyond that, I would think this would take your application from being a new JD entrant to being a transfer student. Which means that your resume, instead of getting stacked up against other people who were never law students, will be stacked up against people who have maybe a full year of law school under their belts. It feels like a lot of work, and potentially risk, just hoping to transfer a single class.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  6. SweetSecret

    SweetSecret Well-Known Member

    That is what my next move was going to be if I did not get a solid answer.

    That's exactly the sort of this I was worried about. I am optimistically hoping to find somewhere that has a loophole I can take advantage of.
     
  7. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Sounds like law school is the right move for you.

    Anecdotally, when I spoke to folks at Syracuse both during my initial consideration of going to law school there and again after they introduced their hybrid program there was a sense that law school transfers were kind of funny. They said that some, not necessarily them, law schools really limited transfers from other law schools in terms of which specific courses were transferred because there can be a fear of someone coming in the mindset of another school and failing to adapt to their way of doing things. I have no idea if this is a real thing, if this is a serious consideration to keep in mind etc. It, on paper, sounds like it makes sense. But a lot of thing seem to make sense to outsiders with little context.

    I'll just say that I spent the better part of my 20's trying to find loopholes around things. What ended up happening was I spun myself around in circles. Sometimes loopholes are good to seek out and exploit. Other times the straight forward path is the most sensible and direct way forward. You know what your tolerance for ROI is better than I do. Just a thought.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  8. sideman

    sideman Well Known Member

    You're well on your way to becoming a great lawyer.
     
    Dustin and Maniac Craniac like this.
  9. I tossed around the thought of doing an MBA for about 10 years. Every school I applied didn't give me credit for Business Law. Granted, a lot of that depends on the course description. In law school we learned a lot about corporate formation. LLCs, PC, LLP, etc...and the legal protections that they give. The corporate structure. A much much much more detailed version of business law. Most MBA also require an ethics component to it as well. A lot of law schools teach that in totally separate class and in a different context. Large in part because it's something that we're tested on in conjunction with the bar. I don't know of any ABA accredited law school that will allow you to take a class without being enrolled in a JD program. It doesn't hurt to ask though. Things are changing. Honestly, you're probably better off with just taking the class. Yes, there may be a loophole. What's the opportunity cost? You'll probably spend more time calling around and trying to work the loophole than you would on the actual class.
     
    Dustin and sideman like this.

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