Is this the first ABA accredited online JD program?

Ok, ok. You win. NY's standards are higher than just ABA approval. It also excludes graduates of JD programs that don't exist and grads of programs that were not ABA approved during the student's entire course of study. So, we're back to ABA approval, but that's just in a practical sense, which we all know is unacceptable when hyper-technicality is available. Are you sure you're not a lawyer already?

In all seriousness, please have a nice weekend.

 

The funny thing is, for all of those caveats, you CAN still be admitted to the bar after graduating from a non-ABA approved law school. The conditions are just a bit, New Yorky...

You too. I had fun discussing this with you.

 

Nope. Just an argumentative jerk.

 

You originally stated that "not all part-time programs" are bar qualifying, but the weekend program you mentioned no longer exists, so are there any other part-time ABA JD programs that don't allow you to take the bar exam in their respective states?

520.3 says:
§ 520.3 Study of Law in Law School (effective December 10, 2014)
(b) Approved law school defined. For purposes of these rules, an approved law school is one:
(1) that is approved by the American Bar Association at all times during the period of the applicant’s attendance; and
(2) that is located in the United States or its territories.

I imagine if you completed an ABA JD and then went to do something atrocious, the NY bar would like to have power and discretion to control these types of situations. Similar to how the Illinois Bar Committee denied Matt Hale's license to practice law because of his white supremacist views. But this is a non-issue for what we are really discussing. So, no there are no ABA part-time JD programs that would stop you from taking the bar exam.

 

Weekend JD programs continue at Hamline and Cooley, both ABA and, to my understanding, both typically bar-qualifying. (Will the former weekend program survive Hamline's merger with William Mitchell? I could see that going either way; it could realistically be strengthened.)

 

The failure of the individual you mention came at the admission stage of the licensing process. Generally, you have to go to law school, pass the bar exam, and then gain admission to the bar. The last part is where you have to undergo an evaluation of your "character and fitness" to practice law (insert pithy lawyer joke here). So, you can jump through all the hoops and still not get a license because the state in question thinks that you're a bad person, or at least a bad person for a lawyer.

 

I understand. I couldn't find a situation in which someone was denied solely because they participated in a part-time ABA JD program, so this was the quickest example I could find of a state bar denying an individual a license. I looked into the "character and fitness" review process (slightly) after seeing a few threads on another forum, about folks attempting to hide past courses they had failed from LSAC. The conclusion was that they may not catch it, but the C&F board would. Either way, it is unethical.

 

You make some valid points, but it's not entirely fair to refer to Willie Mitchell as "non-competitive". It's a reasonably well-regarded law school in Minnesota and has an excellent clinical practice program that has occasionally made USN's top 10 list. Some of the top attorneys in the Twin Cities matriculated there, I'm talking very heavy-hitters.