Law: Transfer from Non ABA-DL to ABA After Baby Bar

I correct my earlier post. Perhaps I wasn't diligent enough in my original research. According to Concord's website, the ABA will allow up to 12 non-ABA, distance learning credits to be transferred into their program. Perhaps you could check with Concord about a list of accepting schools.

The ABA Standards for the Approval of Law Schools (www.abanet.org/legaled; click on Standards) currently do not allow for the approval of a JD program offered through distance education. ABA Standard 306 allows an ABA-approved law school to award up to 12 credits toward the JD degree for distance education courses. Concord continues to work to expand the Standards’ acceptance of distance education. Given the process that is involved in changing these rules, however, it is unlikely that the Standards will be revised in the near future to accommodate a program of legal education such as Concord’s.

http://info.concordlawschool.edu/Pages/accreditation.aspx

 

Standard 306 means that a JD program at an ABA law school can include a DL component -- but the DL component is limited to 12 credits maximum.

In other words, ABA law schools are allowed to offer DL courses for credit -- as long as there are no more than 12 DL credits total in the JD degree program.

Standard 306 says that up to 12 DL credits are acceptable. However, this means DL credits from ABA schools. The standard does not say that DL credits from non-ABA schools are acceptable for transfer.

 

Yes, I see you are correct on this one. I looked up Standard 506, which does permit transfers from non-ABA schools if certain conditions are met. For distance learning, it seems that the "in-residence" clause is going to be the problem:

http://www.abanet.org/legaled/standards/20072008StandardsWebContent/Chapter%205.pdf

Standard 506. APPLICANTS FROM LAW SCHOOLS NOT APPROVED BY THE ABA
(a) A law school may admit a student with advanced standing and allow credit for studies
at a law school in the United States that is not approved by the American Bar Association
(“non-ABA approved law school”) if:
(1) the non-ABA approved law school has been granted the power to confer the
J.D. degree by the appropriate governmental authority in the unapproved law
school’s jurisdiction, or graduates of the non-ABA approved law school are
permitted to sit for the bar examination in the jurisdiction in which the school is
located;
2007-2008 ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools
(2) the studies were “in residence” as provided in Standard 304(b), or qualify for
credit under Standard 305 or Standard 306; and (3) the content of the studies was
such that credit therefor would have been granted towards satisfaction of degree
requirements at the admitting school.
(b) Advanced standing and credit hours granted for study at a non-ABA approved law
school may not exceed one-third of the total required by an admitting school for its J.D.
degree.

 

Non-ABA to ABA?

I'm presently finishing my first year in a non-ABA accredited school. I realize I could have probably been accepted into an ABA school, but I jumped at the first chance to start. I learned that ABA rated schools did not transfer credits from non-ABA schools, or at least I thought there were no exceptions, but I just looked at La Verne's site and it apparently is not a strict rule. If I finish my first year here, without having to take the Baby Bar exam, can I transfer to some ABA schools? Does my academic ranking here bury any chances of doing this if it is not in the top 10%? Should I just withdraw and start over? Are there any other California schools that can do this, besides the one in Southern California?

 

It may depend on what kind of "non-ABA accredited school" you attend. There are two kinds of non-ABA law schools in California: those that are approved by the California Bar Association ("Calbar schools"), and those that are not ("unaccredited schools"). All DL schools fall into the second category.

A few ABA schools in southern California, including La Verne and Chapman, will consider transfer applications from students at Calbar schools. I don't know if any ABA schools in northern California have this policy. Note that Calbar students are normally exempt from the Baby Bay.

I don't know of any ABA schools that accept transfers from unaccredited law schools, even after passing the Baby Bar.

 

Short answer to the original question: No, it isn't.

Long answer:

Included by reference:

Standard 304 notably provides that "A law school shall require, as a condition for graduation, successful completion of a course of study in residence of not fewer than 58,000 minutes of instruction time, except as otherwise provided. At least 45,000 of these minutes shall be by attendance in regularly scheduled class sessions at the law school."

Standard 305 concerns programs such as "field placement, moot court, law review, and directed research programs or courses for which credit toward the J.D. degree is granted, as well as courses taken in parts of the college or university outside the law school for which credit toward the J.D. degree is granted," and "by its own force does not allow credit for Distance Education courses."

Standard 306 is open to distance education courses within the J.D., but "(d) A law school shall not grant a student more than four credit hours in any term, nor more than a total of 12 credit hours, toward the J.D. degree for courses qualifying under this Standard," and "(e) No student shall enroll in courses qualifying for credit under this Standard until that student has completed instruction equivalent to 28 credit hours toward the J.D. degree."

Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools (American Bar Association)

 

Every year somewhere between 3 and 10 members of the Philadelphia PD, the nation's 4th largest police department, graduate from Temple University's Beasley School of Law, usually from the evening program (4 years). Virtually all remain with the department but it is safe to say that none will be found in a patrol car working midnights in West or North Philly. It is definitely a career boost and most Philly cops with a law degree will be working inside and on straight day tours even if they don't currently hold a supervisory rank. While you still have to past tests to get promoted, if you have what it takes to get through law school, you'll blow the promotional exams away and your educational background will impress the officials conducting the personal interview component of the process.

As far as juvenile work, human/civil rights work, and victim impact work (victim-witness coordinator), once your friend gets into law enforcement he'll find out that those jobs are often done by female officers, as are most child porn investigations. Before anyone screams about this, let me say that a police officer or detective only gets these assignments by requesting it. It just happens that a much higher percentage of female officers request such openings than their male counterparts. While these jobs look interesting on TV, in the real world they are not nearly so glamorous or prestigous. From what I have seen they are more likely a career dead end.