Online JD Law Degree...

Actually the traditional ABA system is in serious trouble right now. Law school costs more than ever, yet employment prospects for lawyers are worse than ever. More and more prospective students are weighing law school costs vs. legal the job market, and concluding that law school doesn't make sense any more. Law school applications are falling fast, and many ABA law schools are having serious trouble recruiting qualified students.

To fix this situation, ABA law schools need to do two things: (1) reduce the cost of legal education, and (2) reduce the number of JD graduates.

In theory, distance law schools could be a valid way to address point (1). But the problem is that they won't help with point (2). If you make law school more convenient and less expensive, then how does that reduce the number of graduates?

In theory, the way to address point (2) is by toughening the standards for legal education: make admissions harder (lower acceptance rates) and make completion harder (higher flunk-out rates). The standards will likely get tougher at B&M law schools in the future, and they would be equally tough at any future DL law schools.

So we may ultimately see ABA-approved DL law schools, because of point (1). But here's the catch: an ABA-accredited DL law school will not be an open-admission, no-LSAT-required kind of place, like the existing California distance law schools. On the contrary, admissions may be very competitive, and the programs may be difficult to complete.

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the traditional ABA system is in trouble right now. ABA is a fortress. They won't be changing anything anytime soon. Personally, I think the changes would have to come from the states first. If more states were flexible in there bar admission (i.e. by not requiring a JD from an ABA accredited school) then that would shred into the ABA's slice of the pie. It's so much history between the two though that only God knows when/if that will ever happen.

I highly doubt "they" (schools) will voluntarily reduce the cost of education. Well at least not anytime within the next 3-5 years. Higher education in general is growing at a high pace. Granted law school tuition has sky rocketed. I think both your points are going to self correct themselves.

Law schools don't need to reduce the number of graduates by toughing up standards. I think (throwing a stone in the dark) that i the next 3-5 years there will be less graduate simply because of what you said...less people are finding it worthwhile to attend law school. LSAT test enrollment has declined, and I believe law school numbers have declined this year in comparison to the last few years.

My only main problem is that I think a lot of these schools may raise tuition to try and account for the loss of students. Hopefully, that will be the tipping point for the house of cards.

 

Try to google search....

 

So from what I'm reading, it looks like a catch 22. On one hand, the job market is in the tank so prospects for employment don't necessarily warrant the cost v. benefit in that retrospect. On the opposite hand, tuition continues to increase while the amount of qualified applicants continues to decrease.

Its an interesting dynamic. Makes one wander if this trend continues, what the future will look like.

 

If the number of qualified law school applicants continues to shrink, then we can make a pretty good guess as to what will happen. Some ABA-approved law schools will be forced to shrink. And some may have to close entirely.

Law school shrinkage is already happening. Law school closure hasn't happened yet. But if the current situation continues, then it's just a matter of time. And this may increase the interest in alternative law school models, like DL.

I happen to believe that there is a large untapped market out there for ABA-approved legal education by DL. Up to now, the ABA and their member law schools have completely ignored that market. But if their traditional business model collapses, and some law schools are starved for students, with their very survival at stake -- well, maybe then the potential DL market will be a lot harder to ignore.

But this is just speculation on my part. I'm sure that others may see it differently.

 

By the way, Southwestern Law School -- which is an ABA-accredited law school in Los Angeles -- has just appeared on the DETC applicant list. Since Southwestern only offers legal education, and since DETC only accredits distance programs, the obvious conclusion is that Southwestern plans to deliver DETC-accredited legal education by DL.

In this case, it is presumably the LL.M. degree (rather than the J.D.) that will be affected. The ABA does not allow online J.D. programs; however, they have no restrictions on LL.M. programs. Southwestern already has an online LL.M. program (in entertainment and media law).

Southwestern is a "standalone" law school; it is not attached to any other university, and it does not have regional accreditation. The US Dept. of Education accepts Southwestern as "accredited" for financial aid purposes on the basis of its ABA approval (there are a number of law schools nationwide with this status, including UC Hastings and Thomas Jefferson in California).

However, ABA does not evaluate or approve LL.M. programs (or any other legal education programs apart from the J.D.). So the exact accreditation status of Southwestern's existing LL.M. programs (which include both B&M and DL options) is unclear (at least to me). But if Southwestern gets DETC, then their online LL.M. degrees will unquestionably qualify as accredited (and should unquestionably qualify for Federal financial aid as well).

Once again, I will suggest that maybe the ABA law schools are finding it increasingly difficult to ignore the potential market for legal education by DL.

 

Cal Bar

Getting into and completing an online law school is easy. The question is: are you smart enough and do you have the talents needed to pass the Bar.

I would get an take some practice LSAT tests. If you don't score high enough to get into an ABA law school, don't bother with the online route, it's very unlikely that you'll ever pass the Bar.

Graduates of online and unaccredited school schools pass the Bar every year but almost all of these took this route because of work commitments or location NOT because they couldn't get into an ABA school.