Study Law Online

That's right. That's the way it reads now. This would be a game changer.

 

UNH hybrid law school set to start their first cohort

https://news.elearninginside.com/unhs-hybrid-j-d-program-is-set-to-welcome-its-first-cohort/

 

"Green Law"

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2019/09/online-qualification-in-'green-law'.aspx

 

If I were beginning a career in law now, this is one niche area of law that I'd strongly consider. Also would look at intellectual property law as well.

 

Here's a story about the development of the 2 new hybrid law programs

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/10/02/how-instructors-have-shaped-curricula-two-hybrid-jd-programs

 

University of New Hampshire will offer the hybrid in intellectual property and University of Dayton your standard J.D. Will be curious to see how this goes as I really want to see this take off. The naysayers in the article say that there'll be a disproportionate amount of dropouts and even those that graduate will not serve the demographic for which it's intended (i.e. rural areas). But haven't they said that about traditional law school too?

 

The University of Houston - The People's Law School

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/article/UH-People-s-Law-School-to-move-courses-14493848.php

 

The People's Law School was started by Richard Alderman circa 1990 and was offered on Saturdays for laypersons to learn more about the law. Over the last year or so demand has fallen off for the campus offering so they'll offer prerecorded lectures online. Good program from a "consumer oriented" attorney.

 

I have to say that this is exactly the kind of response I'd hope for from a place that is called the People's Law School. When the on-campus demand dropped they could have simply discontinued the service citing lack of demand. Instead, they increase access to literally everyone by putting it all online. I like that.

 

Legal Innovation and Technology Certificate program

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/new-online-legal-tech-courses-to-address-growing-change-in-legal-industry-1028599530

 

I think I’ve told the story before, but I had a case in district court where the ADA had graduated from a decent law school (Suffolk), and was very competent.

Later that night, I took my then-girlfriend out to a restaurant across from the courthouse, and the hostess was the ADA who had prosecuted my case that morning. She was roommates with another female ADA, and even sharing expenses, they both had to take on second jobs on nights & weekends.

Being a lawyer is no longer the Willie Wonka Golden Ticket it used to be.

 

This article is about the outlook for law schools/students for 2020. DL gets a mention at the end

http://www.nationaljurist.com/national-jurist-magazine/legal-education-outlook-2020

 

You can bet that DL will get a mention at the end, due to the fact that the author is dean of Concord Law School. I can't help but be cynical as to why he's writing this article. Granted, he doesn't mention Concord, but it's clear who it is to the reader, should they look at his bio in the byline. And yes, the tuition of the ABA hybrid law schools are just as high as traditional, but let's give them a chance to figure out the economics and bring the costs down to appeal to the demographic they should be trying to reach. Any movement by the ABA in the direction of distance learning is welcome and traditional law schools embracing this form of learning is welcome. It doesn't do anyone any favors by subtly suggesting that tuition will always remain high (but nod-nod, wink-wink, come to Concord since we're lower). The goal is not to choose what's behind curtain A (traditional law school) or curtain B (distance law school). The goal now is to choose a blend of A and B so anybody that has the ability and aptitude can join the club.

 

This is an idea that appeals to me (even though I'm not anywhere near that track). I'd consider getting a JD, even if it was a non-bar JD, before I'd get an MBA.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/executive-jd-ejd-concord-law-school

 

another hybrid program emerges - Akron

https://www.cleveland.com/education/2019/10/university-of-akron-school-of-law-introduces-partially-online-jd-program.html

 

I like their offering of joint degree programs where you can get a JD/LLM in intellectual property law, or JD/MSA (Accountancy-Financial Forensics), et al. It's not enough anymore to get the JD, pass the bar, and then expect to have the red carpet rolled out for you. Correct me if I'm wrong, but seems like a student could take the first two years in the hybrid law program and then finish both degrees in four years (100 credits total). These joint degrees seemingly would then help to differentiate a job candidate.

https://www.uakron.edu/law/curriculum/joint.dot

 

Not specifically about DL, this article is about Law Schools losing their ABA accreditation

https://www.law.com/therecorder/2019/11/22/stripped-of-aba-accreditation-thomas-jefferson-law-school-plans-to-stay-open/

 

TJLS began life as a California Bar accredited school and could continue to operate that way but not if they intend to continue charging premium level tuition. I wish them well but I don't know whether they will survive.

 

How online learning is revolutionizing legal education

https://abovethelaw.com/2019/11/how-online-learning-is-revolutionizing-legal-education-a-discussion-with-ken-randall-of-ilaw/