Non Traditional/correspondence Law School

[dewisant]

I am very interested in accomplishing a non-traditional law degree. I live too far away from the only part-time law school in our state and we are not willing to move at this time. I am looking at the University of London External Programme and the various California law schools. Also, I live in one of the states that still allows the lawyer apprenticeship program so that is a possibility. The best book on the subject is: The Law School Bible: How Anyone Can Become a Lawyer...Without Ever Setting Foot in a Law School!...Unless You Really Want To. by Peter J. Loughlin, J.D., Ll.M.

[LaterBloomer]

Well, one of my favorite things is to rain on parades. So, here goes. Why do you want a law degree? I'm not writing from the poing of a lawyer-hater, but there are LOTS of people out there with law degrees. Many can't find jobs. Many discover after going into debt, that they don't even want to practice law. Why do you want a law degree?

[dewisant]

Some people need to be helped and some people really need to be screwed to the wall and left for dead. This takes discernment and talent of which mine might need just a bit of training, hence law school. I can do early retirement in a little over four years and I would like to be doing something else by then. Many have told me I should be a lawyer. I can do a California law school, total cost, for about $11,000. The London one is cheaper.

[Daithi]

The ABA doesn't recognize any online law degrees, which explains why your looking at the non-traditional route. I don't know anything about the University of London External Programme, but I do know that California is the only state that will allow an online law school student to sit for the bar, and California doesn't offer reciprocity, so passing the bar in California doesn't help you if you want to practice in another state, although several states will allow you to practice in their state after you have practiced in California for 5 years. You can also practice in Federal Courts, but good luck finding a job where you can do this as a lawyer who is just starting out. There is also already a glut of lawyers trying to find work, so it is not likely that the ABA will start recognizing online schools anytime soon. There are already over 200 traditional schools with ABA accreditation, so imagine how many lawyers would exist if the ABA started recognizing the online programs where tens of thousands more students could enroll (~~shudder~~). Additionally, even in California employers may not look upon an online law degree with much love, and since there are only 5 online schools and 7 correspondence schools employers will know who you are, as your law degree might as well be stamped "earned online".

As I mentioned, I don't know anything about the University of London External Programme, however "foreign" lawyers can take the bar in California and New York (maybe a couple other states). This might be a better route than California, because the New York bar is easier than the California bar, and if you can get a foreign law degree then you could take the online Master of Laws (LLM) program offered by Washington University Law School that was designed specifically for foreign lawyers. This one-year-long online program is recognized by the ABA, and Washington University Law School is a top-tier school, although not one of the Top-14. Getting accepted into the program might be a pipe dream. However, if you could pull that off you might have a chance of finding employment. If you don't get accepted, there are other online LLM programs (NYU has one for taxes). Then again, some states might not let you practice without a J.D. even if you have been practicing in Cali or NY for the last 5 years, so where you plan on practicing is kind of important.

If you decide to go the California route, I've listed the twelve non-traditional schools below:

Distance learning [or Online] schools ---
Abraham Lincoln University School of Law (Los Angeles) www.alu.edu
Concord Law School of Kaplan University (Los Angeles) www.concordlawschool.edu
American Heritage University School of Law and Public Policy (San Bernadino) www.amheritageuniv.net
St. Francis School of Law (Redwood City) http://www.stfrancislaw.com
California School of Law (Santa Barbara) http://www.californiaschooloflaw.com

Correspondence law schools ---
American International School of Law (Irvine) www.aisol.org
Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy (Fresno) www.obcl.edu
California Southern University (Irvine) www.calsouthern.edu
Taft Law School (Santa Ana) www.taftu.edu
International Pacific School of Law (Los Angeles) www.paclawschool.com
University of Honolulu School of Law (Modesto) www.universityofhonoluluschooloflaw.net
Northwestern California University School of Law (Sacramento) www.nwculaw.edu

[LaterBloomer]

Yeah, what Daithi said. Also, have you thought of getting a paralegal degree/certificate? You could work with Legal Aid societies, etc. and take the burden off of the shoulders of an attorney. Some bar associations have attornies who do pro bono work. Maybe you could work with an association to do the legal research, interviewing, etc. for these lawyers so that the assoication can expand the number of clients served. And I'm going to sound like a snot, but here goes. I worked in a court system for many years. Lots of the attorneys who worked with the indigent weren't very good. Good hearts, but lacked skills. I think that if you went to an on-line school, you'd miss out on lots of the skills, etc. needed to help the very people that you want to help. Whatever you do, good luck.

[dewisant]

Law Clerk Program

Is probably the path I will take.

[LaterBloomer]

Hmm. I didn't know that Washington (like Virginia) let you read the law. Again with the rain, you may want to check into how many pass the bar after this sort of program. Good luck.

[dewisant]

"There are currently nine states that have viable apprenticeship programs that are worth considering:" With four of them, Alaska, Maine, New York, and Wyoming you have to finish one year of an ABA law school first. The full apprenticeship programs are located in: California, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.

[AbleU]

Law school is a tricky, tricky devil. While I'm certainly the first proponent of non-traditional education (heck, administrator of a pending-non-profit for assisting NT students), my experience in the legal community leads me to warn potential law students away from law school barring a few special circumstances.

First and foremost, a legal education has to make financial sense. I know two top law students that currently hold 270k-300k in debt each. I feel like the only people who can really appreciate that big of a number are investment bankers and astronomers. Consequently, I usually recommend to potential law students to attend a solid regional school with a massive scholarship to minimize expenses as best as possible, To the best of my knowledge, California is the only state that allows correspondent law students the option to take the state bar exam -- though the "reading the law" option, as you pointed out, does exist in several other states. In any state you take a non-ABA accredited option, however, you can only practice in that state for at least three years, often longer.

If you choose a California correspondence law school, pay very close attention to the bar passage rate. Several of CA's unaccredited law schools have pass rates of less than 10%. It would appear the law clerk program will take roughly 15k (6k for tuition, 9k for incidentals, study material, exam fees, bar prep), which is fairly substantial all things considering. I would highly recommend doing some serious soul-searching and research to make sure you really want to be an attorney before you go down this path. The profession is definitely a romanticized siren-song -- very alluring, but I've known many a law school grad wishing there was a redo button on their lives.

Hope this helps.
-Peter