Online Law Degrees: Are they really worth it?
Years ago earning a law degree meant putting your life on hold, moving away from home and family for several years to attend law school full time. Finally, evening and weekend classes, a new concept in legal education, came along to help law students cope with inflexible schedules. Now the evolution in legal education has generated a whole new concept-online law degrees.Online law courses have been growing in popularity in American Bar Association (ABA) approved law schools, but they have yet to fully embrace the online law degree earned completely through distance learning. Still, online law degrees are recognized in some states as being fully accredited-or at least recognized for purposes of entering the legal profession. Generally, the same coursework completed in the classroom is required of distance-learning law students and with today's technology the experience can be more effective than sitting in a brick and mortar law school.
Earn your law degree 100% via distance learning
Alternative to Traditional Law School
Naturally many
new (and some
older) law
schools have
seen the writing
on the wall and
have launched
their own online
law programs. So
long as
standards of
quality
education are
maintained I see
no reason for
opposition.
While there is
no doubt that
ABA approved law
schools provide
an outstanding
level of
excellence in
legal education,
they're just not
a good fit for
many of today's
prospective
lawyers.
If a high quality online law degree can be earned on the Internet, what's the problem? I've always felt that learning takes place between two ears rather than four walls, am I right?
The online law
degree provides
a viable
alternative to
traditional ABA
law schools in
preparing one
for a career as
a lawyer. Quite
simply it may be
the best or only
solution for
students who
cannot commit
themselves to
study at a
traditional law
school. With an
online law
degree option
they can keep
their current
job, maintain
family
obligations and
save countless
wasted hours
commuting to and
from a
traditional law
school campus.
California
Connection
Online law
degrees are more
common in
California, a
state where more
than 25% of
practicing
attorneys
graduated from
non-ABA law
schools. As
online law
degrees grow in
popularity, this
number is likely
to increase and
spread to other
states. Although
distance-learning
law degrees are
nothing new,
online law
schools are now
attracting a
huge number of
students from
diverse
backgrounds
whose family
and/or work
obligations make
online study the
right choice for
them.
Critics of online law degrees say Internet based courses cannot replicate the classroom experience and that some online law schools are designed to merely prepare students to pass the bar without giving them a full legal education.
In my opinion the purpose of the bar exam is (or
should be) to weed out those law students who
have not benefited from a broad-based legal
education or are incapable of demonstrating it.
Students who have not received a broad-based
legal curriculum are unlikely to pass a bar exam
anyway. And, there are graduates from top law
schools that have been unable to pass a bar
exam-while some graduates of online law schools
have passed on their fist attempt-even in
California which boasts the hardest bar exam in
the country.
Finding the
Right Online Law Degree Program
How do you find the right law school? The
old-fashioned way works best. Start out by
getting a list of all the available online law
degree programs. Then set aside some time to
contact the schools directly and ask questions-a
lot of questions. It's a good idea to find out
something about the school's track record too by
contacting the appropriate state agency to
checkout their complaint record. Finally, after
confirming the school's curriculum and cost are
a good fit for you, you'll want to check to see
that gradates of the school are permitted to
take the bar exam.
About The Author: Peter J. Loughlin is a
lawyer with the Loughlin Law Firm, an
Immigration and Social Security law firm in
Naples, Florida and a principle member of
JurisConsults Group, a consulting firm
specializing in International Taxation and
Banking Compliance issues.
Member: State Bar of California, Federal Bar Association, International Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association and National Association of Social Security Claimants Representatives.
He is a distinguished fellow of the Royal Society of Fellows and fellow of the American Academy of Financial Management.
Mr.
Loughlin serves as a legal advisor to the World
Natural Health Organization and current member
of the AAFM Global Board of Academic Advisors
and Professors. He is the author of The Law
School Bible and other numerous legal, taxation
and trade related articles.
Peter J. Loughlin achieved his dream of earning
a college & law degrees using only distance
learning. Now he helps others achieve their
dreams at
www.MaxStudy.com
