As time goes on, there is a growing number of tech solutions that allow for more of the legal industry to go digital. For example, Remote Legal allows for a large number of court proceedings to be done online to help save time for lawyers. You can view their website here but the point is, the future is digital so it’s about time the legal industry caught up with the rest of the world. And now, we’re one step closer with the first totally online programs being offered to law students.
However, students need to ensure they’ve done their research. Enrolling in an online J.D. program may seem like a convenient alternative to spending three years and more than $100,000 on a traditional legal education, especially for working adults-but prospective students should be wary of the potential pitfalls, experts say.
Wholly online J.D. programs are not accredited by the American Bar Association, and graduates of the programs are eligible only to take the California Bar Exam, given that it’s the only state in which online law schools can officially register (though some states have been known to make exceptions on an individual basis). In all, there are 14 unaccredited distance or correspondence law schools registered in California, including Concord Law School of Kaplan University, California School of Law, and the Abraham Lincoln University School of Law.
Because the schools are unaccredited, if students wish to complete their legal education and take the California Bar, they must pass the state’s First-Year Law Students’ Examination after they’ve completed their first year of school.
Despite these obstacles, the programs are growing. Concord, for instance, was launched in 1998 and had only eight online students. Now the school boasts 1,200 students and has had more than 1,300 J.D. and executive J.D. graduates. The school’s first time California Bar pass rate is 37.1 percent, which is on par with a few of the state’s ABA approved law schools, and school officials are confident the sector is gaining momentum.
“We live in a world where technology has become increasingly entrenched in corporate and social environments,” says Concord spokesperson Donna Skibbe. “More and more traditional law schools are providing online offerings to meet student demand. So, we believe that our innovative approach to legal education will one day be the norm rather than the exception.”