What You Need to Know Before You Join an Online Law School
For some reason or the other, the American Bar Association – the governing body that presides over all law schools in the country – does not recognize online schools as “proper” schools and refuses to accredit them.
As a student, thus, if you are looking for an accredited online law school, you’ll have a hard time finding one, simply because in the United States, they don’t even exist.
Of course, just because a law school isn’t accredited by the ABA (American Bar Association) doesn’t mean that the degree you get from it is worthless or can’t be used to start a practise. Far from it. For example, the state of California permits students who have completed a certain number of classes in an online law school to sit for the bar exam, even if the law school isn’t accredited. This means that once you pass the bar exam, you can start your own law practise. While at present, California is the only state that has this provision, keep in mind that you can sit for the bar exam of any state in the country if you’ve been practising actively in California for five to seven years.
This means that you could get your online law degree from a non-accredited online law school, clear the California bar exam, practise in California for 5-7 years, and then move out to any state of your choice. Therefore, you can have a bona fide practise with a degree from an online school.
The state of California has to be commended for recognizing that the people who get online degrees have far different career goals and aspirations than those who attend a regular school. An online school offers flexibility and cost-effectiveness to professionals who are busy with their careers or family, and cannot devote the time or the money required to get a traditional law degree. Moreover, many of the applicants to an online law school are looking for a career boost, or to gain a thorough knowledge of law to help them out in their profession rather than practise law on a full time basis itself (though that is certainly an option). An online law school degree, therefore, can have many benefits, and the fact that a school isn’t accredited by the ABA shouldn’t discourage you in getting your degree.
John has been writing online for several years. He currently maintains a blog about boats. Read about what goes into the making of a wooden row boat, and the step by step guide on how to build a boat.
