By going to law school, students can earn a juris doctorate, which is very expensive and challenging. Because of the time and expense involved, online schools are gaining in popularity. With an online law school, students do not have to sit through countless hours of classes, and can do the work on their schedule. However, online law schools are not accredited by the American Bar Association.
Issues with School Accreditation
The ABA is the entity responsible for accrediting law schools, and does not endorse fully online institutes of learning. If a student graduates from an unaccredited school, they cannot sit for their state’s bar exam (if their state requires graduation before taking the exam). If a student has an online law degree, they will have difficulty passing their state’s ‘bar fitness’ test.
Advantages of Online Law Schools
If a student merely wants the prestige of a law degree, or if a career requires a juris doctorate but not the bar exam, an online Law School in Los Angeles is the ideal solution. Online schools can give students a basic law background, and they can help them decide if becoming a lawyer is the right career path. If a student decides to continue in the legal field, they can enroll in a traditional school.
Disadvantages of Online Schools
In law schools, professors use Socratic methods, expecting students to think quickly without consulting books or the Internet. An online law school cannot use this method; students of online schools don’t get to speak in front of classmates, and they miss out on that valuable experience. Because the ABA does not accredit online law schools, these schools’ curricula are not validated, and some lower-quality schools may offer outdated information.
Becoming an Attorney
Graduating from college, going to Law School in Los Angeles, working as an intern and taking the bar exam is the traditional way to become a lawyer, and it is still the best method. However, if a student has already been through online law school, they could take a bar study class and then take the exam in a state that does not have graduation as a prerequisite. Online graduates may have difficulty in finding a job with a law firm, but can go into private practice.
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