Distance Learning Law Schools

What Is?

• A distance-learning law school is one that you don't attend in person, but take classes from over the Internet.

One State

• California is the only state that allows graduates of distance-learning law schools to sit for the bar exam. However, these schools are not American Bar Association (ABA)-approved and therefore limit your possibilities after law school, because you will only be able to practice in California.

The Schools

• According to the State Bar of California, there are only five registered unaccredited distance-learning law schools in California. These are the Abraham Lincoln University of Law, American Heritage University, Aristotle University Institute of Law and Jurisprudence, California School or Law and Concord Law School of Kaplan University. There are also correspondence law schools in the state.

The Requirements

• The State Bar of California requires students of distance-learning law schools to have 864 hours of preparation and study per year for four years. You study the same subjects as ABA-approved schools, but you are not able to engage with the professor and other students.

The Bar

• Upon graduation, you can only sit for the California bar, which has the lowest bar passage rate in the country. Additionally, most distance-learning law schools have extremely low pass rates.

Reputation

• Most law graduates of distance-learning schools do not receive the same respect in the legal community as those who graduated from ABA-approved schools. This may lead to difficulty in acquiring jobs in a legal market that is already saturated.