You can select from two different general juris doctor programs through the Taft Law School’s online/distance learning center. The attorney track program takes four years and includes coursework such as torts, contracts, legal writing, community property, evidence, property, wills and trusts, advanced legal reasoning and professional responsibility. Upon graduation, students in the attorney track program sit for the California Bar Examination. The executive track was created for students interested in understanding the regulatory process for either their own personal enrichment or business purposes. The curriculum takes three years and includes topics such as remedies, alternative dispute resolution, health care law, constitutional law, sports law, uniform commercial code and evidence. This track is for students who don’t plan to take the California Bar Examination. Students in the programs participate by submitting weekly assignments for faculty grading, participate in online forums and have graded written exams. Applicants to each program must have an undergraduate degree of any major.
Taft Law School
3700 S. Susan St., Office 200
Santa Ana, CA 92704-6954
800-882-4555
taftu.edu
You can earn a general juris doctorate from the California School of Law through the school’s online program, to be completed in four years. Topics include the legal method, civil procedure, corporations, legal research and writing, professional responsibility and legal ethics, environmental law and evidence. You will participate in a moot court competition during your fourth year over the computer (choosing a constitutional issue with which to appeal to the United States Supreme Court using written briefs and research), plus use resources such as virtual classrooms and VOIP communication. The California School of Law provides students software that they can download to participate in these forums. Students log into the systems and communicate through online conference rooms and forums with live professors. Students who hold an associate’s or bachelor’s degree may apply to the California School of Law; no LSAT is required.
California School of Law
5275 Hollister Ave., Suite 262
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
805-683-5337
californiaschooloflaw.com
Students just starting out in the law field may be interested in the Northwestern California University School of Law’s online combined degree program to earn a bachelor of science in law and a juris doctor over a five-year period. The program includes classes in introduction to law and legal writing, real property, agency and partnership, corporations, professional responsibility, administrative law, trusts, legal research, legal document drafting and medical jurisprudence. Applicants entering the combined program must already have two years of college credits. Loans and financial aid are not available, but students may pay tuition over the course of the year instead of in one lump sum. Students interact with their professors through online discussion forums, email, virtual classrooms and periodic review sessions.
Northwestern California University School of Law
2151 River Plaza Drive, Suite 306
Sacramento, CA 95833
916-920-9470
nwculaw.edu