Online Law School - Are There Plenty of Accredited Online Schools?

 

by D. Grace Pruitt
Online law school and paralegal schools are not just convenient–they’re the next step in education. An online law study appeals to students for different reasons. Some may not have had the opportunity to follow a traditional course of law study?

However, attending an online law school is not quite as simple as for most of the online degree programs that are currently available for other fields. If you want to practice law as an attorney after earning a degree at an online law school, you must be prepared to deal with some extra conditions and restrictions on where, when and how you may practice as a lawyer. Although, online coursework is slowly becoming more accepted in the law school community; the ABA modified its accreditation standards in 2003 to allow students to take 12 of the 90 credit courses required for a juris doctor degree online.

There are plenty of accredited online schools for students looking for a paralegal degree, but if you are hoping to earn your Juris Doctor-a degree every lawyer must earn-online, you should know that despite a school’s accreditation, no online law schools are currently approved by the American Bar Association, and in every state except California, you must graduate from a law school approved by the ABA in order to sit for the bar exam.

Most online and correspondence law schools don’t meet current ABA-accreditation standards. That’s because ABA standards measure factors such as libraries, facilities, clinical experience and interaction between students and professors.

Although online law school programs provide unlimited access to faculty and law resources twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week; as in other professions, so in law, online degree programs with their non-traditional formats have challenged accreditation agencies.

Benefits of Online Law School:

The main benefits of an online law school is accessibility. That means:
No LSAT required for admission.
Online, rather than physical, access to courses and materials.
Less strict admissions requirements.

Disadvantages of Online Law School:

There are several potential drawbacks to an online law school:
No live interaction with faculty.
It’s harder to network with your peers.
Reputation has yet to be established.
Limited recognition by state bar associations.

How to Find a School:

When you begin to look for an online law school, be sure to do your own due diligence. Consider your goals and choose a school that suits your personal style. If you plan on practicing law in California, be sure to research whether that school fulfills the minimum registration requirements by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California. Consider the following questions when choosing an online law school:

Is the institution accredited?
How many full-time instructors are on the faculty and what are their credentials and merits?
Are they accessible to online students?
How do the courses offered compare to those at a traditional law school?
What percentage of students graduate and sit for the bar exam, and what percentage of those students who graduated actually passed the bar exam?
What do graduates and current students say about the program?

While many students must move to a new city or state to pursue their law degree, there are several online law school programs and law schools that allow students to complete their legal studies from the comfort of home.

By going to www.OnlineSchools-Education.com, you can learn more about the world of online education and Online Law School! Is it convient? or Not?

Article Source: Online Law School - Are There Plenty of Accredited Online Schools?









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