Determining The Pros And Cons Of A Correspondence Law SchoolAn online law school is considered a correspondence law school. This school provides legal education by means of distance learning. In the United States, a correspondence law school is heavily regulated due to distinct requirements that have to be met before a law graduate is able to practice law. Among the many states in the United States, only the State Bar of California allows correspondence law school graduates to take the bar examinations. In 1984, the William Howard Taft University was the first to offer correspondence law courses. At this time, the school was registered with the State Bar of California. As per policy and tradition, both the American Bar Association (ABA) and the State of Bar of California do not accredit correspondence law schools. In California, all graduates of unaccredited law schools, which include correspondence law schools, have to take the First-Year Law Student Examination, which is also commonly called as, baby bar. Failure to pass this exam within three administrations would mean that the law courses taken by a law student beyond his first year would not be recognized or credited by the State Bar of California. The only law school that offers an entire law degree program online is the Concord Law School in California. This correspondence law school publicly launched its online law degree programs in 1998. Its pioneering class was able to complete their online law degree in November of 2002. Among the advantages that correspondence law school students cited for this non-conventional law program are flexibility of class schedules, more affordable tuition rates, and absence of geographical limitations. The most common disadvantage of online law degree programs is the ineligibility of its graduates to initially take any bar examination except in the state of California. Another disadvantage cited is the lack of personal interaction between students and legal professionals. But, Concord Law School graduates contend that there is regular interaction between individuals in this educational system through the use of online technologies, which include chat rooms and discussion boards. Because almost all correspondence law school degree programs are not accredited by the ABA, an online law degree holder would still have to be obtain a lawyer license in one state before he is able to take the bar examinations of most states in the United States. Several sectors in the society have maintained that because of the lack of ABA accreditation of a correspondence law school, it has become difficult to evaluate and monitor if the quality of law education provided by these institutions comply with the standard set by ABA. Moreover, there is no way for ABA to check if online law school graduates have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills for them to become good lawyers. These sectors likewise contend that this action by the ABA is nothing but a control mechanism for them to exercise their power to keep traditional law schools as the only players in the industry. Despite all the arguments thrown against them, the ABA remains firm in its conviction that neither private study nor a correspondence law school would be able to substitute legal education administered in a law school. |