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WHY ARE THERE SO MANY TYPES OF LAW SCHOOLS?

Law schools, nationally are categorized as American Bar Association (ABA) law schools and non-ABA law schools. There are very few states that have non-ABA law schools. California is one of those states that have non-ABA law schools and allow their graduates to sit for the California Bar Examination.

 

AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION LAW SCHOOLS (ABA)

American Bar Association law schools are accredited by the American Bar Association.

  • Pros: Graduates of ABA schools are eligible to practice law in any state of the Union. Graduation from a prestigious ABA school can pave the way to a high-profile career in corporate or government circles. Examples of target positions might be general counsel to a large corporation, partner in a prestigious law firm or federal or state prosecutor, or agency head.
  • Cons: ABA schools can be very expensive, often as much as $100k/year after including tuition, fees and living expenses. They are relatively difficult to get into, with the biggest named schools being extremely selective. All are brick-and-mortar schools (fixed-facility), requiring the student to physically attend classes.

CALIFORNIA ACCREDITED LAW SCHOOLS (CALS)

California Accredited Law Schools (CALS) are accredited by the State Bar of California through its Committee of Bar Examiners. CALS may teach in fixed-facility classrooms or online or using a combination of these methods.

A potential student should realize that a school being “California Accredited” does not put that school on the same academic standing as an ABA school. A graduate of a CALS can become a California attorney (after passing the bar exam) but is generally not able to take the bar exam or practice law in other states. There are a few exceptions to this restriction, which an interested applicant should research for the particular state where they might have a desire to practice law. A list of the CALS is on the California Bar’s website.

  • Pros: The California Bar requires CALS to maintain a 40% pass rate on the general bar exam. These rules are detailed on the California Bar’s website. As long as the school maintains this 40%pass rate, the school remains accredited and the students of that school are not required to take the First Year Law Student’s Examination (FYLSX [often called the “baby bar”]). Thus, a student can avoid taking that exam.
  • Cons: While a student can bypass the First Year Law Student’s Examination by attending a CALS, the student would then attend the entire program of law school without gaining the experience and confidence of having taken an exam administered by the California Bar. The FYLSX provides a pausing point for the student to evaluate their abilities and ongoing interest, decide whether they truly want to continue on the long road to graduation and whether they need to adjust their study habits. At a CALS, the student would not necessarily have the benefit of this process. 

CALS tend to earn a certain level of prestige and desirability because their students are exempt from the FYLSX. As a result, the CALS tend to be more expensive and more exclusive (in entrance requirements) than non-CALS.

The CALS are required to maintain a 40% general bar exam pass rate in order to keep their California accreditation. To meet this requirement, the schools tend to dismiss students whom they believe have a poor chance of passing the general bar exam.

 

CALIFORNIA REGISTERED UNACCREDITED LAW SCHOOLS

The term “unaccredited” does not mean that graduates miss out on any of the benefits that go to graduates of accredited schools. A graduate of a registered unaccredited school has the same right to take the general bar exam and become a California attorney as the graduate of any other law school, including CALS and ABA schools. A graduate of a registered unaccredited school, once licensed, has the same standing in court as any other attorney. The judge will never ask what law school you went to and most clients never think about it. All licensed attorneys have the same rights and privileges in the California legal system.

The California Bar website classifies registered unaccredited schools as fixed-facility, distance-learning or correspondence.

FIXED-FACILITY LAW SCHOOL

A fixed-facility law school is a law school that conducts its instruction principally in physical classroom facilities.

  • Pros: The student gets to know the instructors and other students on a face-to-face basis. This social interaction can enhance the study experience and lead to the making of professional contacts.
  • Cons: The Bar has mandatory physical attendance requirements that are closely monitored. To make this feasible, students must be physically close to the school. This may require to move to a location close to the school. This could result in uprooting children from schools and possible job changes. Family responsibilities and job requirement must allow for this.

DISTANCE-LEARNING LAW SCHOOL

A distance-learning law school is a law school that conducts instruction and provides interactive classes principally online.

  • Pros: The overhead of moving, travel, job and family changes are eliminated.
  • Cons: Mandatory attendance of 80% of all live, online lectures is required and closely monitored. Failure to comply will result in being dismissed from the law program. Asynchronous (recorded) lectures will not satisfy this requirement. This may conflict with existing job schedules. Also, there is lack of face-to-face contact with professors and other students.

CORRESPONDENCE LAW SCHOOL

A correspondence law school is a law school that conducts instruction principally by correspondence.

A correspondence law school can follow the historical tradition of conducting its instruction primarily by correspondence. Prior to the advancement of online technology, this typically meant that the school mailed study materials to the student, the student studied at home and the student mailed any written assignments back to the school. Being a correspondence school means that the Bar allows the school to operate in this manner. However, a correspondence school may also transmit study materials electronically, may provide online lectures and academic support, may archive the lectures for anytime access and may provide personal interaction online.

  • Pros: No need to spend time traveling to class. All the benefits of distance learning can be made available at the discretion of the particular school. Because a correspondence school does not require the student to attend any live, online lectures, this gives the students tremendous flexibility to tailor their study schedule to their individual and personal needs.
  • Cons: If the school uses the historical model for correspondence study, contact will be limited to mail communication.

HOW DOES AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF LAW FIT INTO THIS SCHEME?

TYPE: American Institute of Law (AIL) is a registered unaccredited correspondence law school.

DISTINCTIONS: Although not required to have any online lessons, AIL has a comprehensive online law program leading to the granting of a Juris Doctor degree (JD) and the privilege of becoming a California Attorney and Counselor at Law (once the student passes the General Bar Examination and fulfills all other admission requirements).

The online classes are live interactive classes where students can interact with other students and faculty members and ask questions in real-time. As a correspondence law school, there are no mandatory live lecture attendance requirements–the entire program can be done live (synchronous), archived (asynchronous), and/or any combination of both.

  • Pros: Graduates of American Institute of Law are qualified to take the California Bar Examination and to be admitted to practice law in all California courts. There are no mandatory live lecture attendance requirements. All live lectures are recorded and archived for future viewing 24/7/365. All faculty and support members are California licensed attorneys. Live classes include numerous Substantive Law lectures, Multiple-choice Workshops and Essay Workshops. Tuition is very affordable, payable in interest-free monthly payments.
  • Cons: As with any non-ABA law school, graduates of American Institute of Law may not qualify to take the bar examination or to satisfy the requirements for admission to practice in jurisdictions other than California. However, California has a large demand for legal services, so this restriction is not significant for individuals who desire to live and work within the state. On the positive side, this restriction is an expansion of the rules used in other states and, thus, California gives potential lawyers an opportunity that would not otherwise be available to them.

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