Online Law Schools

[Armando Ramos]

Any help?

Unfortunately, the short answer here is "no."

The ABA controls the game board most places. As you said, unless you want to practice in California the rest of your life, it's "ABA or No Way" nearly everywhere else.

Whatever flack we generate here for the RA cartel goes double for the ABA cartel. The ABA refuses to join the 21st century, bans online programs for JD degrees entirely. There is a small handful of ABA schools with online LLM degrees, but no JD programs.

There has been some discussion elsewhere about doing an overseas LLB by DL, then doing an American LLM for overseas students. In theory this cuts your butt-in-seat time to just the one year for the LLM, and the total time by several years as well (because nearly all JD programs require a bachelor's degree).

So assuming you could get into an ABA LLM program for overseas students with a 3-year foreign LLB, you would be looking at four years of school total instead of seven total for the traditional American bachelors and JD. Faster and cheaper, in theory.

I haven't heard of anyone actually doing this. I suspect the few ABA schools who have such programs limit the slots to actual foreigners, not Americans who want to save money or otherwise beat the system. ("Highly selective," in eduspeak.) Otherwise everyone with a limited budget would be doing it this way.

Considering that anyone who doesn't like it can sue--and have their case heard by judges who went to ABA law schools--the situation isn't likely to change any time soon.