Concord Law School

Concord Law School of Kaplan University
Motto The best law school may be the one that comes to you.
Parent school Kaplan University
Established 1998
School type

Private, For-Profit Online University Law School Concord Law School is not accredited by the American Bar Association and has not sought approval by the ABA

NYSE: GHC
Dean Larry David
Location Los Angeles, CA, US
Enrollment 1,850
Faculty 25 full-time and approximately 30 part-time and adjunct professors
Bar pass rate 39% (16/41) (February 2015 1st time takers)[1]
Website concordlawschool.edu

Concord Law School (also known as Concord University School of Law),[2] is a private, for-profit online law school based in Los Angeles, California. It is currently known as Concord Law School of Kaplan University. The school is a subsidiary of the Kaplan Higher Education Corporation. All lecture and study sessions are delivered entirely from a secure website on the Internet.[3]

Accreditation status, State Bar registration, and "Baby Bar" examination

Concord is registered with the Committee of Bar Examiners of the California State Bar as an unaccredited law school. Because of the law school's status as an unaccredited distance learning law school by the State Bar,[4] Concord students must take and pass California's First-year Law Students' Examination (FYLSE), colloquially called the "Baby Bar," after their first year of law study. Students may progress to advanced law courses and eventually sit for California's State Bar Examination once they have passed the Baby Bar.[4][5] Concord Law School is not accredited by the American Bar Association and has not sought approval by the ABA.[6]

Concord is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission.[5] It is a member of the International Association of Law Schools[7] and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.[5]

Merger into Kaplan University

The merger of Concord into Kaplan University in late 2007 made Concord the first online law school to be part of a regionally accredited university.[5][8] As the first-ever Internet law school, the concept of Concord initially drew criticism from the legal establishment including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.[9]

Degrees offered

Concord offers two Juris Doctor (J.D.) law degrees. The recipients of the regular J.D. degree who pass the California Bar Examination and otherwise meet the California State Bar requirements are admitted to the bar and can practice law in California. Recipients of the Executive Juris Doctor (E.J.D.) are not eligible to take the bar examination. Concord also offers a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Small Business Practice.

The J.D. program is a 92-unit, four-year program. Students are required to successfully complete at least 22-24 units of coursework between 48 to 52 consecutive weeks each year. Graduates of this program will have met the legal education requirement of the Committee of Bar Examiners, State Bar of California and may apply for admission to the State Bar of California.[10]

The Executive J.D. degree requires a 72-unit, three-year program. It is designed for executives, administrators and professionals in various fields who seek graduate-level training in law but who do not wish to practice.

The Small Business Practice LL.M. is a 24-unit, 2-year program offered part-time. It is designed for practicing attorneys and recent law school graduates who are seeking practical knowledge about the legal issues unique to small businesses.[11]

Bar pass rate

For the years 2003 through July 2011, 757 Concord graduates have taken the California Bar Examination as first-time takers; of that number, 273 passed the examination for a bar pass rate of 36%.[12]

Faculty and alumni

In November 2008, Ross Mitchell, a 2004 Concord graduate who had been admitted to the California bar, sued for and won the right to take the Massachusetts bar exam which is normally open only to graduates of ABA accredited law schools. In a 6-1 decision, the state's Supreme Judicial Court ruled for Mitchell, citing his excellent law school record and the ability to represent himself and properly present his case. The court also ruled on equitable grounds, noting that under the ABA standards it would have been impossible for Concord to have received accreditation, regardless of the quality of its educational offerings.[13][14] Mitchell subsequently passed the Massachusetts bar exam in February 2009.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "General Statistics Report: February 2015 California Bar Examination" (PDF). State Bar of California. June 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Concord Law School History". Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  3. ↑ Online Law Schools Have Yet to Pass the Bar March 23, 2011
  4. 1 2 Unaccredited (Registered) California Law Schools
  5. 1 2 3 4 Law School Accreditation
  6. ↑ "ABA-Approved Law Schools by Year". ABA website. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  7. ↑ IALS Member Listing
  8. ↑ Concord Law School Merges with Kaplan U., The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 30, 2007
  9. ↑ Mintz, Howard (November 15, 1999). "Law school online Establishment skeptical about digital degrees; advocates site independent-study tradition of Abe Lincoln". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on October 6, 2000.
  10. ↑ Concord Law School Catalog
  11. ↑ Concord Law School LL.M. Program
  12. ↑ Committee of Bar Examiners Bar Examination Statistics
  13. ↑ Court win for online law school grad, California Bar Journal, January 2009
  14. ↑ Ross E. Mitchell v. Board of Bar Examiners, no. SJC-10157, Supreme Judicial Court, Massachusetts, September 3, 2008
  15. ↑ Law.com "First Online Law Grad to Make Mass. Lawyer"

External links

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