Need a B.S. degree to get a J.D.

[TAB]

OK, sounds like a weird question, but... I am 45 and CEO of a 501 (c) 3 Corporation.

I know your asking how I got this job without a college degree. (I started it back in 1992).

Our organization would greatly benefit if I could be licensed to practice law.


So … I need a B.S. before I could enroll in an accredited on line law school.
I have one year of College. I know I could do the course work, but don’t want to waste a lot of time with the undergraduate degree.

Also do you have any opinion on Concord School of Law?

Thanks
TAB

[johann]

Hi

As a CEO, you're obviously someone not afraid of hard work, particularly if it gets the job done quicker....

I suggest www.excelsior.edu

RA accredited - test out of as much as you can, CLEP DANTES etc.

Our moderator ShotoJuku is a grad. Great way to go!

I can offer no opinion on Concord. I know zip about law school. Maybe someone else can give advice.


I wish you every success. :-)

Johann

[TAB]

Thanks Johann,

I will check them out.

[Brian]

Thanks Johann,

I will check them out.
Hi Tab,

First we need to know what state you are in? The reason I ask is because I think in California you can get an unaccredited degree and get into an unaccredited law school that is approved to sit for the bar exam. That is if you want to go the unaccredited route.You would be assured that all of your prior credits would be accepted. It probably will be a little cheaper but the main thing is it may require a shorter amount of time than an accredited program.

I am not sure that once you pass the bar in California, you can be allowed to take the bar in other states with an unaccredited degree though. you may want to check if this is an option for you.

Also the route Johann referred with Excelsior is a good way as well if you are a good test taker(unlike me).

Hope this helps.

[johann]

Hi TAB -

What Brian says is true - you CAN go to a non-ABA accredited distance law school. (As far as I know, ALL distance law schools are non-ABA! Read on.) If the school is registered with the California Bar Examiners, and you write and pass the California Bar Exam , you can practise law in that State. And I believe you DON'T even require a prior degree - accredited or not, to get into the J.D. program at some of these schools.

I know very little about law school, as I said, but I HAVE read plenty of times in forums about the TERRIBLE hassles (and failures) grads of non-ABA accredited law schools have had trying to be admitted to the bar in other states.

I've read that in many places, the Bar Associations are said to protect their own by simply not allowing grads of non-ABA schools to qualify to practise law on their turf. Can they do that legally? Hell, yes! They're all lawyers!

By the way, Concord is DETC Accredited. It is also registered with the California Bar Examiners - thus Concord grads are allowed to write the California Bar Exam. I read on Concord's own site that the ABA does not accredit ANY correspondence law schools.

So, if you're intending to practise law outside of California, you'd be wise to check with your State Bar Association to see how they feel about admitting lawyers from non-ABA schools before you consider Concord or ANY distance law school.

I wish you every success. :-)

Johann

[johann]

Hi again Tab-

I have no idea if this info suits your purpose or not, as again, it's California-oriented.

As I mentioned, there are some distance law schools that will let you enter (and finish) the JD program without a bachelor's degree. One is SCUPS - Southern California University for Professional Studies at www.scups.edu. If you don't have a Bachelor's, qualifying options include an Associate's OR 60 units of college OR (get this!) indication of ABILITY sufficient to complete two years of College, as evidenced by completion of 3 CLEP tests, one of which has to be an English proficiency test!

I guess there can be no simpler entry than passing 3 CLEP tests!

SCUPS is currently a State-approved, Unaccredited school. They have the OK from the California Bar Examiners - their students can write the "Baby Bar" and their grads write the grown-up one. Once they pass, they can practise in California. (I believe their Psy. D. is also sufficient academically for California Psychology licensure - pretty rare for an unaccredited school and speaks well for SCUPS.)

I understand SCUPS has a new President and his mission is to lead the school into Accreditation. SCUPS was a DETC applicant a while ago; I'm not sure of the exact reasons accreditation was not achieved then, but I remember reading that it had nothing to do with academic standards, or any "substandard" issues. I believe it had more to do with the many admin-and numbers-oriented aspects that are part of the process.

I'm told SCUPS is under same or similar ownership as NorthCentral University (Arizona) which is Regionally Accredited. I've also seen somewhere that a SCUPS degree is 100% acceptable at NorthCentral - unlike other unaccredited degrees, of course.

I've also found out that those horrendous stories (of grads of non-ABA schools not being able to practice) do not pertain to ALL states. By all means check in your locale. If California Bar admission WILL work for you -this might be a quicker way to qualify for law without finishing a Bachelor's first.

Whatever you decide, I wish you every success. :-)

Johann