Oregon Legal Research Blog
I keep running across news stories where someone talks about plans to “attend law school online.” I wondered about that, so did a little research. Here’s what I’ve found so far:
Excerpt from ABA website: “Currently, no law schools that provide a J.D. degree completely via distance education are approved by the ABA. Earning an education completely via distance education may drastically limit your ability to sit for the bar in many states….” (Link to ABA website.)
1) There is a difference between “going to” law school online and “going to” an ABA approved law school and fulfilling a given state’s requirements for sitting for the bar exam.
2) 49 states require you to have graduated from an ABA accredited law school as a prerequisite to sitting for the state’s bar exam and becoming a licensed attorney.
3) One state “allows” you to sit for the bar exam without first having graduated from an ABA accredited law school. That state is California and they have their own set of requirements to fulfill before one is allowed to sit for the bar: State Bar of California website
4) Many law schools do offer courses online, and some (most) require you to be admitted to one of their degree programs.
These two websites have additional information: