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Considering an Online Law School?
Law school is an expensive undertaking-not only are the costs of acquiring your JD (Juris Doctor) high, but even fulfilling the pre-law requirements is highly expensive. Not to mention extremely time consuming. In short, the system is set up to only be feasible for people with money. At Novus you can attend a top online law school at a fraction of traditional resident study programs.

Why an Online Law School?
One option gaining traction is completing a law degree online. The cost is minuscule compared with the excessive fees of traditional law school institutions. Utilizing online law school programs will set you on the path to legal knowledge and can lay the foundation for a lucrative career. The flexibility of course completion will allow students to complete their law degree around their current profession while earning their law school degree and still maintaining their financial responsibilities.

Are Online Law Schools Accredited?
The American Bar Association (ABA) is the ultimate approval or accreditation service for law schools.
According to the ABA's requirements, any law degree, which is acquired solely through distance learning, whether online or through a correspondence course, is not approved or accredited by the ABA. Some schools may tout accreditation by other agencies. Still, if ABA approval or accreditation is an essential feature of your educational experience, your options for bar admission will be through attorney-supervised study or clerking in the courts. The America Bar Association (ABA) currently does not accredit distance learning schools.

Can I Take the Bar Exam with a Law School Online Degree?
Yes, there are bar admission options for online law school degrees. Each state sets its requirements for taking the bar exam. While most states require a degree from a brick and mortar institution, several states offer online degree bar admission options. If your goal is to become a lawyer through an online law school, you should thoroughly understand the opportunities an online law degree provides.

Who goes to Law School and doesn't Practice?
Many students attend law school and then decide to use their legal education for both personal and within their professional areas. A legal education and knowledge can be incorporated into any profession besides being a practicing Attorney. https://abaforlawstudents.com/2015/12/10/who-goes-to-law-school-and-doesnt-practice-law/

Interested in Law Schools Online--What Are Programs Like?
It will vary depending on the school. Unlike physical brick and mortar schools where you drive to sit in classes at a specific time, online programs allow you the flexibility to work independently, learn how to do briefs, prepare cases, and learn the law. Your online degree program with Novus has guided instruction every step of the way. Lectures and an online research library are available and help deal with up to date legal decisions and studies. Your law school advisors and mentors will assist you with course content at your convenience and all from the comfort of your home or office.

Online Law School Rankings: Which Are the Best?
Sure, you apply to any online law program; programs like Concord and Northwestern in California both have online-only programs but no flexibility for time and degree completion and at a much higher cost. In addition, schools with a campus will typically charge more for their online programs than an institution without a campus. Is the extreme price difference worthwhile? Even ABA-approved institutions won't have ABA accreditation for an online-only program.

Major schools like Thomas Jefferson School of Law or Taft University may offer you a certain amount of name value, but attending a well-known program won't necessarily provide the education you want at the price you can afford. The best fit for one person isn't the best fit for the next, and only you can determine which program will best suit your professional and personal goals. Take into consideration time, money, and opportunities for degree completion.

Online Law Schools are not approved by ABA-What about Price?
Even the most cost effective online courses aren't free. However, you can make the case that a less expensive institution without ABA accreditation is just as valuable as a costly online institution with ABA accreditation or just approval. While the ABA approval of Yale or Harvard would be nice, if you don't need it, the cost difference is extreme. Your best bet is to balance the issue of price versus reading reviews and those "approved" online bar programs with meager bar pass rates. Review Concord law school's disclaimer:
"Concord is not on the list of schools approved by the American Bar Association. The ABA Standards for the Approval of Law Schools currently do not allow for JD programs that are delivered fully or substantially online."

Does the State of My Online Law School Matter?
Novus has students in just about every state and worldwide. Each state currently has guidelines in place that can be reviewed in the National Bar Examiners Guide. However, it doesn't matter what state the online law school is based in--all that matters is where you want to practice law. Living in a state that doesn't offer online degree bar admission is only a problem if you want to practice there. So if you're completing an online degree intending to practice law, if you live in a state with bar restrictions, you have the option to move to be able to take the bar in a state that accepts online programs. If you do pass the bar in one state, that doesn't mean you can practice law in a different state.

Will States Change Their Bar Restrictions to Allow Online Law Schools?
There is no way to determine this, however; as the Internet becomes more and more prevalent in education, the likelihood of expanding ABA approval to worthy online programs increases. It could be, in the future, that all states will eventually allow practitioners of law from online schools with or without attorney supervision or clerking in the courts for bar admission. Novus does not guarantee that you will be able to complete a supervision program and meet the bar requirements. You are responsible for ensuring that you can meet the additional obligations besides attorney supervision.

Are there Alternatives to Practice of Law?
A legal education generally provides an understanding of the law and an advanced analytical approach to the use and ramifications of the law. So many professions, other than law practice, promote or require legal education for advanced employment.

There is such overcrowding in the legal profession that the wish to achieve or enhance a work-life balance and the dissatisfaction with the legal profession, attorneys are leaving the Bar to pursue other careers and utilize their legal education. In some cases, graduates of a law school who either cannot be admitted or who decided not to bother to be admitted to a state bar enter these various professions.

Alternatively, professionals with a legal education are pursuing employment and work with the government as a policy analyst or legislative drafter, working for a legal information publication publisher, banking, finance, real estate, arbitration, mediation, and, of course, in law enforcement. In these fields, law degrees are beneficial and sometimes a mandatory qualification for employment.

What is the difference between a Lawyer and an Attorney?
An attorney and lawyer graduate from law school and earn a legal education. An attorney specifically earns a Juris Doctor Degree and then takes and passes a State Bar Exam to practice law. A lawyer only graduates from law school and may work in a legal profession.

What is the definition of "Attorney"?
Attorneys are legal professionals who complete law school and earn a Juris Doctor degree (JD). They pass a state bar examination and become members of the State Bar Association within the state they practice.

What is the definition of "Lawyer"?
Lawyers are professionals that succeed as law students and earn a law degree. Different from attorneys, they do not continue to take or pass a state bar exam or become a member of a State Bar Association. A lawyer must proceed to become an attorney to provide clients with legal advice, represent them in court, or interpret state & federal laws for clients.

Do Attorneys have to be members of the ABA?
No, the State Bar Association and the American Bar Association (ABA) are different, and Attorneys are not required to be a member of the ABA. Anyone can be a member of the ABA with or without a State Bar License.