Law School Discussion

I'm kinda fascinated by this place. Most DL law schools will gladly accept anyone who's willing to pay the tuition, but perhaps these guys are trying to do something else. Perhaps they are actually trying to start a respectable, selective online JD program. It's interesting. Do you know anything about the school's history, and who founded it?

I worked at a very successful entertainment firm (as a clerk, not a lawyer) in LA. Some of the attorneys were from Ivies, others were from Loyola, and one was hired while still in law school at Southwestern. I met tons of lawyers from other entertainment firms at local bar association gatherings, etc as well as in-house counsel from the studios. Some went to T14 schools, but plenty were from Loyola, Southwestern, and Pepperdine. The people hired at the firm I worked at didn't have industry connections, but they did have extensive contracts/negotiations experience. I also worked at the largest film distribution and marketing association in the United States, and it was the same story. I don't remember all of the attorneys' bios, but we had T14 as well as Loyola/Southwestern, etc.

I agree, however, that specialty rankings (especially at non-elite law schools) are highly overrated. The fact that you can take a few classes in entertainment law will not really matter too much. As Jack24 said, a focus on agency/contracts is really what they look for. Think about where you want to live, because outside of truly elite national schools pretty much all law is local.

Of course, it will be easier to get internships and a job if you go to an elite school. But if you go to someplace like Loyola and focus on obtaining good, marketable experience, you can do fine. Just be realistic and informed about the costs and options.

From the horse's mouth: Standard 308 of the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools states "The ABA does not formally approve any program other than the first degree in law (J.D.)."

As far as I know, ABA approved schools will not accept credits from an unaccredited law program. I have seen some ABA schools which will accept a certain number of transfer credits from a California state bar approved school, but never from an unaccredited program. I think you'd be starting from scratch if you decided to get another J.D. from an ABA approved school. In addition, since you're already a member of the bar, it's possible that you're more or less prohibited from attending law school again. You'd have such a huge advantage over your non-lawyer classmates that schools might be very skeptical about admitting you. I imagine that neither the ABA nor the individual law schools themselves want to encourage people to obtain bar admission first, then seek admission to law school. You may even want to check with the CA bar, they may have some restrictions on acquiring a second J.D.

You're already admitted to the CA bar, which is no small task! You should be proud of that accomplishment and focus on building a career either in law, which you're already qualified for, or in another field which doesn't require an ABA degree. I don't know you or your situation, so everything I say might be totally wrong and misguided. If so, ignore my advice. But based on the small amount of information you've provided, I don't see how an ABA law degree (which would cost possibly $100,000+) would be especially useful. What field do you want to work in?

BTW, your undergrad degree would only matter in terms of J.D. admissions. This is just my personal opinion, but I have a strong suspicion that most law schools absolutely, positively will not want to admit a student to a J.D program who is already a licensed attorney. I would contact the individual schools and ask them directly. I might be wrong.   

Quote from: legend on June 24, 2012, 01:49:42 AM

This grading policy is essentially  what every law school in America does.

completely false

If anything this policy seems fairly generous. 70-75% of the class will be in the C to B+ range, and 5-15% will be in the A- to A range. That's hardly an onerous grading curve. A few people will fail and few will score A's, and the majority will get Bs and Cs. Legend is correct, that is exactly what most law schools have implemented. Law school isn't like undergrad, you don't get a good grade just for showing up.

Now, if Syracuse has made it harder to retain scholarships by making the curve tighter, that sucks. And yes, every law school plays games with scholarships .Keep in mind however, that many law school have a curve set at 2.3-2.5. Syracuse's seems pretty easy by comparison. 

The European system is very different from the American system. General university entrance exams are required, and in some countries an additional law exam may be required, especially if it's an impacted major. Law degrees in some European countries (U.K., Ireland) are undergraduate degrees (LL.B), and require about four years of university study, a series of state exams and some monitored/mandatory internships (they don't use the word "internship", but I can't remember what it's called). In some continental civil systems, like Germany and the Netherlands, I believe it takes about six years altogether and law students will often pick a track while still in school: civil, criminal, judicial, administrative attorney, etc. Civil law degrees are essentially professional doctorates, much like the J.D. Unlike the U.S., there is little or no crossover between fields. In other words, if you become a prosecutor you will likely remain a prosecutor for the rest of your career.

The U.K. has a distinction between solicitors and barristers, although it's been substantially reduced over the last few decades. Graduates from common law countries (U.K. for example) can take the California bar without an LL.M, but I think that most civil law graduates would be required to at least obtain a U.S. LL.M first. Admissions to European law schools can be very competitive depending on the school, just like the U.S. My guess (and I could be completely wrong) is that it would be pretty difficult to get accepted to most European law faculties as a U.S. student.

Europen universities (especially on the continent) tend to be far more traditional than American schools. Since you already have a B.A., you'd be applying for something like a second, unrelated B.A. which really can't be used in the U.S. (and unless you have joint EU/US citizenship, you will almost certainly have to return after graduation.) You'd probably have a much better chance with U.K./Irish schools than with civil system schools.