Concord School of Law

[SemiMBA]

I came across the Concord School of Law which is DETC accredited, but apparently not CALBar accredited.  What does this mean?  You can take the bar exam and they have a higher passage rate than other Tier 3 and 4 schools like Lincoln and JFK -- any input?  Any value to this degree?

[bigs5068]

Lincoln and JFK are not tier 3 or tier 4 schools. Those are CBA and not mentioned in the rankings, you need to be an ABA approved school to be in tier 3 or 4. Lincoln, JFK, and Concord are much less regulated because they are not part of the ABA. However, you can pass the bar and become an attorney, but many positions require a degree from an ABA school. Also the CBA schools will limit you to California, while any ABA school will allow you to take the bar in any state or multiple states. JFK, Lincoln, Concord are fringe schools, but they are a lot cheaper.

[louiebstef]

Bigs,

Just to pile on here.  I was stationed for years in California, mostly out of San Diego.  Having earned a mediocre GPA, but nonetheless holding a degree, I looked hard at the Calbar and online schools.

The reality is that the practice limitations are staggering.  The ABA reciprocity is not universal.  As you know, typically if you are a member of the CALBAR for 5 years, many states will allow you to take their bar exam. 

Long story short?  I saw just how many states do NOT allow non-ABA grads to ever take their bar that I discarded the notion of attending the "College of Law at the Universal Love University of What's Happenin' Now"

Screw it.  I believe all potential attorneys in California should do what you did and suck it up and go to an ABA law school.