Thanks for all the replies. PLEASE IGNORE POLL. This site did not come with directions, lol. I am not from CA and never heard of any of these schools. Instead of Southern California, I meant CAL Southern. It is registered both as correspondence and as a stand-alone school with the CA Bar. They seem to have a reasonable pass rate and is DETC (that and $.50, call someone who cares)
St. Francis is off the list. They will not answer telephone. However, they seem to have a nice presentation, price, and bar pass rate.
Northwestern seems to be most reputable in the region with a list of alumni, who are actually ATTORNEYS, and NOT FRY COOKS. (or in jail). I spoke with a couple today. There are several states (DC included) which have allowed their graduates admission to the bar.
Taft seems to be fully accredited with everyone EXCEPT ABA and cannot answer even dumb questions. But they do get TITLE IV funds - and people wander what is wrong with the system. . . .
Oak Brook has an impressive pass rate. The curriculum seems good too. Only problem is that they are religious. 2 men have always had their hands in my pocket: UNCLE SAM, and the PREACHER MAN!
Concord is the only school which has both accreditation with CA Bar and is regionally certified with US Dept of Ed. Its policies mirror the ABA standards. There are some states which will allow their graduates admission without a 5 year wait (Georgia) so long as a dean of an ABA certified law school will certify that he/she thinks the distance education was adherent to the ABA model (except of course for the physical plant requirements).
These are the fruits of the limited research I have done for myself. I hope anyone who has questions can use this. I went to an ABA law school and hated it-thus, I have not finished a JD. I primarily want to practice tax law and work mostly in the Federal System. I live in Georgia but may move. I have health issues and neither want the full time obligation of a traditional school nor the expense.
I have met most of the requirements of the DC Bar. There are 26 hours of ABA approved law school in any of the 9 tested subject areas (If JD is awarded online) in addition to a J.D. awarded by any college or university (here, I am assuming "college or university" means it must be recognized. So Mid-A somebody in NC might not cut the mustard). I would then take the DC Bar. Then I have to face whether or not the state in which the federal court "sits" will recognize the license, or if I have to jump through more hoops.
Georgia is a different animal. There is a waiver process and no one will disclose the outcomes. Only when bar admission is denied and there is appeal made to the Supreme Court is there a record. There have not been many appeals lately.
The case I can find outside of Westlaw is the BATTERSON case. Her case could possibly have been won, had she found a dean of a law school sign her evaluation of the law school (Northwestern CAL) for Georgia. Most other denials are based on faulty evidence, failure-to-disclose issues, or overall character and fitness objections, not the quality of the online education itself. I do not know if that is good news, or rather a convenient excuse to deny entry for the non ABA student.
I have come to the conclusion that it is far more taxing to avoid the ABA oligopoly than to just give in and follow the path of least resistance - go ABA (for those of us who can)!
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