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If you need a flexible program, consider doing a hybrid program through a ranked school. There are some decent law schools that do 50% online and 50% on the weekends. Online only programs rarely make a competitive applicant for legal roles.
I agree. If you ever want to leave your firm, new firms may not be as understanding about your law school. Lawyers can be pretentious about a lot of things, including where you went to law school. You may be stuck at your firm forever if you don’t have credentials that other firms will accept.
I attended law school during Covid and it was fully remote. I loved it and I was able to also work while in school
Are there reputable schools that still do this?
Yes
Does zoom law school during Covid count
I thought ABA accreditation required in person classes?
Iirc some states require in-person attendance/a certain level of attendance (e.g. attended 75% of your classes)/etc. to get barred there, but there are lots of schools that do not have in-person attendance requirements.
I think the answer is more a matter of personal preference. (I'm also old, so online law programs weren't an option for me.) While I enjoy the convenience of online classes, I prefer and tend to do better in live, in-person classes. I feel more engaged and focused. Plus, I like being able to ask questions and speak with my professors in person. No matter which option you choose, make sure going to law school is something you want to do, and that you're not going for someone else.
I appreciate your feedback, I am absolutely going for me not for someone else. I am just trying to determine the best plan/avenue for myself
Saul in better call Saul
I went in-person FT. I think remote would be feasible. I did enjoy some of the events/talks on campus during the day and I joined a few student groups. It made school a lot more enjoyable for me. So you would miss that going completely remote but if you have a good paying job now that you want to keep during law school, then I wouldn’t sweat missing that stuff. If I had a good paying job during school I would have done the part-time night program, but I didn’t have a job going in and then had low paying jobs throughout school so it wasn’t worth putting off an earning year to go part-time.
Yes . Very tough
I’ve spent the last few years on a BigLaw recruiting committee and I would be really concerned about hiring someone whose program was online.
I would imagine you’d miss out on a lot of on-campus recruiting opportunities (in addition to everything else). Law firms are recruiting as early as first semester and even before then in some cases.
More importantly, consider that where you went to law school won’t necessarily dictate where you end up, but it will often dictate how difficult it will be to get where you want to be. If you want to be a litigator, make sure you go somewhere that speaks to other litigators. If you want to do corporate law in NYC, that’s going to require a fairly specific pedigree.
My best advice would be to take a look at your finances, what your overall professional goals are, and see what kind of financial commitments you can make and what kind of job prospects that will get you. If finances are a concern, I would tell you to focus on the LSAT and take a very good prep course. It would likely be more worthwhile to work really hard to get the best LSAT score that you can and to go to the highest ranked school that offers your a scholarship or financial aid - provided that you’ll be able to reach your goals with that path.
Alternatively, it might be worth it to go to an even higher ranked school and get comfortable with the fact that you’ll have to take on some debt. Consider what you’re looking for out of a legal career; do some research into what it will take to get there; and evaluate the opportunities you’ll have based on any school you’re considering. For example, if you want a BigLaw job, going to a regional law school in a smaller market is going to make that difficult. On the other hand, if you’re in Dallas, going to SMU is often an easier path to a BigLaw job in Dallas than coming in from a higher ranked school in a different state. It all depends on what you want - so talk to lots of lawyers, lots of admissions counselors, look on NALP, Above the Law, and anywhere else you can find candid conversations. Best of luck!
Thank you so much, this was extremely helpful to me🙏