California (Los Angeles) -- Concord Law School of Kaplan University -- Accreditation: Rule XIX -- Year Founded: 1998

Concord Law School, formerly known as "Concord University School of Law", is an online law school based in Los Angeles, California. The school is a subsidiary of the Kaplan Higher Education Corporation. All lecture and study sessions are delivered entirely from a secure website on the Internet.

Degrees offered

Both a J.D. degree and an Executive J.D. (EJD) degree are offered. The recipients of J.D. degrees who pass the California Bar Exam and otherwise meet the California State Bar requirements are admitted to the bar and can practice law in California.

Accreditation status

Concord is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council, but is not accredited by any law school accrediting body. It is a member of the International Association of Law Schools and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

The merger of Concord into Kaplan University in late 2007 made Concord the first online law school to be part of a regionally accredited university. However, the school is not accredited by the American Bar Association, or by the California Committee of Bar Examiners.

Because of the school's status as an unaccredited distance learning law school by the California Bar Association, Concord students must take and pass California's First Year Law Student Examination, colloquially called the "Baby Bar," after their first year of law study. Students may progress to advanced law courses and eventually sit for California's State Bar Examination once they have passed the Baby Bar.

The California State Bar reports that of the 196 Concord students taking the "baby bar" in October 2008, 28 or 14.3% passed. The average for All Takers of the "baby bar" is 14.7% of 653 examinees. The California State Bar report for the July 2008 Bar Exam states that of the 102 Concord graduates taking the Bar Exam, 30 or 29.4% passed. The figures for the February, 2009 Bar Exam are that of the 109 Concord graduates taking the California Bar Exam, 29 passed, a 26.6% rate. All takers of the February, 2009 Bar Exam, had a pass rate of 34.4% of 4445 examinees and in July, 2008 it was 61% of 8990 examinees. Total CA unaccredited had a 21.3% pass rate of 427 total examinees in July, 2008. In February, 2009, CA unaccredited distance learning had a total pass rate of 18.4% with 185 test takers.

Contact

Prospective Students
If you are interested in applying to Concord Law School or have questions about the Concord Law School and the application process, please contact us at:

Phone: 800.439.4794
Fax: 888.564.6745
E-mail: infoconcord@concordlawschool.edu
Web: www.concordlawschool.edu

If you are interested in a teaching position at Concord Law School, please contact faculty@concord.kaplan.edu.

Read more: Online Law Degree Programs - Concord Law School