July 16th, 2009 at 10:09am
Under Education Law
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition of
accreditation is “to recognize (an educational institution) as
maintaining standards that qualify the graduates for admission
to higher or more specialized institutions or for professional
practice.” Law schools generally fall into three catagories of
accreditation, American Bar Association (ABA) accredited, state
accredited or unaccredited.
ABA accreditation – According to the American Bar
Association, “Law schools approved by the American Bar
Association (ABA) provide a legal education which meets a
minimum set of standards as promulgated by the ABA. Every
jurisdiction in the United States has determined that graduates
of ABA-approved law schools are able to sit for the bar in their
respective jurisdictions. The role that the ABA plays as the
national accrediting body has enabled accreditation to become
unified and national in scope rather than fragmented, with the
potential for inconsistency, among the 50 states, the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and other
territories. The Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education
and Admissions to the Bar is the United States Department of
Education recognized accrediting agency for programs that lead
to the first professional degree in law. The law school approval
process established by the Council is designed to provide a
careful and comprehensive evaluation of a law school and its
compliance with the Standards for Approval of Law Schools.”
State accreditation – Most states have their own
accreditation process and in most cases give accreditation
status to ABA accredited schools. However, there are many law
schools that for one reason or another do not meet all of the
ABA accredition requirements. Some of these schools, however, do
meet the states requirements. Note: State requirements can vary
by state. If a school meets state requirements it can apply to
that state for state accreditation.
Unaccredited – According to the California Bar
Association “An unaccredited law school is one operating as a
law school in the State of California that is neither accredited
nor approved by the Committee, but must be registered with the
Committee and comply with the requirements contained in Rules
XIX and XX of the Admission Rules, applicable provisions of the
California Rules of Court and relevant sections of the
California Business and Professions Code. A law school operating
wholly outside of California is unaccredited unless it has
applied for and received accreditation from the Committee or is
provisionally or fully approved by the American Bar
Association.” Rules in many other states are the same.
Most states require that you meet certain requirements
prior to being eligible to take their bar examination. The
California Bar states “To be eligible to take the California Bar
Examination, one must have completed at least two years of
college before beginning the study of law or must have passed
certain specified College Level Equivalency Program examinations
before beginning law study and must have graduated from a law
school approved by the American Bar Association or accredited by
the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California or
have completed four years of law study at an unaccredited or
correspondence law school registered with the Committee or
studied law in a law office or judge’s chambers in accordance
with the Rules Regulating Admission to Practice Law in
California.” Most states have similar requirements.
The foregoing suggests that many states will not allow,
non ABA accredited out of state law school graduates to take
their bar examination, unless they attended school in that state
or a school that is certified by that state. Therefore students
graduating from non ABA accredited law schools may not be
allowed to practice in any state other than the state they
attended school. Note: Some states have reciprocal agreements
with other states allowing attorneys registered in one state to
become a member of the bar in another state without taking a bar
examination in the new state.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, there are many fine law
schools in this country that are not ABA accredited.
Additionally, many ABA accredited schools do not offer night
time or part time classes. Finally, there are many more
applicants that spaces available in ABA accredited schools,
forcing many good students to attend other schools. Therefore,
accreditation should not be your only criteria in choosing a law
school or in deceiding whether or not to hire a particular law
school graduate.
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July 14th, 2009 at 04:10pm
Under Education Law
Building a career as an attorney is a task that requires lots of study, hard work, stamina and above all, goal orientation. Because the average salary of an attorney is quite lucrative, students are flocking to law schools, thus enhancing competition.
Requirements for Getting into Law Schools
To begin your career as an attorney, at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as Criminal Justice or Humanities and Social Studies, is a must. However, getting into the top law schools is quite a difficult task. For instance, it requires a high GPA (Grade Point Average) of at least 3.0 or 3.5 to get admission into a school. Other requirements include:
Things You Must Know Before Enrolling in Law Schools
Top Education Guide is a comprehensive online database that provides information on various universities, campuses, vocational courses and degree programs that help progress one’s career. Log on to topeducationguide.com for free and accurate information that help enhance your professional goals.
In one way or more, nearly every industry is associated with law. The field of law is vast, challenging and lucrative. Top Education Guide helps you to find
best law schools & colleges online.
July 13th, 2009 at 04:09pm
Under Education Law
As California’s financial debt, overcrowding and budget cuts eat away at the quality of education being given to students in California, and as the number of families grow who feel they can give their children a better education than is given in public schools, and without the influence of bullies and other disruptive elements in their children’s lives, there is now a significant number of children being homeschooled in California. California education lawyers and education attorneys throughout the State of California have been aware of this large segment for some time now in California.
From Palm Springs to Palm Desert, San Diego to Orange County, from El Cajon and Chula Vista to Anaheim, Irvine, Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Anaheim, from Santa Barbara, Ventura, Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo to Yorba Linda, Rancho Cucamonga, Moreno Valley, Ontario, Fontana and Fullerton, from Riverside and San Bernardino to La Quinta, Indio and Coachella, the number of children being homeschooled has created a significant number of households in California.
Therefore, when in February 2008, a California court ruled that unless one of the parents of a homeschooled child had a credentialed teaching degree, their children being taught at home were truant, it shocked the families of these homeschooled children.
This ruling was thought to affect 200,000 kids in the State of California. Protests were raised from parents of these children to the Governor of the State.
On rehearing, the same judges made an equally stunning reversal of their opinion. Judge H. Walter Croskey, of the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles wrote that so long as parents declare their home to be a private school, they can continue to homeschool their children, even without credentials.
Parents, especially Christian parents of homeschool children and homeschooling associations hailed the decision. Governor Schwarzenegger perhaps naively expressed his hope that this might settle the issue once and for all.
However, in his decision on the issue, Judge Croskey noted that while California impliedly allows parents to homeschool, California currently has no enforcement mechanism. He said, given the State’s compelling interest in educating its children, and the absence of an express statutory and regulatory framework for homeschooling in California, additional clarity would be helpful.
Parents of homeschooled children should realize that Judge Croskey’s opinion is an invitation to legislators to create statutes and regulations in this area as well as a mechanism to enforce the rules they set for homeschooling.A
s a lawyer who must constantly read new laws, parents should know too that wherever there are legislators, they are busy creating new regulations.
Governor Schwarzenegger’s hope notwithstanding, the court’s ruling did anything but abdicate the right to make further rulings. After first holding against homeschooling and then completely reversing course and admitting that it did so simply on an implied allowance by the State to allow it, the next court to review the subject could very well rule completely differently.
For the moment, however, parents teaching their children at home can breathe a sigh of relief. How long that relaxed atmosphere will last, however, will yet be up to the courts and the state legislature.
If you have an education legal matter of any kind, we have the knowledge and resources to be your Moreno Valley Education Lawyers, and Chula Vista Education Attorneys. For this reason, be sure to hire a California law firm with education lawyers who can represent you from Palm Springs, Rancho Cucamonga, Orange County, San Luis Obispo, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar, Anaheim, Irvine, La Jolla, El Cajon, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Temecula, Palm Desert, Yorba Linda, Carlsbad, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Westminster, and Murrieta, to Indian Wells and La Quinta.
If you have an education legal matter of any kind, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com and learn how we can assist you. You can also call us to speak directly to Sebastian Gibson on the phone about your legal matter.
The Sebastian Gibson Law Firm serves all of San Diego, Orange County, Palm Springs and Palm Desert, the Coastal Cities from La Jolla, Carlsbad and Del Mar to Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and up to Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. We also serve the Inland Empire cities of Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Riverside and San Bernardino and all the cities in the Coachella Valley and high desert, from La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella to Yucca Valley and Victorville.
Visit our website at
http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com if you have an education legal matter of any kind. We have the knowledge and resources to represent you as your Moreno Valley Education Lawyer and Chula Vista Education Attorney or your attorney in and around the cities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, San Diego, Orange County, Corona del Mar, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Laguna Beach, Anaheim, Riverside, Chula Vista, Irvine, San Bernardino, Huntington Beach, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Oceanside, La Jolla, Del Mar, San Marcos, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Garden Grove, Palmdale, Long Beach, Corona, Yorba Linda, Escondido, Orange, Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Victorville, Carlsbad, Temecula, Murrieta, Mission Viejo, El Cajon, Vista, Westminster, Santa Monica, Malibu, Westwood, Hesperia, Buena Park, Indio, Coachella, Del Mar, Oxnard, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Cambria and Santa Barbara.