Distance learning is growing fast, thanks to the flexibility it provides to working professionals.
Online legal education has made great strides in a very short time.
Ten years ago, just 23 law schools had online students, and they were primarily enrolled in master’s programs — not J.D. programs.
That was when the American Bar Association approved the first hybrid online/in-person J.D. program. It was at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Minneapolis.
At the time, many wondered why it had taken so long. Others wondered if the risky venture would fail, or possibly change legal education for the worse. In 2017, the first online class graduated and the sky did not fall. Instead, the students moved on to pass the bar exam.
Today 14 law schools offer hybrid J.D. programs, and St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio runs a fully online J.D. program. Even more impressive, 81 law schools offer an LL.M. or other law-related master’s program online.
“The legal profession is catching up with the rest of the world when it comes to online education,” said Michael Barry, dean of South Texas College of Law Houston, one of the 14 schools with hybrid J.D. programs. “Online education has been very successfully deployed in many other disciplines, and the law field is kind of late to the game.”
The growth in online programs is being driven by demand and an increasing understanding that they provide an education comparable to in-person classes.
In 2014, University of Southern California, Gould School of Law launched its first online program, an LL.M. for foreign attorneys. It has seen steady growth every year since.
“In terms of academic rigor, there is no difference between our online and on-campus LL.M.s,” said Sarah Gruzas, director of graduate and international programs at USC Gould School of Law. “The modality that may be the best fit for a student is often one of personal choice.”
Many, such as Rachel Vierra, a student from Northeastern University School of Law, are drawn to the flexibility of online, remote and hybrid programs.
“I knew I wanted a part-time program because I was not willing to give up my full-time job to pursue a legal degree,” Vierra said. “I was drawn to the idea that the program offered content remotely that I knew I could do on a schedule that was compatible with my job, but also offered the opportunity to come to campus and make connections with other students and professors.”
Documented online success
While student demand is driving online education, studies support the efficacy of the curriculum.
Success With Online Education, a report from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement, shows that 80% of the law students polled said they are comfortable with nearly all features of online education, including interactions with professors and classmates and taking exams.
The survey indicated that many students not only feel comfortable but also feel successful in an online setting. Almost 90% of online and in-person students agreed that they are learning to think critically and analytically. The ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar recently surveyed nearly 1,400 third-year law students and found that 69% wanted the opportunity to earn more distance education course credit than their law school offers.
“While we should fine-tune outreach and relationship building, students attending online are learning just as much, equally satisfied, and participating even more than those attending in person,” said Meera Deo, director of the Law School Survey of Student Engagement.
Early last year, the Association of American Law Schools conducted a survey on how the pandemic changed legal education. More than 400 law school deans responded. Many of the deans agreed that online learning and remote work arrangements were a boon to their students. They also praised the flexibility and accessibility of online classes, as well as the elimination of the need to cancel classes because of inclement weather and other setbacks.
STCL Houston’s Barry said the pandemic showed the legal education world that “if you are intentional and thoughtful about online education, it can be a remarkably successful means of learning the law.”
He suggested that online education provides some opportunities that don’t exist in an in-person class experience. The faculty at STCL Houston design their online classes from scratch, and some have discovered new ways of explaining material that they have now incorporated into their in-person classes.
“In the online environment, there are regular check-ins with the student that allow students to determine whether they are comprehending the material and progressing at the appropriate rate throughout the semester,” Barry said. “Whereas in a typical class, the first time you find out whether you’ve got the material or not, or whether you’ve grasped the material or not, is when you take the final exam. So in many ways, these students have more opportunities to check whether they are learning in an online environment than in a typical in-person environment.”
And online learning will continue to grow, he said.
“I believe that there is an increasing demand for online education in all disciplines, including in law,” Barry said. “And I expect more schools are going to follow suit.”
Many schools have seen increased student interest in LL.M. programs and have expanded accordingly.
At Texas A&M University School of Law, enrollment in online LL.M. programs tripled from Fall 2019 to Fall 2021, and it has almost tripled again in the past year, said Heather Miller, graduate program coordinator at the school.
Texas A&M Law offers online LL.M. programs in International Intellectual Property Rights, International Tax, Risk Management and Wealth Management, as well as a new Intellectual Property program.
“An online LL.M. is a great option for current lawyers in the United States or international attorneys who cannot come to the United States for an in-residence degree program,” Miller said. “It is a great opportunity to gain expertise in a particular field of law, and it allows them the flexibility to learn from anywhere without putting a strain on their schedule that an in-person program might cause.”
Vicky Datsova started her LL.M. online in 2020 with University of Cincinnati College of Law. The program was put online temporarily because of COVID-19. Datsova spent her first two semesters studying law while working full-time from home. The next year, the school announced it was switching back to in-person classes, meaning Datsova would have to take more time off from work.
But then she found the University of Dayton School of Law’s online LL.M. program. It is fully online and the prerecorded lectures are followed by quizzes, assignments and chat discussions. Great for people who work full time, Datsova said.
“There is a huge advantage in studying at your own convenience after work and on the weekends,” she said. “You could listen to some parts of the lecture, pause and listen again when you have time. You can also listen to the lectures as many times as you want. You can even change the video speed if you want.”
She noted that online learning can also have challenges. It takes self-discipline and motivation to complete the work on your own time.
Margaret Ioannides, assistant dean for online LL.M. programs at University of Dayton, has also seen the growth of online LL.M. programs in this post-COVID era. The school offers an online LL.M. in American and Transnational Law.
Ioannides recommends that students who are choosing between an online LL.M. and an in-person one should focus on their main goal in pursuing the degree.
“The in-person experience provides students with an obvious opportunity to make in-person connections with classmates, faculty and the university community,” she said. “However, it does require a commitment by students to attend classes on campus on specific days or times.
“The online LL.M. experience — if offered in an asynchronous format — provides maximum flexibility and accessibility for students around the world. However, it is important for students interested in online LL.M. programs to also ask whether students in the program will have opportunities to build virtual connections with classmates, faculty and the university community, and whether they will have access to student support resources, such as career services, academic success, etc.”
For students considering admission to the bar in the U.S., Ioannides recommends checking with the bar of the state in which they want to practice to find out if pursuing an online program could affect their bar eligibility.
Datsova said she believes online classes will continue to attract more and more students from all around the world.
“They are a great opportunity for non-traditional students and people who want to keep working full time . . . and even those living outside the U.S.,”
she said. “However, online education has its challenges. Those programs should be well structured to provide well-developed substantive material and engaging follow-up practices. Programs are still relatively new, and they are still in the process of improving their content.”
Datsova added that she believes professors teaching foreign students need to develop more cultural and linguistic sensitivity to help them understand their students’ learning needs.
“Additionally, the universities that want to offer those programs need to understand the specifics of the foreign students,” she said. “Many come from societies and legal systems where the legal education process is completely opposite to the one applied in the common law systems. The online format makes it quite difficult for some students to thrive in the programs due to insufficient background clarifications.”
