Concord Law School
Concord Law School (formerly Concord University School of Law), is an online law school based in Los Angeles, California. It is one of several schools within Purdue University Global. Established in 1998, Concord Law School was the United States' first fully online law school. The school is accredited by the State Bar of California, but it is not accredited by the American Bar Association. History In October 1998, 33 students began the online program. As part of the revolving door between the ABA and start up law schools, Concord hired Barry Currier from 2004 to 2010 as Dean of the law school. 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. As the first fully online law school in the United States, the concept of Concord initially drew criticism from the legal establishment, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In June 2016, Martin Pritikin, Harvard Law School magna cum laude graduate, joined Concord Law School as its dean. In March 2018, Purdue University bought Kaplan University to make a nonprofit institution and a new online university called Purdue University Global. The for-profit Kaplan Higher Education still has a 30-year contract to serve Purdue Global. After an initial enrollment decline at Concord Law School by approximately 65 percent between 2014 and 2020, the school's enrollment has grown after earning California Bar Accreditation in 2020. Student body As of September 2023, Concord had approximately 830 students. In 2020, ~65% of students were in the JD bar-qualifying program and ~35% of students were in the non-qualifying Executive JD program. Student diversity in ethnicity, gender, and support for persons with disabilities is a priority at Concord, with the 2019 student cohort composed of approximately 20% African American, 12% Latinx, 6% Asian or Pacific Islander, 20% not identifying, and 40% White. According to the California Committee of Bar Examiners, Concord has "'significant attrition with voluntary withdrawals' of up to 45% and involuntary dismissals of up to 35% in the first semester." Accreditation status In August 2020, Concord received programmatic accreditation by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California, allowing JD graduates to immediately take the California bar exam. As a result, graduates of Concord Law School are eligible for licensure to practice law in two states (Wisconsin and North Carolina) immediately upon receiving their law license in California. However, for 19 other U.S jurisdictions, Concord graduates are eligible for practice after a certain number of years of licensed practice has been reached. Yet, in 31 other jurisdictions a Concord graduate is not typically eligible for licensure. Some states (Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, and Texas) will allow a Concord graduate to be licensed under limited circumstances. Purdue Global itself is accredited by Higher Learning Commission. Bar pass rate Concord graduates' bar pass rates for the February 2023 California bar exam were 62% for first-time takers and 25% for those repeating the exam. Concord graduates'