[June 01, 2006] New Law School Opens Opportunities for Non-traditional Legal Students Tweet CULVER CITY, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- June 1, 2006 -- With only 193 law schools fully-accredited by the American Bar Association, a classic legal education has traditionally been reserved for a very small segment of Americans. However, for the promising paralegal, the young parent raising children, the police officer looking to advance his career and his salary, or the former soldier with little formal education but a lot of drive and ambition, the California School of Law provides an admissions policy they can realistically satisfy, a tuition they can afford and a study schedule they can keep, complete with the same rigorous Socratic teaching approach of a traditional law school. The California School of Law classroom experience and instruction are delivered over the Internet through "Voice Over Internet Protocol" (VoIP) distance learning technology. Applications now are being accepted for classes beginning in September 2006 at the school founded by Dean William Hunt, Esq., an attorney, instructor in paralegal and legal studies, and a dyslexic, who himself overcame enormous obstacles to achieve his dream of a law degree. "As a child, I remember my parents, who were both law school graduates, asking me, not if I was going to law school, but which law school I was going to. For a kid that couldn't read, write or spell, they were very ambitious for me," explains Hunt, who eschewed the special ed classes throughout high school, choosing to fail often rather than face the stigma. His high performance in subjects other than reading and spelling eventually impressed educators at UCLA, who accepted him and provided methods for Hunt to take his tests orally, which led to an undergraduate degree. Hunt proceeded to the University of San Francisco School of Law, and when it came time for him to take the California State Bar in 1994, it was a six day ordeal. He passed the exam and acquired a life-long desire to help others succeed in pursuing their dreams of a legal education. While approximately 50% of the general population of California is composed of racial minorities, they make up only 17% of the attorneys in California. Physically handicapped and persons with learning disabilities are similarly under-represented in the legal profession. Thirty-two year old Andrew Humble will attend California School of Law this fall, with hopes of becoming an attorney: "Being optically-disadvantaged, I cannot learn in a typical bright classroom, so the online degree program is perfect for me," says Humble, who just received his Paralegal degree from Crown College, an Internet school with VoIP. California School of Law students attend live, real-time classes in a "virtual classroom" for six hours per week, scheduled two days a week from either 9 a.m. to noon or 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. PT. Through a relationship with Gateway Computers, the school offers savings on a computer for its new students. Tuition is $5,400 per year, plus books, for the four-year program. The California School of Law is online at www.californiaschooloflaw.com. The school is licensed by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, with provisional recognition by the California State Bar. Contact the California School of Law at 866-273-5905 or [email protected]. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]