Online degrees from all disciplines have steadily been gaining popularity over the years nationwide. The field of law is no exception to this. Ten years ago, one online law program existed. Nowadays, this figure is upwards of 12. Many students who enroll in online law programs are non-traditional, that is, they are older, have families to support, work part or full time, or are halfway through their working life and considering a change of career path.

At Concorde Law School (part of Kaplan University), the median age of online students is 43. Concorde is the largest online law school in the United States, with 1,500 enrolled students. According to Donna Skibbe, Vice President of External Relations for Concorde Law School, the majority of students enrolled are working professionals. Many older professionals who study an online law degree do so with the purpose of switching career paths, or enhancing their resume to improve their job opportunities in their current position.

There are limitations to studying law online, though. Namely, students must sit the bar exam in California before they can re-sit it in other states, and even then only a few select states allow students to sit the bar exam. As well as this, online students from an institution not accredited by the State Bar of California or the American Bar Association (ABA) must sit the first year law students’ examination, a miniature bar test that students from traditional brick and mortar colleges do not need to sit.

Another issue is the legal community’s opinion of online law degrees. Graduates from online programs will face more scrutiny compared to those graduating from a traditional college – especially if students are applying to the top law firms.

There are benefits to studying online though. For one, it’s convenient – you can choose where and when to study. As well as this, online students have considerably less debt than traditional college students. This is an advantage since online graduates need not dismiss public sector law jobs like traditional college students who are concerned about paying back their debt might.The average yearly tuition can range anywhere between $7,500 and $10,000, and students needn’t worry about accommodation or transportation costs.

Some like Lael Kayfetz believe that online law students need to work harder than their traditional counterparts, since they don’t study in a classroom environment where they can be pushed by other students. Kayfetz, a graduate from a non-traditional school herself, believes that the big law firms need to change their opinion of online degrees, “They’re too snobby. I think there is a bias against [online law degrees] in the industry. The profession has to recognize that we’re in the 21st century.”