[The California Law Student Journal]
Abraham Lincoln University Is a Viable Alternative to Bricks-And-Mortar Study: Anyone with a Dream of Becoming a Lawyer Can Attend
November 2005
By Steve Liosi, Esq.
Anyone with a dream of becoming a lawyer can attend. To realize that dream at Abraham Lincoln University, one needs to have completed 60 or more college units transferable to a bachelor’s degree, or have passed the college equivalency examinations approved by the California Committee of Bar Examiners. Additionally, one must possess the necessary skill level to get past the dreaded California Baby Bar exam and, ultimately, the California General Bar exam. If all hurdles are cleared, a graduate of Abraham Lincoln University (ALU) will be admitted to practice law in the state of California, just like any other law school graduate from Stanford, Hastings, Boalt Hall, or UCLA. And without having spent a fortune: annual tuition is close to 25% of the California average annual tuition, at $6,650. It’s about efficiency.
Unlike many correspondence law schools, ALU is a hybrid where students who live in the Los Angeles area can attend, at their option, live lectures. Outside of LA students can see these same lectures live on the Internet. Course videos and handouts are archived online, and are available for use off campus as CD R and Ipod products. Students can chat with professors during class on their computer screen. Yes, the future is here, and it is about time. Attending a traditional brick-and-mortar school can leave a graduate more than $100,000 in debt. And if you’re wondering about the quality of education, about 42% of all ALU graduates pass the FYLSX California bar exam on their first try. It is not difficult to find brick-and-mortar ABA schools that have no graduates who pass in California. "To me, all law school is correspondence law school," said Richard Rhode, an ABA graduate and attorney who has been practicing in the construction defect field for nearly seven years now. "I was fortunate enough the pass the California bar exam on my first attempt with little or no help from my law school. If I had to do it all over again, I’d attend a correspondence law school. I probably could have graduated with no loan debt."
Indeed, many law students find the Socratic Method of teaching, which populates the lecture halls of most, if not all ABA campuses, to be confusing and, at times, downright abusive. "We teach black letter law," said Dr. Mathias Jaren, Provost of the University and Dean of the law school. "We teach people how to fluidly engage in legal reasoning and analysis, then to pass a bar exam. We have to, because a law student without a license to practice law has few opportunities in the legal community. "At ALU," Dr. Jaren continues, "… we work for our students, who are clients that deserve every possible form of support and learning opportunity."
Dr. Jaren isn’t necessarily opposed to the Socratic Method, but he realizes that his students, and most correspondence students, are not enrolling in such schools to engage in lengthy esoteric discussions on legal theory. "We are delivering a product to those who want to get a license to practice law. And our school delivers this product extremely efficiently with a small-core faculty and adjuncts who are professionals, like judges and specialized practitioners, who come in and teach on the evenings. Abraham Lincoln specifically acknowledges individuals who want this form of legal training. In the early twentieth century, the YMCA provided similar legal training, and several Supreme Court Justices came from those schools. "We are quality rather than financially driven," said Dr. Jaren. "ALU is very carefully managed, and has attributes of a trust, if you will. I use that word selectively." Mr. Park is a man of business, but as far as this school goes, it is not a secret money mill. "The tuition is priced modestly at $6,650 and financial aid is available. Our monthly pipeline costs, with all of our equipment, is a good chunk of change. Plus, you have to pay faculty competitively. And our faculty can teach."
Hyung Joo Park, a Loyola Law School graduate and teacher at heart, started ALU in 1996 with his life savings of $200,000. Six years later, the school had $2 million in revenue. His dream was to provide a very high quality low cost legal education for people. In his own sentiment, it was about people. In fact, he was so deeply affected by a Korean friend’s failure to finish law school because of work and family obligations, Mr. Park thought, "Maybe they can study at home, we give them a schedule, they come to our place once a week." And, as they say, the rest is history. Today, an exciting new law school exists, with state of the art technology.
To learn more about Abraham Lincoln University, visit their Web site: www.alu.edu; or call (213) 252-5100; or simply visit their campus: 1730 W. Olympic Blvd., 4th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90015.
