Online Law School to graduate first class - tech briefs - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Sept 12, 2002 by Ronald Roach

LOS ANGELES

Concord Law School, the nation's only online law school, will be graduating its first class in November, according to school officials. Ten juris doctorate candidates are expected to receive their degrees in a ceremony to be held at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on Nov. 21. Barry Diller, chairman and CEO of USA Interactive and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, will be the commencement speaker at the graduation ceremony.

The graduation should mark a major milestone for the first wholly Internet law school, which is owned and operated by Kaplan Inc., a leading testing preparation company. Concord opened its virtual doors in the fall of 1998 with six faculty members and 33 students. Today, the school has grown to 60 faculty members and more than 1,000 students.

"These first graduates have written the opening chapter in Concord history and a continuing chapter in a long and cherished Kaplan educational history," says Jack R. Goetz, dean and president of Concord Law School.

Concord's curriculum includes classes delivered by leading academics such as Harvard law school civil procedure professor Arthur R. Miller, who serves as a supplementary lecturer, and renowned criminal law lecturer Rafael Guzman. The faculty also includes law school deans and professors, judges, litigators and academics from around the country.