The traditional law school experience remains one of the most rigorous and formative academic journeys in American higher education. Just ask the generations of lawyers forged under the anxiety and immense pressures imbued by the Socratic classroom, late nights in the law library, edits for law review or journal, and when an entire semester’s grade was distilled to a single three-hour examination. Although nothing about the rise of online legal education diminishes that legacy, the legal profession has always been resistant to the shift to online legal education – often highlighting the trials and tribulations of law school as not just being intended to teach you the law, but to prepare you for the rigors of a practice where each of these plights in law school could directly translate into your experiences practicing law – right down to your final “grade” being a trial determining whether you’ll be paid or owing.
This sentiment appears to have changed after the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of traditionally sourced lawyers became cats (despite pleading otherwise) or fell victim to unmuted microphones, inappropriate attire, and child or pet videobombing incidents. Not only were those who pursued online legal education finding themselves on a level playing field, but many were now thriving and postured to continue to succeed as the practice of law began to embrace virtual appearances and proceedings.
In breaking through the digital plane since the pandemic, virtual proceedings have spawned more online legal education options for prospective lawyers who may not have had this option before. Indeed, more than 76,000 aspiring law students submitted applications to law school in the 2024–25 admission cycle, marking the highest volume of applicants since 2011 and an 18 percent increase from the prior cycle. The demand for legal education is surging. And increasingly, a meaningful portion of that demand is coming from working professionals, military servicemembers, and career changers who need a flexible pathway to earn a J.D. without uprooting their lives to be physically present in the traditional setting for a number of years.
That pathway now exists. As of January 2026, 22 law schools had received approval from the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Council on Legal Education to offer distance education J.D. programs. Like their traditional counterparts, these are ABA-approved programs held to the same standards of academic excellence as their residential counterparts. Institutions such as Cleveland State University now offer Juris Doctor degree programs in online and hybrid formats, allowing students to complete their degrees part-time while continuing to work and meet family obligations. But despite being more convenient, they are not less rigorous in their preparations for students to become lawyers and judges.
An Evolution, Not a Replacement, But Nonetheless a Shift in the Practice of Law
It is important to state clearly what online legal education is and what it is not. It is not a substitute for the traditional law school model, but rather a complement to it. For instance, the traditional JD experience offers immersive daily engagement with faculty and peers, spontaneous intellectual exchange in hallways and study groups, and an environment of total academic focus that produces outstanding lawyers.
Although online programs cannot replicate these traditional experiences, the truth is that the practice of law has become less dependent on that skill set and more dependent on virtual interactions. And that is actually a good thing in many respects, as online JD programs are truly an embodiment of the evolution of the practice of law. Indeed, statistics from Thomson Reuters indicate that over 80% of court professionals have reported their courts still holding some form of virtual proceedings.
Further, with the meteoric rise of generative AI cycling through the courts and the legal profession, as well as spearheading certain rural access to justice initiatives, lawyers baptized through online JD programs are arguably more prepared to enter the virtual courtroom, edit legal documents collaboratively, and otherwise succeed in representing a variety of clients as the practice of law continues to shift to non-traditional experiences. This is representative of the fact that most lawyers have never tried a case, as most lawyers are not litigators and may never set foot in a courtroom.
Preserving What Matters in a New Format
Skeptics raise a fair question: can an online format preserve the intellectual intensity that makes legal education effective? The strongest accredited programs have answered that question through deliberate and thoughtful design.
Most hybrid and online J.D. programs incorporate synchronous class sessions where students engage in live discussion with faculty and classmates. These are not passive lecture recordings but structured around the same case-method analysis and Socratic questioning that define the traditional classroom. Students prepare the same materials, engage with the same doctrinal complexity, and are held to the same performance standards, all while practicing their ability to succeed in a virtual format, learning how to present themselves to their classmates and professors.
Equally important, these programs require experiential learning. Clinical placements, externships with supervising attorneys or judges, and mentorship opportunities ensure that students develop practical legal skills under professional supervision. Many programs also require a certain number of in-person residential weekends, like Cleveland State University, during which students participate in trial advocacy training and build relationships with faculty and peers in person over several intense days of programming—often simulating what a trial or hearing would feel like. The result is a hybrid model that preserves the essential elements of legal training while adapting the delivery method to accommodate students who cannot attend a traditional full-time program.
A Stronger Profession Through Broader Access
Law is a learned practice, and sometimes a recalcitrant practice. If the pandemic taught us one thing, it is that the virtual legal environment can work and should be fostered, especially as the rural access to justice issues plaguing our country continue to mount. As it always has been and must continue to be, the legal profession is strongest when it draws from the widest possible pool of talent. Traditional residential programs will continue to produce exceptional lawyers, as they always have. But online and hybrid programs simply ensure that geographic isolation, financial constraints, and professional obligations do not permanently exclude talented individuals from pursuing a legal career, especially as the legal profession begins to shift towards functioning online, where online JD students and the lawyers born from such education will be at a natural advantage.
Both models serve the same ultimate purpose: to prepare competent, ethical, and well-trained attorneys who are ready to pass the bar and serve their communities and beyond. The path to that destination is no longer a single road, but a network of pathways, each demanding excellence, each producing lawyers the profession can be proud of as technology continues to mold the practice of law -despite its resistance to change.
