She singled out the Concord University School of Law, which is based in Los Angeles, as an institution that relies too heavily on technology. The school, which opened in the fall of 1998 as a division of Kaplan Educational Centers, promotes itself as a flexible, low-cost way for people who cannot attend a traditional law school to get a legal education. Speaking at a dedication of the new Rutgers University Center for Law and Justice last week, Justice Ginsburg said she was generally pleased with the opportunities the Internet had opened up for law schools. The process inevitably loses something vital when students learn in isolation, even if they can engage in virtual interaction with their peers and teachers. Concord's dean, Jack R. Goetz, said Friday that an Internet law school can actually provide more interaction between students and faculty members than a traditional school can.
Cost is another factor.
Concord graduates are eligible to take the California bar examination. But since the school is not accredited by the American Bar Association, its graduates can only practice in states that do not require graduation from A.B.A.-accredited schools. Concord is not seeking A.B.A. accreditation.