An Innovative Legal Degree for a Changing Professional Landscape

This online legal studies degree program offers an opportunity for those with an interest in law related careers to gain a solid footing in the field.

Until recently, anyone interested in pursuing a career in law had to follow a fairly narrow path. The steps commonly included undergraduate courses designated for a pre-law concentration, followed by three years of law school, months of studying for the bar exam, and ultimately a career as an attorney. Today, the expansion of technology and changing workforce realities are creating new opportunities, and the need for workers with a more diversified understanding of the law is growing. New online legal studies degree programs are helping to meet the demand, including the Master of Arts in Law offered by The Colleges of Law.

Aware of changes in the profession, The Colleges of Law administrators and faculty have been at the forefront in rethinking the conventional approach to law school. For example, The Colleges of Law has made the Juris Doctor (J.D.) available through a hybrid format in which students complete most of their program online and come to campus for monthly in-person seminars during the term. In addition, the college has hosted seminars educating students on the growing demand for workers with the “J.D. advantage”—candidates who have a J.D. but have yet to take, or do not wish to take, the bar exam.

The most recent innovation from The Colleges of Law is the Master of Arts in Law. This fully online legal studies degree program does not qualify graduates to sit for the bar exam, but it does allow students to match courses to their career interests and earn a degree in two years that prepares them for a range of professions or another advanced degree. While online legal studies degree programs are relatively new, this option is particularly attractive to three types of students: those who plan to use the degree as their primary credential in a range of fields; those who hold another advanced degree; and lifelong learners seeking to expand their knowledge in new areas.

For those who pursue a Master of Arts in Law degree to advance their career, The Colleges of Law’s online degree program allows students to choose courses from several specializations, including business operations, entrepreneurship, legal operations, and technology. This flexibility makes it possible to stack and customize courses to match specific interests. Below are examples of fields that attract Master of Arts in Law degree holders.

Compliance

Every business and organization must operate under a range of federal, state, and sometimes international laws and regulations. Compliance involves providing guidance to businesses so they may adhere to the laws, policies, and regulations that govern their industry or organization.

Data privacy, security, and information governance

Data privacy concerns the handling of sensitive data—including personal information—to meet regulatory requirements while protecting confidentiality and immutability. Information management and governance focuses on business data and data quality, assuring proper valuation, creation, consumption, and control of information and analytics. Maintaining these processes is a team effort, and a legal expert can play an important part in this collaboration.

Legal operations

Legal operations professionals enable legal departments to serve their clients more effectively by applying business and technical practices to the delivery of legal services. This is an area that law firms have traditionally not prioritized but doing so improves workflow and can increase profits.

Legal entrepreneur

Legal entrepreneurs apply their knowledge of the legal industry to develop new business models to take advantage of market opportunities. For example, the development of legal technology, including software and technology to assist with legal projects and tasks, is a growth field that will revolutionize the delivery of legal services.

eDiscovery

Electronic discovery—sometimes called eDiscovery—is the electronic aspect of identifying, collecting, and producing electronically stored information (ESI) in response to a request for production in a lawsuit or investigation. This is also a growth area as databases continue to expand and the laws governing access and disclosure evolve.

The training and knowledge gained in an online legal studies degree program like the Master of Arts in Law could lead to prestigious and lucrative positions within these industries. In fact, alumni of The Colleges of Law are currently working in roles with titles that include: 

• Director of legal operations
• Director of data security policy
• Law firm technology manager
• Data governance officer
• Legal HR specialist

For professionals who have earned advanced degrees (such as a Master of Business Administration, Doctor of Psychology, Master of Social Work, or Master of Science in Computer Engineering) and are working in highly specialized fields, the Master of Arts in Law provides the expertise and authority to address legal issues that arise in the work setting. This is particularly true for entrepreneurs who want to stand out from competitors and whose work involves legal issues. A knowledge of patent law, for instance, would be beneficial to those developing new products.

Degree holders may also have opportunities to write articles on topics of interest for peer publications, magazines and professional journals, or for a general audience. A grounding in the law in addition to a deep understanding of the field can help establish the writer as a subject matter expert in their respective field. Because the Master of Arts in Law degree is an online legal studies degree program, professionals who are already established in their careers can take courses from wherever they live without uprooting their lives.

There are also people who are always motivated to learn new things. It is this drive that leads to unexpected and inspiring career changes and to innovative outside-the-box thinking in an organization. For these lifetime learners, three years of law school may be more of a commitment than they are willing to make, but a two-year Master of Arts in Law program can provide them with the understanding of the law thy are seeking. And the fact that they can receive this training through an online legal studies program makes this option even more attractive.

Students who enroll in the Master of Arts in Law program will be taking the same courses as our J.D. candidates, taught by experienced legal educators who are active contributors to the legal world, including practicing judges, lawyers, and elected officials. Through this innovative online legal studies degree program, students develop the practical and theoretical skills necessary to succeed in today’s vibrant legal field.

The Colleges of Law is committed to the principle that the legal profession should reflect the diversity of the clients and communities it serves. The Master of Arts in Law program embodies that objective by helping to make legal education available to a broader segment of the population. Learning and working together in a higher education environment that encourages discussion and collaboration will inspire students to develop the skills, insights, and empathy needed to thrive in an ever-changing legal environment.

To learn more about the Master of Arts in Law program at The Colleges of Law, fill out the form below.