St. Francis School of Law Information

The St. Francis School of Law is an online law school based in Newport Beach, California. St. Francis cumulative pass rate is 66% on the California General Bar Exam and 78% on the First Year Law Students Exam. These pass rates are significantly higher than other online law schools in California. The St. Francis Program emphasizes practical professional lawyering skills training. Upon completion of the four year part-time program, students earn a Juris Doctor degree (J.D.). The affordable program provides a high quality curriculum through live online classes taught by professors with extensive legal practice experience. Enrollment is highly selective at this elite institution and class sizes are small to promote interaction with peers and professors. It is registered as a distance learning law school with the State Bar of California.

A Juris Doctor (J.D.) law degree is currently the only degree offered. Students who pass the FYLSX and California Bar Examination and otherwise meet all requirements of the State Bar of California are eligible to be admitted to the State Bar of California and may practice law in California.

The online J.D. program is a four-year program in which students must complete 48 to 52 weeks of instruction each year. Students who complete St. Francis online J.D. program will have met the legal education requirement of the State Bar of California and may apply for admission to the State Bar of California to practice law.

St. Francis faculty includes Dean Greg Brandes, Professor Karen Travis, Professor Willis Baughman, Professor Adam Lippe, Professor Harvey Schweitzer, Professor David Graubert, Professor Howard Klein, Professor Raymond Chao, Professor Michael White, Professor Roger Cusick, Professor Miho Murai, Professor Annie Pan, Professor Dennis Tonsing, and Professor Aaron Gershonowitz, among others. St. Francis faculty members are practicing attorneys with substantial professional experience and teaching experience.

As quoted in a U.S. News and World Report article about online law schools, former dean Peter Young said St. Francis does not target students interested in a career practicing law at large law firms, but instead focuses on "entrepreneurs, working professionals and those considering a career change . . .." Since 2014, St. Francis has expanded the original mission of focusing on working professionals by updating curriculum, course content, and the classroom structure to cater to those that do want to practice law.

According to St. Francis’ website, over 60% of students hold masters or doctoral degrees, and the student population includes graduates from a variety of higher learning institutions such as Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, NYU, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania, Thunderbird, Cornell, U.C. Berkeley, Stanford, and INSEAD.

St. Francis tuition is $10,000, not inclusive of books and other expenses. The total tuition for the four-year program is $40,000.

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