Legal Aid Society of Orange County Taps Concord Law School to Join Incubator Program, Helping Recent Graduates Start Practices While Expanding Access to Affordable Legal Services in California

Nation’s first fully online law school becomes first to join legal
incubator

SANTA ANA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#lawschool–The Legal
Aid Society of Orange County
(LASOC) announced that Concord
Law School at Kaplan University
(Concord) has been selected to join
its Lawyer
Entrepreneur Assistance Program
(LEAP), an “incubator” aimed at
helping recent law school graduates open a new practice. Established in
1998 as the nation’s first fully online law school, Concord becomes the
first online law school to join a legal incubator program in the country.

“Our mission to expand access to legal services aligns well with Concord
Law School, so it was an easy choice for us to partner them,” says Bill
Tanner, Directing Attorney of LASOC. “We’re excited to extend our
incubator program to even more graduates, providing them with new
opportunities to successfully start and grow their practices while
expanding affordable legal services to those who need it the most.”

Concord is the first and only online law school to participate in
LASOC’s LEAP initiative, which includes four traditional brick and
mortar ABA law school partners in Orange County. LEAP is designed to
give participants practical hands-on experience as well as financial and
technical support to launch their own solo practice and build their
client base. In exchange, participating graduates give back by
contributing to the society’s pro bono work in the community. All
members are expected to provide 100 hours of pro bono work over the
course of the year.

Although Concord’s administrative offices are in Los Angeles, because
Concord students and graduates are not tied to a physical location, LEAP
and Concord will use technology to provide remote access to resources
previously only available to onsite participants. Accepted graduates
will have access to a variety of resources, including live and taped
video training sessions that cover different practice areas, and
mentoring focused on the business of building a law practice.

Participants may connect with the program’s network of experienced
lawyers and judges during weekly case review meetings, which will be
conducted via video or phone conferencing. The incubator also provides
discounted work space and malpractice insurance, and allows members to
access the society’s law library and brief bank. Participants also join
LASOC’s lawyer referral service, which connect those who do not qualify
for free legal services with lawyers who are willing to offer discounted
services for modest means clients.

“The legal incubator movement is a real game changer for the legal
profession. It helps newly minted graduates put their hard earned legal
education to work. It also provides an invaluable service to low- and
modest-means clients needing legal support, which is very near and dear
to our mission,” says Martin Pritikin, Dean of Concord Law School. “What
is most exciting about an online law school joining an incubator program
is that we can use technology to break down barriers not only in terms
of cost, but geography as well. If we can help link up lawyers and
clients who are not in the same location, this is yet another way for us
to give underserved people access to justice.”

Graduates who are interested in participating in LEAP must have passed
the California bar exam and must submit a business proposal for
consideration. From Concord, up to ten graduates may be accepted into
the program each year, and the first enrollment period will likely open
in May 2017.

For more information, please visit www.legal-aid.com and
www.concordlawschool.edu.

About Legal Incubators:

There are about 60 incubators across the country, the first of which was
started at City University of New York in 2007, according to the American
Bar Association
.

About Legal Aid Society of Orange County

Legal Aid Society of Orange County (LASOC) is a non-profit organization
that provides free civil legal services to seniors, low-income
individuals to promote equal access to the justice system throughout
Orange County and southeast Los Angeles. For over 59 years, LASOC has
provided essential services across various practice areas to promote
equal access to the justice system through advocacy, legal counseling,
innovative self-help services, community education, and legal
representation.

About Concord Law School

Concord Law School is the nation’s first fully online law school. Since
opening its virtual doors in 1998, Concord has educated more than 2,200
graduates who have earned their Juris Doctor (JD) or Executive Juris
DoctorSM (EJD) degree. Concord Law School is part of Kaplan
University, which is regionally accredited by The
Higher Learning Commission
. Kaplan University is part of Kaplan
Higher Education LLC and Kaplan, Inc., which serves over one million
students globally each year through its array of higher education, test
preparation, professional education, English-language training and
university preparation to individuals, institutions, and businesses.
Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC) and its
largest division. For more information, please visit www.kaplan.com.

Contacts

Legal Aid Society of Orange County
Iris Ma
Director of Fund
Development
714-571-5220
irisma@legal-aid.com
or
Amy
Hawkinson
Director, Public Relations for Concord Law School
954-515-3603
ahawkinson@kaplan.edu

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