Family may come first for Laura Collins, but it certainly didn't hinder her aspiration to become a lawyer.

The mother of two knew she had to find a way to balance law school while maintaining a connection to her family. She never thought that would mean sitting in her backyard logged onto her laptop "listening" in on a lecture given by one of the nation's top intellectual lawyers. Nor that she would receive personal attention from her law professors to such an extreme that she once received a 45-page e-mail on Constitutional law, a subject in which she was floundering.

It was at Concord School of Law, the nation's only wholly online law school, that Laura found her family-friendly alternative. After spending two years at a local law school as an evening student, she transferred to Concord and eventually became a member of the school's first graduating class.

"By being in class at night, I was missing a lot," she explains. Laura had recently retired from running a motion picture production and distribution company; she wanted a new and exciting career, but not at the expense of missing her children.

Concord is a dream come true for many professionals just like her, says Laura ¬- those who wish to pursue a law degree or related studies, but are restricted by the time and location obstacles of attending a brick-and-mortar institution. The curriculum at Concord, which provides programs leading to a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree or an Executive JDSM, gave Laura an opportunity to learn and live out her lawyer aspirations without losing touch with her family.

"At Concord, I attended my lectures and did most of my studying during the day when the kids were in school," she explains. "By the time they got home, I was available."

Now, Laura devotes her career to helping maintain family stability, specifically in the most unstable of times, though divorce. Awkward sentence? Upon graduation, she passed the California Bar Exam and opened a family mediation practice in Santa Barbara, Calif., where she is practicing attorney accompanied by her psychotherapist husband, Russell Collins.

In fact, it was an instructor who ignited Laura's interest in the area of mediation and law. "One of my professors had worked on divorce mediation with his wife who is a psychotherapist, and had said it was his most fulfilling and satisfying years," she says. The same professor encouraged Laura to work on a research paper about the benefits of lawyer-therapist-comediation in divorce.

"I read all the literature and my husband and I came up with the idea: With a lawyer/therapist team, we could take care of kids. Instead of destroying their children, parents [involved in a divorce] could actually help their kids end up better. They don't have to damage them.

"The idea that lawyers can actually help people resolve conflict is a good thing. You don't always have to battle it out in court."

Of the many lessons she has learned, her unique online learning experience helped solidify the importance of breaking down stereotypes. She has no hesitation to tell her colleagues she found her alma mater as a result of a Google search, and says she's actually envied when they hear about her online education experience, specifically about the high level of interaction.

When she tells fellow lawyers about the time a professor rewrote her entire essay, "to illustrate [the way] I should have done it. step by step," or the lecture she received online from Arthur Miller, the nation's leading intellectual property lawyer, she gets stunned responses. "I've had plenty of lawyers say to me, 'That sounds incredible.'

"Having been at a traditional law school, I can tell you that you don't have much interaction with your professors," Laura explains. "Certainly, when you get an essay back, you get a letter grade, maybe a couple of comments. But at Concord, the comments I would get on my exams were sometimes longer than the essays. The exams themselves were a learning experience," she affirms.

Laura believes that everything -- from the delivery method of lessons, to the facilitation of tests -- is integral to the school's success. And, additional resources abound, she says. Concord boasts national clinical internship opportunities, and a Trial Advocacy Program in conjunction with William Mitchell College of Law, available online or on-campus.

All such educational innovation and a dedicated approach to delivering instruction that is both theoretical and practical, is what makes the school's unique online format work, says Laura, and will also continue its growth.

"Concord has an incredible program," she explains. She stands proud not only of her and her husband's practice, but also of the education she received from a school that helped uphold her belief in family.

by Gina LaGuardia

• Juris Doctor students at Concord must study for at least four years under the eligibility rules promulgated by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California. It is a part-time program, and students generally devote an average of 20 hours per week to the curriculum.
• Concord's Executive JD program is designed for students who have an interest in law or for whom a legal education would be useful in their career goals, but who do not intend to practice law. Students are not regulated by the State Bar and therefore may complete the 72-unit program at their own pace generally within three years and not to exceed six years.
• A specialized Health Law Track within the Executive JD program allows nurses, paramedics, and other health care practitioners to advance their career paths.

• Doctor of Philosophy in Organization and Management
• Bachelor of Science in Game Software Development
• Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications
• Associate of Arts in Acquisition and Contract Management
• Bachelor of Science in Interior Design
• Master of Science in Emergency & Disaster Management
• Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management - Casino Management