Fake Law Degree
A fake law degree is not totally impossible to earn these days if you know where to look. The Internet, in particular, is filled with so many so-called online universities that offer a wide variety of courses, including baccalaureate and post-graduate education. Majority of these alternative schools are genuine, although some are known to operate mainly as diploma mills where fake diplomas are issued. Usually, these schools adopt names that you would readily acknowledge as real universities. (1)
A good example of this is Kingsfield University, one of 18 illegal schools that operated from 1998 up to 2003. (2) During that time, the university was known to have given out a variety of fake diplomas, including those for baccalaureate and post-graduate degrees and maybe even a fake law degree until the Federal Trade Commission finally shut it down four years ago.
If you are thinking of pursuing a law title through online schools, you should not really find it hard to tell if you are dealing with a virtual scam for which you might end up having a fake law degree. You can start by checking out the school website and its contents. If it appears like a relatively small school, and yet it boasts of a rather large number of colleges, including a law school, then it might be one big diploma mill where a fake law degree will be given out.
Often, a legally-operating online school will carry vital information like address, phone number, and even the names of its faculty staff. These are the data that you should look out for. In addition, you should also try to find out if the online school has proper accreditations. If it has legal status, then expect it to list down its regional accrediting agency.
Diploma mills started operating around the middle portion of the 1990's, amassing profits of about $200 million and became even more popular when the Internet assumed worldwide prominence. (3) You could easily get any kind of diploma from these mills, including a fake law degree, which can take you to high-profile government positions just like what happened to Laura Callahan, whose three fake degrees from Hamilton University earned her the associate deputy position at Homeland Security Department, for which she is now under investigation. (4)
Literary Citations & Article References:
(1) http://adulted.about.com/cs/fasttrackoptions/a/accreditation.htm
(2) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002468672_diploma03m.html
(3) http://adulted.about.com/od/accreditation/tp/dip_mill.htm
(4) http://adulted.about.com/od/accreditation/tp/dip_mill.htm