May 20, 2026

National Jurist Spotlights Micheal Rubio and Southwestern’s Online J.D. Program

By the time Micheal Rubio opens his laptop and begins his Southwestern Law coursework each evening, he’s already spent the day leading behavioral health and housing programs for vulnerable populations across Los Angeles County.

Rubio, a 1L in Southwestern’s Online J.D. Program and the Director of Outpatient and Homeless Services at the Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse in East Los Angeles, is featured in a recent National Jurist article examining what online legal education looks like in practice. As a  a working professional, first-generation law student, and community advocate, he demonstrates how Southwestern allows students to fit law school into their lives. “I work an 8-to-5 Monday through Friday,” Rubio told National Jurist. “Then I go home, handle family responsibilities and start my schoolwork. I’m doing school every day.”

The article places Rubio’s story within a broader look at the growth of online and hybrid J.D. programs nationwide. For Southwestern, the feature also points to the defining strengths of its online model: a largely asynchronous, ABA-accredited program available in both full-time and part-time formats, designed for students whose lives require structured autonomy without sacrificing rigor, faculty access, or connection to the law school community.

For Rubio, that freedom is not simply a matter of convenience. It allows him to pursue a legal education while continuing the work that brought him to law school in the first place. Having grown up in foster care and experienced the justice system firsthand, Rubio is pursuing a law degree to strengthen his ability to advocate for underserved communities.

He described the experience as demanding, personal, and supported. “All of the faculty really take the time to get to know us,” he said. “Even though it’s an asynchronous learning environment, we still have office hours every week, opportunities to meet with teaching assistants and practice exercises that help prepare us for exams.”

Though he studies online, Rubio remains connected to campus life. He uses the library on weekends and was recently elected as a first-year representative for the Student Bar Association and several student organizations.

“This is one of the hardest things I have ever done,” Rubio told National Jurist. “But it will also be one of the most worthwhile.”

Read the full National Jurist article, “Inside the Online J.D. Experience.”