Duncan School of Law to Appeal Accreditation Denial Again
Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law plans to appeal a decision earlier this month by the governing council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar affirming its earlier denial of the school’s bid for provisional accreditation.
The school’s intentions are spelled out in a status report (PACER) its lawyers filed July 12 in connection with the university’s federal antitrust suit against the ABA.
In the filing, lawyers for the school say they don’t believe the section followed the instructions of the appeals panel that remanded certain issues back to the council for reconsideration after the council denied its application for provisional accreditation (PDF) last December.
Since the judge presiding over the suit against the ABA is requiring the school to exhaust its administrative remedies before proceeding with the litigation, they say, the school feels it must appeal the the council’s latest decision back to the appeals panel to ensure that it is pursuing all of its administrative remedies and complying with the judge’s directive.
The school is also asking the judge to continue the stay of the litigation he issued last April, which is now in effect until Aug. 15, until the appeals panel renders a decision.
The school has until Aug. 6 to appeal the council’s July 5 decision affirming its denial of the school’s bid for provisional accreditation, but its appeal is limited to the basis for the council’s present decision.
