Accreditation & Standards

George Mason University’s law school remains ABA-accredited after financial showing

The George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School has demonstrated that it complies with an ABA accreditation standard requiring sufficient financial resources, according to an announcement posted online.

Mar 19, 2024 9:07 AM CDT

New bar passage stats show several law schools below ABA cutoff

Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School had the lowest two-year bar passage rate for 2021 graduates among ABA-accredited law schools, according to data released Monday by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

Mar 11, 2024 5:45 PM CDT

Newer law school in Florida gets provisional accreditation from the ABA

A law school that opened in Jacksonville, Florida, in August 2022 has obtained provisional accreditation from the ABA, paving the way for its graduates to take the bar exam.

Mar 5, 2024 11:12 AM CST

NY law prof is calling on ‘Lawyer Nation’ to reform

Ray Brescia, a law professor at Albany Law School in New York, has taken a hard look at the country's legal system in his new book, Lawyer Nation: The Past, Present, and Future of the American Legal Profession.

Feb 28, 2024 8:44 AM CST

As ABA gathers more information on JD-Next, law schools still have to obtain variances to use test

Law schools that want to use the JD-Next exam in admissions will have to continue to seek a variance, the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar determined at its Feb. 22 meeting.

Feb 26, 2024 11:43 AM CST

ABA law school accreditation not necessarily needed to take Indiana bar exam, top state court decides

The Indiana Supreme Court has broadened the pool of would-be lawyers eligible to take the bar exam.

Feb 21, 2024 9:10 AM CST

Free speech and academic freedom standards will now be part of ABA accreditation process

Law schools will now be asked to explicitly protect free speech rights for faculty, students and staff as part of the ABA accreditation process. Though law school faculty have long enjoyed protections for academic freedom, this would be the first accreditation standard to address free speech for the entire community within law schools.

Feb 5, 2024 11:55 AM CST

Legal Ed council calls for comments regarding fully online law schools

Two proposals regarding the accreditation of fully online law schools were posted for comment by the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar this week.

Jan 25, 2024 2:25 PM CST

Half of law schools worry about creating diverse student body, new Kaplan study says

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision striking down affirmative action, half of law school admissions officers are “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about creating a diverse student body, according to a survey conducted by test prep company Kaplan released Monday.

Jan 22, 2024 9:40 AM CST

JD-Next should be backup to traditional entrance requirements, says ABA consultant

JD-Next, a prelaw school exam administered by Aspen Publishing, should be used only as a secondary supplement to more established measurements of potential law student success, such as undergraduate grades or more established testing scores, according to a new report from a consultant for the ABA.

Jan 17, 2024 12:26 PM CST

LSAC launches hybrid program for DC-area law school applicants

As diversity remains a hot topic after the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College decision, the Law School Admission Council is piloting a hybrid version of its Plus Summer program to offer support to more potential law school applicants from underrepresented communities around Washington, D.C.

Jan 10, 2024 12:33 PM CST

JD enrollment up but 1Ls down, new ABA data shows

Fall 2023 had a slight increase in JD enrollment but a small decrease of first-year students over the previous year, according to data released Friday by the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

Dec 15, 2023 12:49 PM CST

California bar examiners committee withdraws Peoples College of Law registration, ends degree-granting program

Updated: After 15 years of noncompliance issues, the State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners made “a first-of-its kind move” by withdrawing the Peoples College of Law’s registration and terminating its degree-granting authority, according to a Dec. 14 release.

Dec 15, 2023 12:28 PM CST

George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School hit with noncompliance notice

The George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School has received a public notice of being out of compliance with ABA accreditation standards.

Dec 7, 2023 1:48 PM CST

ABA Legal Ed council rejects Golden Gate University’s plan to end its JD program

After years of struggling to meet the ABA’s accreditation standards and financial woes, Golden Gate University School of Law announced it will discontinue its juris doctorate program when this academic year ends. However, the ABA Legal Ed council rejected the plan because it “did not include sufficient detail relating to the operation of a teach-out.”

Dec 1, 2023 1:50 PM CST