Golden Gate University School of Law aims to reopen with California accreditation
Despite operating under a teach-out plan after consistently failing to meet ABA accreditation standards, the Golden Gate University School of Law might not be out of the JD business.
On Friday, the State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners will decide whether the San Francisco-based law school—which has faced chronic financial issues, low bar pass rates and enrollment declines—can reboot as a California-accredited, non-ABA-accredited school.
Under California’s Rules of the State Bar, “a law school provisionally or fully approved by the [ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s council], or such a school which had approved status within the prior 12 months … may apply for accreditation.” In 2018, Thomas Jefferson School of Law achieved state accreditation after being on probation for not meeting ABA standards.
While most states demand bar candidates graduate from an ABA-accredited law school, California allows JDs from state-accredited schools to sit for the exam.
“The process is indeed underway,” a GGU Law spokesperson wrote to the ABA Journal.
GGU Law has dealt with a string of troubles. In November 2023, the 124-year-old law school, then ranked as one of the most diverse in the U.S., announced it was discontinuing its JD program. The students already enrolled were directed to transfer to the University of San Francisco School of Law or Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.
But the law school met road bumps even as it decided to end its JD program. The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s council initially rejected the school’s teach out plan in December 2023, but it ultimately approved an amended plan in February 2024.
That same month, a group of alums and students filed a lawsuit accusing the university administrators of unlawful business practices as well as demanding the school to stay open. The complaint alleged that “several schemes” by university officials saddled the program with $60 million in loans as it reduced the full-time law school class from more than 100 students to fewer than 30.
Ultimately, the court rejected the motion for an injunction, and the teach-out program began. The school’s teach-out plan is set to end July 1, 2027, according to a council memo.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
