LSAC hit with lawsuit challenging application fees
The Law School Admission Council faces a federal lawsuit claiming violations of antitrust regulations by fixing prices for law school application fees.
In the suit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, plaintiff Linvel Risner says that the LSAC, which administers the LSAT, holds a monopoly through its application platform, and that a competitive marketplace would lower the cost of applying to law school.
“LSAC has violated federal antitrust law and gouged law school applicants attempting to follow their dreams,” the suit states. “Robust competition exists for secure application platforms in other sectors, confirming that LSAC and its member law schools have unlawfully restrained competition and created and maintained a monopoly with LSAC’s Law School Application Platform.”
For the 2026 application cycle, each law school hopeful must pay a $215 mandatory subscription fee for the LSAC’s credential assembly service, which includes transcript summarization, letters of recommendation processing and other services. The LSAC charges an additional $45 fee for each school to which an applicant applies, which is separate from the application fees charged by individual schools.
For the 2025 application cycle, 76,481 people applied to law school, according to the LSAC. All member law schools require applicants to submit electronically through the LSAC, the suit states, and all 197 ABA-approved law schools are members.
The suit states the LSAC collected $93 million in credential assembly service fees over the last three reported years.
The LSAC’s agreements with member schools to set prices squashed alternative application processes used by other higher education systems, such as the undergraduate Common Application. The schools that accept the Common Application charge competitive, school-specific application fees—or sometimes even waive those fees entirely to woo students, the suit states.
“We strongly disagree with the assertions in this filing,” an LSAC spokesman said in a statement. “We are committed to expanding access to legal education and supporting prospective students every step of their journey to law school.”
Hilgers Graben represents Risner.
The purported class action suit comes as several other professional organizations that oversee credentialing—including the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Veterinary Medical Association—face similar private antitrust suits.
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