Law School Accreditation
By: David Hallstorm
Accreditation and what it means to you. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition of accreditation is "to recognize (an educational institution) as maintaining standards that qualify the graduates for admission to higher or more specialized institutions or for professional practice." Law schools generally fall into three categories of accreditation, American Bar Association (ABA) accredited, state accredited or unaccredited.
The role that the ABA plays as the national accrediting body has enabled accreditation to become unified and national in scope rather than fragmented, with the potential for inconsistency, among the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and other territories. The Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is the United States Department of Education recognized accrediting agency for programs that lead to the first professional degree in law.
The law school approval process established by the Council is designed to provide a careful and comprehensive evaluation of a law school and its compliance with the Standards for Approval of Law Schools."
State
accreditation
-
Most
states
have
their
own
accreditation
process
and
in
most
cases
give
accreditation
status
to
ABA
accredited
schools.
However,
there
are
many
law
schools
that
for
one
reason
or
another
do
not
meet
all
of
the
ABA
accreditation
requirements.
Some
of
these
schools,
however,
do
meet
the
states
requirements.
Note:
State
requirements
can
vary
by
state.
If a
school
meets
state
requirements
it
can
apply
to
that
state
for
state
accreditation.
Unaccredited
-
According
to
the
California
Bar
Association
"An
unaccredited
law
school
is
one
operating
as a
law
school
in
the
State
of
California
that
is
neither
accredited
nor
approved
by
the
Committee,
but
must
be
registered
with
the
Committee
and
comply
with
the
requirements
contained
in
Rules
XIX
and
XX
of
the
Admission
Rules,
applicable
provisions
of
the
California
Rules
of
Court
and
relevant
sections
of
the
California
Business
and
Professions
Code.
A law school operating wholly outside of California is unaccredited unless it has applied for and received accreditation from the Committee or is provisionally or fully approved by the American Bar Association."
Rules in many other states are the same.
Most
states
require
that
you
meet
certain
requirements
prior
to
being
eligible
to
take
their
bar
examination.
The
California
Bar
states
"To
be
eligible
to
take
the
California
Bar
Examination,
one
must
have
completed
at
least
two
years
of
college
before
beginning
the
study
of
law
or
must
have
passed
certain
specified
College
Level
Equivalency
Program
examinations
before
beginning
law
study
and
must
have
graduated
from
a
law
school
approved
by
the
American
Bar
Association
or
accredited
by
the
Committee
of
Bar
Examiners
of
The
State
Bar
of
California
or
have
completed
four
years
of
law
study
at
an
unaccredited
or
correspondence
law
school
registered
with
the
Committee
or
studied
law
in a
law
office
or
judge's
chambers
in
accordance
with
the
Rules
Regulating
Admission
to
Practice
Law
in
California."
Most
states
have
similar
requirements.
The
foregoing
suggests
that
many
states
will
not
allow,
non
ABA
accredited
out
of
state
law
school
graduates
to
take
their
bar
examination,
unless
they
attended
school
in
that
state
or a
school
that
is
certified
by
that
state.
Therefore
students
graduating
from
non
ABA
accredited
law
schools
may
not
be
allowed
to
practice
in
any
state
other
than
the
state
they
attended
school.
Note:
Some
states
have
reciprocal
agreements
with
other
states
allowing
attorneys
registered
in
one
state
to
become
a
member
of
the
bar
in
another
state
without
taking
a
bar
examination
in
the
new
state.
Notwithstanding
the
foregoing,
there
are
many
fine
law
schools
in
this
country
that
are
not
ABA
accredited.
Additionally,
many
ABA
accredited
schools
do
not
offer
night
time
or
part
time
classes.
Finally,
there
are
many
more
applicants
that
spaces
available
in
ABA
accredited
schools,
forcing
many
good
students
to
attend
other
schools.
Therefore, accreditation should not be your only criteria in choosing a law school or in deciding whether or not to hire a particular law school graduate.
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About the Author:
David G. Hallstrom, Sr. is a retired private investigator and is currently the publisher of several internet directories, including www.resourcesforattorneys.com a directory of legal and lifestyle resources.
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