Education Answers

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 catagories of
accreditation, American Bar Association (ABA) accredited, state
accredited or unaccredited.

ABA accreditation – According to the American Bar
Association, “Law schools approved by the American Bar
Association (ABA) provide a legal education which meets a
minimum set of standards as promulgated by the ABA. Every
jurisdiction in the United States has determined that graduates
of ABA-approved law schools are able to sit for the bar in their
respective jurisdictions. 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 accredition 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 deceiding whether or not to hire a particular law
school graduate.

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