Friday, November 22, 2019

The Recorder, LA-Area Law School to Remain Open, but Parts Ways With the ABA:

The University of La Verne will keep its law school open, but as a California-accredited campus instead of one blessed by the American Bar Association.

The university’s board of trustees Monday voted to convert the law school from ABA accreditation to accreditation by the State Bar of California—a move that will make it easier for the Ontario, California, campus to meet program standards. But it will also mean that graduates are only eligible to take the bar exam in California, at least initially. About 240 students are enrolled at the school.

Under the new plan, La Verne would become the first law school to drop its ABA accreditation in the wake of that body adopting tougher bar exam standards. The ABA in 2018 changed that standard, giving law schools two years instead of five years to ensure that at least 75% of their graduates pass the licensing exam.

That heightened standard was one factor that prompted the board of trustees last month to order a full-scale review of the La Verne’s law school and its sustainability. The school’s long-term finances were another catalyst for the review, officials said.

National Jurist, Thomas Jefferson and La Verne out of ABA

https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2019/11/la-verne-loses-aba-accreditation-to-continue-as-california-accredited-law-school.html