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An archive of all ABA-Approved Law Schools

ABA-Approved Law Schools Archive

Below is a listing of ABA-Approved law schools that have either closed, voluntarily surrendered or had their ABA-approval status removed, merged with another school, been acquired by another school, or underwent a name change.

Antioch School of Law
Provisionally Approved: 1973
School closed and was acquired by the District of Columbia Council to establish the District of Columbia School of Law (DCSL): 1986
DCSL Provisionally Approved: 1991
DCSL was absorbed by the University of the District of Columbia: 1996
School is named University of District of Columbia School of Law and keeps provisional approval date of 1991

Arizona Summit (formerly Phoenix)
Approved: 2007
Approval Withdrawn: August 2020

University of California Hastings College of the Law
Approved: 1939
Law school name officially changed to University of California College of the Law, San Francisco: 2023

Charlotte School of Law
Provisionally Approved: 2008
Fully Approved: 2011
Approval Withdrawn: 2018
Law School Closed: 2018

Cleveland-Marshall Law School 
Approved: 1957
Merged with Cleveland State University to become Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall College of Law: 1969 
Law School name officially changed to Cleveland State University College of Law: November 2022

Concordia University School of Law
Provisionally Approved: 2015
Fully Approved: 2019
Approval Withdrawn: 2020
Law School Closed: 2020

Cumberland School of Law
Approved: 1949
Acquired by Howard College (now Samford University): 1961
Howard College officially became Samford University: 1965

Detroit College of Law
Approved: 1941
Entered into a contractual affiliation with Michigan State University: 1995
Law School moved to Michigan State University campus: 1997
Law School name was officially changed to Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law but was not a merger and Law School remains an independent institution

Dickinson School of Law
Approved: 1931
Merged with Pennsylvania State University: 1997
Separated into two fully-approved law schools to become Pennsylvania State University Penn State Law and Pennsylvania State University Dickinson Law: June 2014

Florida A&M College Law School
Approved: 1951 (date approximate)
Closed: 1968
Re-approved as Florida A&M University College of Law: June 2004

Florida Coastal School of Law
Approved: 1999
Approval Withdrawn: December 2023

Franklin Pierce Law Center
Approved: 1974
Becomes affiliated with the University of New Hampshire School of Law: August 2010

Hamline University School of Law
Approved: 1975
Merged with William Mitchell College of Law to form Mitchell | Hamline School of Law: December 2015

Indiana Tech Law School
Provisionally Approved: March 2016
Provisional Approval Withdrawn: August 2017
Law School Closed: June 2017

John Marshall Law School (Atlanta, GA)
Provisionally Approved: 2005
School name changed to Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School: 2007
Fully Approved: 2009

John Marshall Law School (Chicago, IL)
Approved: 1951
Acquired by University of Illinois at Chicago to become UIC John Marshall Law School: November 2018 
Official name changed to University of Illinois Chicago School of Law: July 2021

University of La Verne College of Law
Approved: 2006-2011, 2012
Approval Withdrawn: August 2023
Law school no longer ABA-approved but remains open as a California-approved law school.

Oral Roberts University, O.W. Coburn School of Law
Fully Approved: 1981
Law School Closed: May 1986

Phoenix School of Law
Provisionally Approved: June 2007
Fully Approved: June 2010
Changed name to Arizona Summit Law School: 2013

Richmond, University of,  T.C. Williams School of Law
Fully Approved: 1928
Changed name from University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law to University of Richmond School of Law: September 2022

Rutgers Law School Camden
Approved: 1950
Merged with Rutgers Newark to become Rutgers Law School: August 2015

Rutgers Law School Newark
Approved: 1941
Merged with Rutgers Camden to become Rutgers Law School: August 2015

Salmon P. Chase College of Law
Approved: 1959
Merged with Northern Kentucky State College to become Northern Kentucky State College Salmon P. Chase College of Law: 1972
Northern Kentucky State College became Northern Kentucky University: 1976

St. Thomas University School of Law
Approved: 1988
Changed name to College of Law: 2020 
Changed name to Benjamin L. Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University: February 2023

Texas Wesleyan University School of Law
Approved: 1994
Acquired by Texas A&M and becomes Texas A&M University School of Law: August 2013

Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Approved: 1996
Approval Withdrawn: August 2023
Law school no longer ABA-approved but remains open as a California-approved law school.

Thomas M. Cooley School of Law
Approved: 1975
Affiliated with Western Michigan University to become Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School: June 2014
In anticipation of disaffiliation with Western Michigan University in November 2023, changed name to Cooley Law School: September 2023

Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
Approved: 1983
Re-named Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center: 2022

University of Bridgeport School of Law
Approved: 1979
Renamed Bridgeport School of Law at Quinnipiac College; then Quinnipiac University School of Law after merger of Bridgeport School of Law and Quinnipiac College School of Law
Provisionally Approved: 1992
Fully Approved: 1995

University of Puget Sound School of Law
Approved: 1973
Council acquiescence granted in change of structure to Seattle University School of Law and must file application for provisional approval as new entity: 1989
Seattle University School of Law granted Provisional Approval: 1994
Fully Approved: 1996

Valparaiso University School of Law
Approved: 1929
Approval Withdrawn: August 2020

Western State College of Law at Argosy University
Changed named to Western State College of Law at Westcliff University: 2019

Whittier Law School
Approved: 1978
Approval Withdrawn: August 2020

Widener University School of Law
Approved: 1975
Branch campus established in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: 1989
Separated into two fully-approved law schools to become Widener University Commonwealth Law School and Widener University Delaware Law School: March 2015

William Mitchell College of Law
Approved: 1938
Merged with Hamline University School of Law to form Mitchell | Hamline School of Law: December 2015