As a national accreditor, the importance of the Council’s work cannot be stressed enough. State supreme courts serve as gatekeepers to each state’s bar, and most states require that their bar applicants have graduated from an ABA Council-accredited law school. That nationally recognized seal of approval essentially communicates to the state supreme courts that graduates of these law schools possess all the foundational knowledge and basic skills necessary to be a proficient lawyer.
If each state required something different in its bar admission procedure, for example, not requiring graduation from an ABA Council-accredited law school, then that would ultimately make it harder for graduates because they wouldn’t have a portable degree. A degree that can be used to practice in another state is an extremely important aspect of the entire process. A significant number of students attend law school in a state other than the one where they will ultimately practice, but are comfortable doing so because they graduated from a nationally recognized law school that allows them the flexibility to become barred elsewhere easily.
The Legal Ed Section’s second function is to serve like any other section of the ABA, for example, the Young Lawyers Division or the Solo, Small Firm, and General Practice Section. That involves producing programming, workshops, publications, and other resources that go out to members. These members are typically in legal education, including administrators, legal educators, and students. That being said, membership in the section is open to any ABA member who is interested in joining it. This first role as a section is unrelated to its second and most significant role: accreditation of the JD programs in law schools across the United States.
The Law School Accreditation Process
The Council reviews a law school’s accreditation every 10 years after an extensive peer review process. Initially, a law school under review must submit documentation to demonstrate how it complies with the Standards for Approval of Law Schools (the Standards). As part of this review process, a site team of six or seven evaluators visits the law school to make factual findings related to compliance with the Standards. Ultimately, the Council decides whether a law school is in compliance with the Standards.
These Standards are foundational to ensure that law schools provide a rigorous program of legal education that prepares their students for practice and admission to the bar. The Standards are comprehensive and include Standards related to admissions, resources, curriculum, faculty, student services, bar passage, library, and facilities. Schools can and do go beyond these Standards, but they must at least satisfy the baseline requirements. Provisionally approved law schools—those that have not quite achieved their full-fledged ABA Council accreditation—are also periodically evaluated before being considered for full accreditation.
And who are the members of the Council? The Council comprises 21 members, representing different facets of legal education, higher education, and the legal profession. There are representatives from law schools; however, they cannot comprise more than half of the Council. Specifically, up to 10 members can be current law school faculty or staff. The rest of the Council comprises public members, judges, and practitioners to form a representative and inclusive collective. These are the people responsible for making the accreditation decisions for individual law schools and revising the Standards and Rules.
The Council’s Review of Standards and Rules
In the Legal Ed Section’s accreditation role, the Council reviews the applicable Standards and Rules for accrediting law schools regularly. Any revision to the Standards or Rules goes through an extensive process.
A revision to a Standard begins with the Council’s Standards Committee, which makes recommendations for changes to the larger Council. These recommendations can relate to any Standard or propose a new Standard. If the Council approves a change to the Standards, the revision goes out for “Notice and Comment,” where anyone can comment on the change, in support or in opposition. After those Comments are reviewed and the Council decides to move forward, the recommended revisions make their way to the ABA House of Delegates (HOD).
Essentially, the HOD can weigh in on the recommendations of the Council related to Standards, but the final decision is up to the Council. The HOD’s participation is limited to the opportunity to concur or refer back the proposed recommendations to the Council. This is one crucial way in which the Council and the work of the Accreditation Project remain “separate and independent” from the larger ABA.
Data Collection Work of the Accreditation Project
One of the other vitally important roles of the Legal Ed Section Accreditation Project is data collection from the law schools. This is accomplished through several questionnaires administered every year, including a comprehensive annual questionnaire (AQ), an employment questionnaire (EQ), a bar admissions questionnaire (BAQ), and a site evaluation-related questionnaire for the schools as part of their 10-year review (SEQ-SRT).
These questionnaires are used to determine if a law school is in compliance with the ABA Legal Education standards, and portions of them are also used to provide valuable consumer information. For example, the EQ provides data on graduate employment, and the BAQ provides bar passage date (first-time and ultimate bar passage through two years after graduation). Also, the searchable “509 reports” provide information about admissions, curricular offerings, faculty, expenses, and financial aid. In this sense, the Accreditation Project’s data work serves a consumer protection role for prospective students to assess which law schools might be the best fit for them.
Separate and Independent from the American Bar Association
It is important to underscore that the work of the Accreditation Project is separate and independent from the larger ABA to ensure compliance with the US Department of Education’s recognition criteria. The Council is reviewed every five years to continue being recognized as an accreditor by the Department of Education and has continuously maintained this status since 1952.
In addition to the revision and application of the Standards already discussed, the Accreditation Project is separate and independent in several meaningful ways that also lend credibility to the entire process. The Accreditation Project has a budget that is different and separate from the larger ABA’s budget, as it is funded by law school fees, and the Council makes independent decisions on budget and finances. The staff are located in a separate office, and the Council fully pays and funds staff costs.
Another important question is whether a viewpoint comes from the Council or the larger ABA. They are different voices. The Council must remain neutral. Their primary goal is to ensure that law schools comply with the Standards so that their JD programs produce graduates who can be licensed and effective lawyers. This is a separate and different mission from that of the bigger ABA. Consequently, the policies and statements of the larger ABA and HOD are not those of the Council and cannot be attributable to it.
As mentioned earlier, the Council’s membership is representative of the legal profession and legal education system as a whole. This is not the same representation that we see throughout the larger ABA.
The Legal Education Section in a Nutshell
The Legal Ed Section exists as a separate entity from the larger ABA in many important respects. It serves different goals than the larger ABA while trying to be inclusive and representative not only of its members but of the entire legal education field. The Legal Ed Section serves a vital role as a national accreditor, ensuring that, through ABA-Council accreditation, law school graduates have a portable degree and the necessary foundational knowledge and skills to become successful lawyers.
If you’re an ABA member and curious about becoming more involved, you can join the Legal Ed Section just like any other ABA section. They offer numerous resources, including informative programming for recent graduates regarding financial aid and student loans.
