Kendall Henry
Associate Editor
Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2027
High Point University (HPU Law), a private university in North Carolina, opened the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law with its inaugural Class of 2027 last fall. Founded by former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, Mark Martin, HPU Law strives to create a legal learning community of discussion and debate for students to become ethical lawyer-leaders who serve with civility and grace. HPU Law is not yet accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), which is a crucial step in producing attorneys of tomorrow. Accreditation is not automatic nor guaranteed. Rather, schools must comply with an extensive process to receive accreditation.
The accreditation process
The Council of the ABA of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar (Council) governs the accreditation process. This process can span anywhere from two to four years. The first step is to achieve provisional approval. Rule 22 of the Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools (Standards) establishes that a law school must have operated for one year, achieved compliance with the Standards, and established an efficient plan for full compliance with the Standards during the three-year period of provisional approval. Additionally, a school seeking provisional approval must have previously completed a feasibility study and a self-study. The process also requires occasional site visits.
If granted provisional approval, law schools are entitled to all the rights of a fully approved law school. These rights include the equivalent recognition of its graduates as those of a fully approved law school. Once the three-year provisional approval expires, a law school must undergo an identical approval process to seek full approval. Jurisdictions vary in their admission of graduates from unapproved law schools to the state bar. In Illinois, eligibility to take the bar exam is limited to JD graduates of ABA-approved law schools only.
If a law school is granted full approval, it is final and effective immediately upon notice. The law school must then continue to maintain compliance with the Standards. Non-compliance with the Standards will require the law school to attend a hearing to determine sanctions. If the school fails to regain its compliance, it risks withdrawal of provisional or full approval, whichever is applicable.
The process in practice
Although Rule 47 of the Standards provides that accreditation matters are confidential, law schools must disclose their accreditation status under ABA Required Disclosures. Currently, HPU Law has not yet received provisional approval, but it has completed its first year of operation, the first step of the provisional approval process. The achievement of this step positions it for provisional approval as early as . Other law schools have successfully received provisional approval over the past year. Jacksonville University College of Law received provisional approval in 2024. The school underwent this extensive process and complied with each Standard, including a 500-page outline of its feasibility study, self-study, and questionnaires. Wilmington University School of Law also received provisional approval this year following its compliance with the ABA’s rigorous standards.
Compliance barriers
The Standards require a “sound program of legal education,” but compliance extends beyond academics. For instance, a feasibility study assesses the following factors: “the number, characteristics, and interests of the students who might apply; the availability of resources necessary to create and sustain the proposed law school; and the demand for law-trained individuals in the geographic area(s) in which the graduates of the proposed law school might be expected to pursue their careers.” The final factor is a point of tension. Even though only 5% are African-American, 7% Asian, 6% Hispanic of the more than 1.3 million lawyers in the US, a demand for law-trained individuals must be proved in the study. For example, the University of Washington Tacoma’s feasibility study identified “ a demand for lawyers in the South Sound.” Yet in markets with several established schools, such as Chicago, defining “demand” becomes less clear, where schools such as Northwestern Law and Loyola Chicago Law operate within a 0.51 mile radius. This raises compliance questions about how regional market demands interact with ABA expectations.
Moreover, financial capacity also plays a key role in accreditation compliance. HPU Law, for example, received $30 million to open and operate the law school. This amount of money makes it possible to hire full-time faculty, as required by Standard 402 to be compliant, build a law library, furnish a facility/classroom, and more. Not every school has the benefit of a significant donation to get a law program off the ground. For example, the University of Texas at El Paso demonstrated the financial need in a feasibility study. Without adequate funding, the cost shifts to a student’s tuition, which could deter a student from applying. Recall that student interest must be addressed in a feasibility study. If there is a low student interest, a school is not considered compliant, and thus, provisional approval will not be granted.
It is excessive to follow the Texas Supreme Court’s recent move to reduce the ABA’s role in oversight of Texas law schools, which challenges the accreditation framework. The ABA still acts as a consistent governing body for law schools around the nation. However, it is important to recognize that opening a law school and receiving full approval is a large undertaking. The ABA should consider how its compliance requirements, such as those tied to the feasibility study, affect access to legal education.