Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The practice of law carries an extraordinary power: a heavy responsibility to do good while avoiding harm. For this reason, law schools must be held to the highest standards in educating future lawyers. The ABA’s Section of Legal Education’s accreditation standards for U.S. law schools go far in assuring that ABA-accredited law schools act responsibly in providing a rigorous quality learning experience and that graduates of the 197 accredited law schools are prepared to practice law effectively and ethically.
The ABA accreditation standards imposed on law schools are demanding. They include annual reporting on admissions practices, student retention rates, graduate employment and bar passage rates. And the 10-year periodic site visits are intense and legendarily all-encompassing in scope.
The ABA accreditation standards also demand transparency and accountability of law schools, requiring that accredited schools post readily accessible information on their websites. The information and data allow prospective students to review, evaluate and compare costs of attendance, admissions rates, retention rates (how many students complete the full course of study), bar passage rates and employment results. Thanks to this publicly available information, prospective students are able to make informed decisions on their journeys to becoming legal professionals.
The ABA accreditation standards addressing the law schools’ curricula are ever-evolving as the ABA anticipates and responds to the changing challenges and demands of the legal profession, our economy, our culture and our society. More recently updated standards require accredited law schools to prepare students for the practice of law in a multicultural society; to provide students with information and resources on student loan debt management; to educate students on professional identity formation; to provide students with wellness-promoting resources and activities; and to demonstrate significant graduate bar passage.
This innovation and responsiveness serve to make U.S. ABA-accredited legal education one of the world’s most robust and respected systems of legal education. Students from around the globe seek admission to ABA-accredited law schools, drawn by these schools’ high-quality educational programs.
The educational requirements for ABA-accredited law schools also benefit our multicultural society. Graduates emerge as practice-ready professionals who, through various experiential courses (clinics, externships, simulation courses) and pro bono work have had the opportunity to develop collaboration and leadership skills and to work with live clients and those in need. In student organizations, law journal management and study groups, among other curricular and co-curricular activities, they have also actively engaged in learning opportunities that develop self-management and emotional regulation, essential skills for the success of a legal professional in a demanding legal environment. All in all, these graduates have undergone an educational program that allows the legal profession to continue to serve its societal functions and to responsibly exercise the tremendous responsibility of being a lawyer.
ABA-accredited law schools’ adherence to the accreditation standards protects all consumers — prospective and current students and graduates, as well as the public, who rely on legal services and our profession’s fulfillment of its calling and responsibilities. The yearly crop of graduates from ABA-accredited law schools receives a rigorous educational experience that, along with providing a solid foundational understanding of the law, includes building critical thinking and reasoning skills as well as instilling professional values. They have undergone an educational program that allows the profession to continue to serve its societal function and to exercise, effectively and ethically, the heavy responsibility that comes from being a legal professional.
ABA accreditation: What is it good for? Students. Their communities. Future clients. The legal profession. Our society.•
__________
Karen E. Bravo is the dean and Gerald L. Bepko professor of law at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.