Law School Accreditation

Accreditaiton and what it means to you. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition of accreditation is "to recognize (an educational institution) as maintaining standards that qualify the graduates for admission to higher or more specialized institutions or for professional practice." Law schools generally fall into three catagories of accreditation, American Bar Association (ABA) accredited, state accredited or unaccredited.

ABA accreditation - According to the American Bar Association, "Law schools approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) provide a legal education which meets a minimum set of standards as promulgated by the ABA. Every jurisdiction in the United States has determined that graduates of ABA-approved law schools are able to sit for the bar in their respective jurisdictions. The role that the ABA plays as the national accrediting body has enabled accreditation to become unified and national in scope rather than fragmented, with the potential for inconsistency, among the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

and other territories. The Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is the United States Department of Education recognized accrediting agency for programs that lead to the first professional degree in law. The law school approval process established by the Council is designed to provide a careful and comprehensive evaluation of a law school and its compliance with the Standards for Approval of Law Schools."

State accreditation - Most states have their own accreditation process and in most cases give accreditation status to ABA accredited schools. However, there are many law schools that for one reason or another do not meet all of the ABA accredition requirements. Some of these schools, however, do meet the states requirements. Note: State requirements can vary by state. If a school meets state requirements it can apply to that state for state accreditation.

Unaccredited - According to the California Bar Association "An unaccredited law school is one operating as a law school in the State of California that is neither accredited nor approved by the Committee, but must be registered with the Committee and comply with the requirements contained in Rules XIX and XX of the Admission Rules, applicable provisions of the California Rules of Court and relevant sections of the California Business and Professions Code. A law school operating wholly outside of California is unaccredited unless it has applied for and received accreditation from the Committee or is provisionally or fully approved by the American Bar Association."

Rules in many other states are the same.

Most states require that you meet certain requirements prior to being eligible to take their bar examination. The California Bar states "To be eligible to take the California Bar Examination, one must have completed at least two years of college before beginning the study of law or must have passed certain specified College Level Equivalency Program examinations before beginning law study and must have graduated from a law school approved by the American Bar Association or accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California or have completed four years of law study at an unaccredited or correspondence law school registered with the Committee or studied law in a law office or judge's chambers in accordance with

the Rules Regulating Admission to Practice Law in California." Most states have similar requirements.

The foregoing suggests that many states will not allow, non ABA accredited out of state law school graduates to take their bar examination, unless they attended school in that state or a school that is certified by that state. Therefore students graduating from non ABA accredited law schools may not be allowed to practice in any state other than the state they attended school. Note: Some states have reciprocal agreements with other states allowing attorneys registered in one state to become a member of the bar in another state without taking a bar examination in the new state.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, there are many fine law schools in this country that are not ABA accredited. Additionally, many ABA accredited schools do not offer night time or part time classes. Finally, there are many more applicants that spaces available in ABA accredited schools, forcing many good students to attend other schools. Therefore, accreditation should not be your only criteria in choosing a law school or in deceiding whether or not to hire a particular law school graduate.

Permission is given to reprint this article providing credit is given to the author, David G. Hallstrom, and a link is listed to Resources For Attorneys the owner of this article. Anyone or any company reprinting this article without giving proper credit and the correct link, is doing so without permission and will be subject to legal action.

David G. Hallstrom, Sr. is a retired private investigator and is currently the publisher of several internet directories, including http://www.resourcesforattorneys.com a directory of legal and lifestyle resources.

 

Michigan Law Schools - How to Find & Get Into a Great Law School in Michigan

There are six great law schools in the State of Michigan. These include the Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in Detroit, the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, the Michigan State University College of Law in East Lansing, the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law in Lansing, and Wayne State University Law School in Detroit.

Of course, not all Michigan law schools are alike, and in choosing a Michigan law school - as you would with any school - you should make sure that you are making the correct choice for YOU. Unfortunately, far to many prospective law students fall into the trap of letting magazines and artificial law school rankings make the choice for them. If you were to do that, you might focus on the University of Michigan Law School, which admittedly enjoys an outstanding national reputation, to the exclusion of several other excellent law schools in Michigan or elsewhere.

One of the things I try and emphasize to students trying to select a law school is that you get a very similar education no matter where you go. The "elite" schools will never admit that, but its true. Moreover, having been a practicing lawyer now for almost 10 years, I assure you that where you went to law school will very quickly become virtually meaningless to your employers and colleagues. I've known great lawyers and terrible lawyers who went to great schools - and I've known great lawyers and terrible lawyers who went to no-name night schools.

Therefore, if you've decided you want to go to law school in Michigan, you should carefully analyze which of the excellent choices will be the best law school for you. If your aim to get a high-paying job in Manhattan immediately after graduation, the University of Michigan Law School is probably a place you should target. On the other hand, if you're looking to set up a local practice on of the smaller local schools may be your best choice.

Although the substance of what you will learn is largely the same at every school, the environment is definitely not. That's why, if you've decided you want to go to a Michigan Law School, you should visit every school you're considering to get a feel for the campus and physical surroundings. You should also speak with some students to see what they have to say about the atmosphere. Some law schools are definitely more friendly that others.

No two Michigan law schools are created alike, just as no two law students are created alike. Finding a good match should be your top priority. You're going to spend three years of your life and tens of thousands of dollars - regardless of which Michigan law school you select - and you should do everything possible to make sure its not a miserable investment.

When I was choosing which law school to attend I spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars researching and in many cases visiting the eleven schools that made my final list. In the end, I didn't choose the highest ranked or most prestigious school I got into, but I did choose the best law school for me. And I made the right choice.

This is just one of the many topics I discuss in my ebook Covert Tactics for Getting Into the Law School of Your Choice and in the Covert Tactics Law School Newsletter, both of which are available at my website.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

H. Jefferson, Jr. is an expert on on law school admission, having applied to and been admitted by 11 of the top law schools in the United States. To learn more about the the techniques and strategies you can use to get into the law school of your choice, visit http://www.coverttactics.com