ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Organizational Structure

1. ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Organizational Structure Council Accreditation Project Section Accreditation Committee Conferences Standards Review Process Publications Committees Data Policy & Collection (Questionnaires, Publication of Data, Policies Regarding Data) Ad hoc Task Forces, Workshops Site Visit Process (Recruit, Train, Appoint, Administer) Ad hoc Task Forces, Workshops

2. ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Staff Consultant (becoming Managing Director) Deputy Consultant (rotating position) 3 Associate/Assistant Consultants 5 Professional Staff 7 Administrative Staff Total of 17 FTEs (allocating time spent, >14 for Accreditation; <3 for Section)

3. ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the BarABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools – Core Concepts To be “ABA-approved” a law school must establish that it is offering a sound program of legal education, which it does by demonstrating that it is operating in compliance with the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools. The Standards are minimum thresholds and most schools exceed most of the Standards. The Standards cover a wide range of subjects, including disclosure of consumer information, facilities (including library), governance of a law school, and university-law school relations. Among the core concepts of the Standards are the following: Curriculum: instruction in basic subjects and professional responsibility; development of communications skills and other professional skills. Course of study: at least 83 credits taken over no fewer than 24 months, primarily in residence at the law school. Faculty: full-time faculty must teach a majority of the program and must have a significant role in determining the curriculum. Admissions: undergraduate education required; school shall not admit students it does not have reason to believe can complete it and be admitted to the bar.

4. ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Law Schools and Their Programs JD Programs 202 Study Abroad Programs ~350 Non-J.D., Post-J.D. Programs ~375

5. ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar“Separate and Independent” Requirement To be recognized as the accreditor of law school J.D. programs, the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar must be “separate and independent” of the ABA. 34 CFR Sec. 602.14(b) provides the following definition of this requirement: (1) The members of the agency's decision-making body—who decide the accreditation … status of institutions or programs, establish the agency's accreditation policies, or both—are not elected or selected by the board or chief executive officer of any related, associated, or affiliated trade association or membership organization; (2) At least one member of the agency's decision-making body is a representative of the public, and at least one-seventh of that body consists of representatives of the public; (3) The agency has established and implemented guide lines for each member of the decision-making body to avoid conflicts of interest in making decisions; (4) The agency's dues are paid separately from any dues paid to any related, associated, or affiliated trade association or membership organization; and (5) The agency develops and determines its own budget, with no review by or consultation with any other entity or organization.

6. ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the BarFinancing the Accreditation Project The two funding sources for the Accreditation Project have been dues/fees assessed to approved schools and schools seeking approval and a grant from the ABA Fund for Justice and Education. Following are the FJE grants over the last 10 years: FY 2004-2011 = $1,076,788 (average/year; range was $900K-$1.3M) FY 2012 = $502,447 FY 2013 = $231,377 This year, the Council increased law schools’ annual fees by an aggregate $1M, in large part to compensate for the decline in the FJE grant.

7. ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Law School Growth Over the Years In 1923 the ABA began approving law schools. Forty-one schools were approved that year. Today, there are 202 law schools on the list of approved law schools. Here’s how it evolved: TotalBy Decade 1920s 67 67 1930s 100 33 1940s 111 11 1950s 129 18 1960s 146 17 1970s 167 21 1980s 175 8 1990s 183 8 2000-present 202 19

8. ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Application and Enrollment Trends

9. ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Cost of Legal Education Tuition Medians (“sticker price”) Private Public Public ResidentNon-Resident 1985 $7,385 $1,792 $4,786 1995 $16,930 $4,879 $11,656 2005 $28,670 $12,107 $23,506 $37,330 $18,077 $37,586 $39,496 $19,788 $35,765 2012 $40,270 $21,421 $35,677

10. ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the BarDon’t Believe Everything You Read in the Papers(But It’s Good to Talk about It) Ideas for Reform and Discussion What Are You Hearing? What Would You Like to Discuss? Too long: 2-year, 3+3 or 2+3, no law school required to sit for the bar exam and to be admitted to practice Not practical enough: require more skills, make 3L all skills/experiential, change faculty hiring practices Too expensive: more flexibility regarding security of employment (no tenure, lower pay, etc.); more loan forgiveness; more public subsidy; make faculty work harder; eliminate requirement of full-time faculty; more distance learning We can’t afford the J.D./full-license lawyer model: limited licenses, more non-JD degrees Make the market work: reform financial aid/federal loan system As Joan Rivers would say ….. “can we talk?” --- discuss these and other ideas as time allows.