Charleston's New President -- You've Got To Be Kidding Me

Charleston's New President Oversees Infilaw, Because Of Course He Does

Last week, we noted that the ABA is now investigating Charleston School of Law because the ABA finally logged onto Above the Law and saw the rancid tire fire Charleston’s become since the organization decided to abdicate its regulatory responsibilities way back in December, when it declined to weigh in on the proposed sale of Charleston to Infilaw pending the decision of South Carolina regulators. Why make a principled stand when you can pawn off responsibility on someone else?

Now, either because the ABA has a newfound bur in its saddle for flexing its regulatory powers or because it just wants to look slightly more on the ball than FIFA, it’s looking into the school’s compliance with ABA accrediting standards.

This caps off a whirlwind of activity for the school’s management who canceled the graduation party, walked out on their own grads during commencement, told everyone they’re not admitting new students, weathered damning criticism from faculty, and promptly reversed themselves, announced the school would bring in a new class and fire some of the pesky faculty.

So this is a perfect time to hire a new interim president. In this case, former Nova Southeastern and Richmond Law dean Joseph Harbaugh — making Charleston the second school to hire a Harbaugh to rescue a sinking ship this year.

After all that’s gone down, you might think hiring new leadership — even on an interim basis — at this point is the proverbial “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” And maybe it is. But this Harbaugh is just an eager little beaver about helping Charleston reclaim its place among the not-bottom-tier law schools in America. As Harbaugh states in the press release announcing his hiring:

“I’m excited to return to a Charleston School of Law that has matured and is poised to make another leap forward,” Harbaugh said in a statement. “I am eager to work with faculty, staff, students and alumni to make that happen.”

I suppose, by definition, rock bottom is an excellent starting point for moving forward. Unfortunately, it’s also a great starting point for withering and dying. Also, perhaps “leap forward” isn’t the best branding unless Harbaugh intends to massacre a bunch of people in a failed effort, which… well, this is Charleston, so maybe the analogy is apt.

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Harbaugh’s past experience lends him some credibility in this role. But, buried deep within an otherwise innocuous paragraph in the c.v. attached to the press release announcing the appointment is his present affiliation (emphasis added):

Board Membership:
Boards of Directors: Virginia Center on Aging, 1994‑95; University of North Carolina Intergenerational Ethics Project, 1994‑1998; Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP), 1979‑82; Southeast Pennsylvania Legal Services for the Deaf, 1978‑79; Access Group, 1997-2012, chair, 2002-2006; Friends of WLRN (South Florida PBS), 1998-2007; National Policy Board, InfiLaw, Inc., 2013-present; Florida Humanities Council, 2013-present; Board of Trustees: Argosy University, 2014-present; American Innovators for Patent Reform (AIPR), 2014-present.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So much for Charleston owners George Kosko and Robert Carr swearing up and down that Infilaw has no more interest in taking over the school and this — and this alone — is the cause of the school’s financial hardship. That story’s not looking nearly as clear-cut when Infilaw’s leadership runs day-to-day operations at Charleston. Even if Infilaw’s given up the ghost of adding CSOL to its roster, Kosko and Carr claim the school owes Infilaw a large, undisclosed amount in management fees and loans. Isn’t it a conflict of interest to give one of Infilaw’s board control over an entity that owes Infilaw money? That can’t be a good idea.

This isn’t so much “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic” as much as “firing the captain and giving his job to an iceberg.”

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American Bar Association investigating Charleston School of Law [South Carolina Lawyers Weekly]
Charleston School of Law hires interim president [Charleston Regional Business Journal]
American Bar Association defers decision on sale of Charleston School of Law to InfiLaw [The Post and Courier]
A legal maneuver to save the Charleston School of Law [Post and Courier]

Earlier: Non-Sequiturs: 06.02.15
Law School Cuts Graduation Events To Protect Profits
Leaked Video Of Charleston Law Board — CSOL Is S.O.L.
Charleston Faculty Pen Blistering Indictment Of Management