Faculty, Students To File Suit Against Law School For Fraud

Why was this law school *really* forced to close its doors?

Law School LawsuitsYesterday, hot on the heels of graduates’ incredibly underwhelming performance on the July 2016 administration of the bar exam, Indiana Tech Law School announced that it would be closing its doors at the conclusion of its fourth year in existence. It is the only law school accredited (albeit provisionally) by the American Bar Association to fully cease operations in the past 20 years. At the time the announcement was made, certain officials blamed the decision on operating losses of $20 million and low enrollment.

According to an employee at the law school with knowledge of its admissions and enrollment practices, however, that’s not the entire truth. Our source comes forward today to explain why Indiana Tech was forced to close its doors, and tells us that no one else on the faculty had been able to do so before now for fear of losing their jobs.

“It’s disgusting, and the fact that I’m associated with it makes me sick. I’m not normally the person who would speak out about this, but it’s so egregious that I think the people at Indiana Tech need to be held accountable. As a lawyer who tries to be ethical, I have to speak out about this,” he said, his voice heavy.

Law schools are typically viewed as cash cows for their affiliated undergraduate universities, and that seems to be exactly what happened at Indiana Tech, an undergraduate school which our source describes as “a diploma mill at best.” We were told that first-year attrition at the university is 57 percent, and only 19 percent of the school’s students graduate after four years. “The school is a scam,” he said, “but none of the law school faculty knew that when they joined in 2013.”

“The truth of the matter is that one of the problems was Dr. Arthur Snyder, the President of Indiana Tech,” he claimed. Above the Law has learned that Indiana Tech’s original dean, Peter Alexander, did not resign, but instead was allegedly fired by Snyder for trying to enforce admissions standards. Next in line for the deanship was andré douglas pond cummings, followed by Charles Cercone. Under Cercone, the law school was granted provisional accreditation by the American Bar Association.

Here’s more information on Indiana Tech’s accreditation, from our source:

As part of the accreditation process, the American Bar Association required the university to agree to provide a $20.3 million operating fund that would fund all losses through 2020. The university readily agreed to fund all losses of $20.3 million through 2020. The board unanimously voted to say if we get accredited through 2020 we will support the law school for the anticipated $20.3 of our operating losses. In addition, at the ABA accreditation hearing, President Snyder pledged that the university would fund millions of dollars more in losses if they exceeded that $20.3 million. All of it was a lie.

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Recall that Indiana Tech is now citing more than $20 million in losses as one of the reasons for the law school’s closure, despite the fact that the affiliated undergraduate university pledged to cover those losses, and then some, through the year 2020. Our source claims that there was a much more nefarious reason that Indiana Tech Law School was forced to close its doors in its fledgling years.

Admissions professionals were pressured us to admit anybody with a pulse to the law school. They were frequently asked to admit people with LSAT scores of 132, 135, 138, 140. The law school felt that its dedication to quality over numbers was compromised.

It almost seemed like getting butts in seats was more important than complying with ABA standards, along the lines of, “Fuck the ABA, fuck the students, we want revenue.” We said, “You know, we’re going to become another Cooley and we’re going to lose accreditation,” but they didn’t care.

If this is accurate, it’s simply appalling. What’s going to be done for the students whose legal educations have been interrupted by the law school’s sudden shutdown? Our source alleges that Dr. Snyder has a similarly cavalier attitude towards their suffering:

The most important thing here is the students. I went to a gathering with students who were shocked by this news. One student was crying on my arm, saying, “What am I going to do?” I said we’re going to help you, we’re going to do a teach-out, and we’re going to get you into a different law school, and you won’t have to pay any additional costs. We were told there would be no teach-outs. We’re doing the best we can do, and our first priority is the students and making sure they can go to another school seamlessly to get their degrees.

For some of those students, there may be no way out. Here’s more from our source:

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If you’re a second-year law student, what incentive do you have to continue this year when other law schools won’t accept the majority of their credits? I wouldn’t blame them if they tried to seek damages against Indiana Tech. They’ve lost a year. 2Ls have no incentive to try to transfer. Why should you take one more class? None of your credits will transfer. Most schools won’t allow you to transfer more than 30 credits. What’s their incentive? There isn’t any.

If you’re a first-year law student, you’re probably going to try to transfer to another school, but other schools may not want to accept these students. We were forced to accept students with LSATs and GPAs that were so low that even in this depressed market, I don’t even know if other schools would accept them.

At the end of the day, we need to give the students the justice that they deserve. For a 2L to ask me, “Should I take Con Law?” And I have to say, “… uh, no.” For a 1L to ask me, “Should I try to transfer to another school?” And I have to say, “… well, you had a 132 on your LSAT and you’re on probation.” What’s going to happen to these people? They have lives. They have families. It’s just wrong.

Several faculty members and many students have retained counsel, and they plan to sue Indiana Tech and other individuals involved, like Dr. Arthur Snyder, in a collective action alleging fraud, civil RICO, and misrepresentation, among other causes of action, in the Northern District of Indiana. “Indiana Tech is a corrupt diploma mill that should be investigated by the Department of Education and the Higher Learning Commission. What they’ve done to these students is not right, and it’s not fair,” said our source.

It’s a miracle that we got accredited. We worked so hard to get accredited, and we worked so hard to bring credibility to the law school, but the moment we did, they went back to wanting us to admit anybody and just wanting their loan dollars, but we just couldn’t do it to the students. That’s why they shut us down. Arthur Snyder is the reason this law school closed down.

I would’ve never envisioned myself speaking out like this, but the fact these people decided to shut down the law school is so shocking and so unjust and so injurious to these students that I feel like I have to, for nothing else than to give these students a voice, to help them in their transition, to help them be okay, because it is so wrong what they’ve done to them.

If you are a professor at Indiana Tech Law School — or at any other law school with similar troubles — who has been afraid to step forward on issues like these that continue to plague law schools, there’s no longer any reason to remain in the dark. This brave law school official has just done a great service not only for you, but for law students everywhere. This is what it’s like behind closed doors in many of America’s law schools, and now there’s going to be a lawsuit filled with detailed pleadings to back it up. We will continue to cover this case as it unfolds, as there are two sides to every story. Stay tuned.

Dean of Failed Indiana Tech Law School: ‘The Market Is What It Is’ [Law.com]

Earlier: Indiana Tech Law School To Close, Citing $20 Million In Losses


Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.