Law Schools

Law School Ordered To Post $1.5M Surety Bond In Case It Closes

This certainly doesn't bode well for the school...

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associate lawyer sad upset over her bonus needs helpThe hits keep coming for Arizona Summit Law School. The school, currently on probation with the American Bar Association for its notoriously low bar exam passage rates, has now been ordered by the state’s for-profit-college licensing agency to post a $1.5 million surety bond to guarantee that students will be able to recoup some of their lost funds should the school close its doors for good.

Administrators at Arizona Summit, of course, were none too pleased with the decision. The Arizona Republic has additional details:

“It’s just to protect the public, just in case,” said Keith Blanchard, the [Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education’s] deputy directory [sic].

Arizona Summit officials said the school has no plans to close and is preparing for its incoming fall classes.

The board requested the bond because the school was recently put on probation for low passage rates on the State Bar exam. The institution’s sister school under the same ownership, the Charlotte School of Law, is also on probation by the Bar. The U.S. Department of Education announced in December it was pulling Charlotte’s federal student-loan funding.

Arizona Summit officials argued before the board that the bond wasn’t necessary and would send a negative message to prospective students.

If the fact that graduates of Arizona Summit have shown year after year that they’re unable to pass the bar exam on the first try hasn’t spooked prospective students, then a little $1.5 million surety bond certainly won’t do them much harm. After all, they seem to be immune to all of the negative information about the school that would cause others to run in the opposite direction.

Trish Leonard, the board’s president, said she “really [felt] a bond [was] required,” likely due to the fact that if Arizona Summit were to suddenly shutter, the state’s Student Tuition Recovery Fund would be completely tapped out. The school’s additional bond would act as further consumer protection and insurance for law students who would otherwise be left between a larger rock and a harder place than they already are if the school were to close.

If this isn’t a sign to get out while the getting is still good, we’re not sure what is. Best of luck to those who decide to remain at Arizona Summit Law School.

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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