Law Schools

Law School Already On Probation Is Found Noncompliant With Yet Another ABA Accreditation Standard

Will this finally be the end for this poorly performing law school?

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Almost one year ago, Arizona Summit Law School was placed on probation by the American Bar Association after a finding was made that the school was out of compliance with numerous standards required for it to maintain its accreditation. At the time, Barry Currier, the ABA’s managing director of accreditation and legal education, noted that the situation at the school was “critical,” and that “only immediate and substantial action” could put the school back on the right track. In response to the seemingly dire situation at their alma mater, Arizona Summit graduates promptly posted a 20.1 percent overall pass rate on the July 2017 bar exam. We believed that the school’s performance on the bar exam would be the final nail in its coffin, but AZ Summit apparently knows no bounds.

Last week, the school received a letter from the ABA letting the administration know that they were out of compliance with yet another accreditation standard, this time one having to do with its finances. Specifically, Arizona Summit was found to be out of compliance with Standard 202(a), which mandates that an accredited law school’s current and anticipated financial resources must be sufficient for the school to carry out its program and “operate in compliance with the standards.”

A finding that your law school is out of compliance with another accreditation standard when it’s already on probation for being out of compliance with numerous accreditation standards is certainly not a good look, but Donald Lively, president of Arizona Summit, certainly seems upbeat about things. “Last week, we completed a second multimillion dollar capital raise to solidify the school’s financial position. We also have reduced cost structure commensurate with plans to maintain a substantially downsized school,” he said when reached for comment by the ABA Journal. “Shortly, we will be notifying the ABA of these developments with an updated report.”

Students and alumni from Arizona Summit aren’t as pleased about the situation. “The school is digging itself even deeper into this horrible hole, and we’re not sure what we should do. We don’t want this to turn into a situation like what happened at Charlotte,” said one second-year law student. If you recall, Charlotte Law continuously assured students that everything would be alright before suddenly closing its doors. After hearing of the latest AZ Summit’s latest accreditation infraction, an alumnus contacted us to express his hopes that the school would be shut down:

As an alumnus I am conflicted. This school provided me an opportunity to achieve a life long goal. When I started at Summit, the place was happy, energetic, and alive. Throughout my years, I watched as the best professors left, the quality of student diminished, and the overall atmosphere tumbled faster than a boulder rolling down the side of a mountain. As I prepared for the bar exam, I remember hearing rumors about the ABA placing us on probation, and our bar passage rate was a dark cloud used by the remaining faculty as “encouragement.”

As a member of the legal community, I am ashamed to admit Arizona Summit is my alma mater. People shun, look down their noses, and laugh when I tell them where I went to school. Sure, not all attorneys in the community respond this way, but the vast majority certainly do. My diploma does not hang on the wall.

I had several fantastic professors, they taught me how to be a lawyer. I would not replace any of my 1L professors or the majority of my 2L and 3L professors. I had a great education and a great experience. Unfortunately, the destructive and negligent acts of an abysmal “administration” have finally ruined the school once and for all. I can only hope this is the end… finally!

The school must submit a report regarding its financial situation to the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar by February 1 and appear before the Accreditation Committee at its meeting in mid-March. Will this be the end for Arizona Summit Law School? Now that the ABA is actively going after poorly performing law schools, it very well could be. We suppose we’ll find out soon.

North Carolina Central, Arizona Summit found out of compliance with ABA accreditation standards [ABA Journal]

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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, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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