Law Schools

Law School In Crisis May Be First To Close Its Doors Mid-Semester

Meanwhile, students are suffering without access to student loan funds.

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The Spring 2019 semester at Western State College of Law at Argosy University began on Monday, January 14, and two months later, students still haven’t received their student loan disbursements. Dream Center Education Holdings, which operates the 53-year-old law school, was placed in receivership the week classes started, and the consequences were almost immediately. Students were left unable to pay their rent or purchase essentials, and the situation has only grown worse.

Yesterday evening, students were notified by Dean Allen K. Easley that the receiver had filed a motion to close Argosy University, save for those campuses set to be acquired or that had made arrangements to remain open for a longer period of time. Further, Western State has been forbidden from enrolling new students and collecting tuition and fees. Here’s a relevant excerpt from Dean Easley’s email:

Per Dean Easley, he’s been in “extensive conversations” with the American Bar Association about making arrangements for students to complete their studies at other law schools in the event of Western State’s closure. If the school isn’t acquired soon by another entity, we believe it will be the first law ABA-accredited law school in history to permanently shut down in the middle of a semester.

Student reactions to the school’s impending doom are as can be expected. “[W]e as students are suffering the never-ending consequences physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually,” said 3L Kim Davoodi. “This is robbery at its finest.” Other students, like Marina Awed, have already taken to the courts, filing motions to intervene and be given a voice in the school’s receivership. MarketWatch has more:

“This is my first time ever doing anything like this,” said Awed, who is in her third year of law school and is hoping to graduate this spring. The court-appointed receiver “just kept speaking for us and using us to get what they wanted in court and I just felt like we hadn’t been heard.” …

It makes sense that the students would do all they can to understand their school’s situation and their options. As is the case when any higher education institution shutters, the stakes are high for students and the aspiring lawyers at WSCL have particular concerns.

“We have a month to register, but we don’t even know if we can sit for the bar yet,” said Demis Camacho, a third year law student at WSCL. Students must graduate law school in order to sit for the bar exam, except for in some very rare circumstances in a handful of states.

Western State’s Student Bar Association has created a GoFundMe account to help students who are experiencing financial stress during this time of uncertainty.

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Without any warning students’ lives have been turned upside down by Argosy’s sudden collapse and Western’s potential shutdown. Some of us have received eviction notices, some of us are moving out of our apartments mid-semester, some can’t buy food, and all of us are unreasonably being punished for something we did not do and were not warned about. The school’s hands are tied and the Department of Education refuses to help us.

These students desperately need assistance, and yet they’ve only reached about $3,000 of their $100,000 fundraising goal. Please click here to donate to help law students in need. Students are suffering through no fault of their own, and you could help them overcome some of the financial burdens they’re currently facing.

If you’re a student at Western State Law, we ask that you please check up on your classmates and make sure they’re alright. If you think something seems off, talk to them about the situation and make sure they get help. If you or someone you know is in need of help, please call a lawyer assistance program in your state (don’t be fooled by the name; these programs also provide services to law students as well).

(Flip to the next page to see the full email from Dean Alley Easley.)

With their law school nearing collapse, these students are using the courts to fight back [MarketWatch]

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Earlier: Law Students Unable To Pay Rent Without Student Loans After School Goes Into Receivership

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked 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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