La Verne Law School Opts For State Accreditation Rather Than Closure

The Los Angeles-area school will voluntarily give up its American Bar Association accreditation.

University of La Verne College of Law, which has historically had subpar passage rates on the California bar exam, will give up its American Bar Association accreditation and instead seek to become a state-accredited school.

As a result of the decision its parent university’s Board of Trustees made last week, La Verne will avoid a similar fate as fellow California ABA institution Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Last week, Thomas Jefferson in San Diego received word that it is losing its ABA accreditation next month.

The Los Angeles-area based La Verne first received full ABA accreditation in March 2016, a status that took a long time to achieve due to its graduates’ struggles on the bar exam.

Those challenges have continued, with just 34 percent of La Verne’s first-time takers passing the July 2018 California test.

Meanwhile, a tighter ABA bar passage standard approved earlier this year made it difficult for schools like La Verne to comply. Schools are required to have 75 percent of their graduates who sit for a bar exam pass within two years of graduation, instead of the five years under the prior version of the rule.

La Verne officials have acknowledged that the ABA bar passage standard was a reason for an internal examination of whether the law school should remain open.

“This review was intended to determine whether continuing with the ABA-accredited law program in its current configuration, or an alternative, would be both financially sustainable and aligned with the mission and values of the university,” a press release said.

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The University of La Verne’s board made the decision that the law school should give up its ABA accreditation and pursue state accreditation after reviewing the recommendations of the law school’s administration and faculty.

“This transition will allow the University of La Verne College of Law to continue strongly into the future,” University of La Verne President Devorah Lieberman said in a statement. “It also honors the 50-year-history of the College of Law and returns the college to its roots.”

La Verne previously was state-accredited before securing the ABA stamp of approval.

“We are fully committed to working with the ABA on this transition, which will include a timely and orderly teach out for the approximately 240 current law students in line with ABA standards,” University of La Verne Provost Jonathan Reed said in a statement. “We expect that all students currently enrolled will be able to graduate from an ABA-accredited La Verne Law program and will be entitled to the full range of benefits that affords.”

La Verne has also already been in contact with the State Bar of California about securing state accreditation.

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“Based on those conversations, we are extremely confident and optimistic that we will be able to move forward on our desired path,” University of La Verne spokesman Rod Leveque said.

A State Bar spokeswoman confirmed La Verne has been in touch.

“The State Bar has provided the school with all the necessary application materials so that they can begin the process of transitioning from ABA approval to State Bar accreditation,” bar spokeswoman Teresa Ruano said. “We anticipate working closely with the school so that this can proceed expeditiously as they plan ahead for the 2020 academic year.”

The greatest benefit of an ABA law degree compared to one from a California-accredited school is automatic eligibility to take the bar exam in other states.

However, La Verne said in a recent press release that graduates of a State Bar of California-accredited school are entitled to sit for the bar examination in California and 19 other states, though they must take additional steps to be able to do so outside of California.

La Verne law school is also planning a search for a permanent dean. Kevin Marshall is the law school’s interim dean.


Lyle Moran is a freelance writer in San Diego who handles both journalism and content writing projects. He previously reported for the Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Diego Daily Transcript, Associated Press, and Lowell Sun. He can be reached at lmoransun@gmail.com and found on Twitter @lylemoran.