A law school that has been accredited by a third-party accrediting agency is known as an accredited law school. Only those who have earned a law degree from an accredited law school are eligible to take the bar exam or practice law in many jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, a law school’s students must be accredited by a specific accreditor before they can practice law. As of 2011, almost every state in the United States requires those taking the state bar exam to have completed an American Bar Association-accredited law degree (ABA).
Accreditation of schools typically involves an outside accrediting agency conducting a thorough investigation of the school. The school’s educational offerings, as well as its infrastructure and administration, will all be assessed. While accreditation is an important step in establishing a school’s credibility, there are a variety of accreditors in the educational field, each with their own set of standards. When it comes to evaluating an individual’s educational credentials, employers, schools, and government bodies are free to choose which types of accreditation they will accept. In the United States, law schools can be accredited by a variety of organizations, but that does not mean that bar associations or the legal profession regard those accreditations as sufficient proof of the school’s quality.
Many professions and trades look to specialized accreditation programs sponsored by preeminent professional and trade organizations to ensure that a school’s offerings are in line with that profession or trade’s accepted practices, in addition to various types of general accreditation. A diploma or degree from a school with specialized accreditation may be required by agencies that license people to trades or professions. The American Bar Association is the most well-known legal professional organization in the United States, and it has its own accreditation program. Except for California, all states require bar exam candidates to have graduated from an ABA-accredited law school.
As a result of this policy, a graduate of a non-ABA-accredited law school faces a significant disadvantage in his pursuit of a legal career. If he lives in California, he can take the bar exam, and if he passes, he will be able to practice law. He may be eligible to take the bar exam in another state after several years of practice. Otherwise, he has no choice but to pursue a career that does not require a law license or to earn an ABA-accredited degree. The ABA does not accredit juris doctor programs, but it does accredit online master’s degree programs, which presents a challenge to those who want to attend online law schools. Until the ABA begins to accredit online law schools, those who want to maximize their career potential should opt for a traditional ABA-accredited law school rather than an online law school.