American Bar Association considers accrediting foreign law schools

The American Bar Association is considering whether to accredit law schools outside of the USA, and has put together a committee to investigate the issue ahead of a decision to be made at the end of the year. A system of accreditation will make it easier for state supreme courts to decide which of the 4,000 to 5,000 overseas lawyers taking the state bar exams annually should be admitted. While the increased competition would be tough on home-grown lawyers, the American Bar Association says: "if we believe that the American legal education model is the 'gold standard' for legal education world-wide and that well-trained lawyers are critical to the global economy, then a willingness to expand accreditation to schools is a way to improve the training of lawyers globally and contribute to the modern economy and the international legal profession".

American Bar Association considers accrediting foreign law schools rollonfriday.com Mon, Aug 23, 2010