Building an Accessible, Affordable, and High-Quality Legal Education: Developing Objective Criteria to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Regulatory Interventions

• Author: Madeline O'Brien
• Position: Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. expected 2024; University of Pennsylvania, M.P.A 2019; George Washington University, B.A. 2015
• Pages: 993-1008

Building an Accessible, Affordable, and High-

Quality Legal Education: Developing Objective

Criteria to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Regulatory

Interventions

MADELINE O’BRIEN*

INTRODUCTION

The rule of law is foundational in American society, its politics, and its econ-

omy.

1

In the face of 21st century challenges, including socioeconomic inequality,

deepening political divisions, and the long-term impacts of a global pandemic

and climate change, lawyers are needed to protect the interests of different

groups, resolve conflicts, and examine changes to the law.

Pursuing a legal career requires passing a state bar exam for licensure as a pro-

fessional attorney following three years of legal education (law school) and com-

pletion of a bachelor’s degree.

2

Steps to Become an Attorney/Lawyer, LAWYEREDU, https://www.lawyeredu.org/ [https://perma.cc/SJ65-

D8UM] (last visited Mar. 15, 2021).

Most legal education is delivered by 199

institutions accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) to provide

instruction sufficient for licensing in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and

U.S. territories.

3

ABA Approved Law Schools, A.B.A., https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/

aba_approved_law_schools/ [https://perma.cc/B7KP-U25S] (last vi-sited Dec. 15, 2021).

While there are U.S. law schools that operate without ABA ac-

creditation, some states do not allow graduates of non-ABA accredited univer-

sities to take the bar exam.

4

NonABAApprovedLaw Schools, LAW SCH. ADMISSIONS COUNCIL, https://www.lsac.org/choosing-law-

school/find-law-school/non-aba-approved-law-schools [https://perma.cc/SW36-H97F] (last visited Dec. 15,

2021).

The ABA Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is authorized

by the Department of Education to conduct accreditation for law school pro-

grams.

5

Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools, A.B.A. (2020), https://www.

americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_education_and_admissions_to_the_bar/standards/2020-

2021/2020-21-aba-standards-and-rules-for-approval-of-law-schools.pdf [https://perma.cc/Y2XR-T9M2].

The ABA maintains strict accreditation standards, including require-

ments for admission, minimum credit hours, full-time faculty-to-student ratios,

and standards for on-campus facilities.

6

Accredited institutions must also

* Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. expected 2024; University of Pennsylvania, M.P.A 2019;

George Washington University, B.A. 2015. © 2022, Madeline O’Brien.

1. Letter from George Washington to Edmund Randolph (Sept. 28, 1789), in GEORGE WASHINGTON

PAPERS, SERIES 2, LETTERBOOKS 1754–1799: LETTERBOOK 22, 177 (Library of Congress).

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. Id. at 1–2.

993

regularly submit data and questionnaires in the “form, manner, and time frame

specified” by the section’s Council.

7

Ideally, every reasonably qualified student would be able to obtain a legal edu-

cation sufficient for pursuing the career of their choice without taking on a bur-

densome debt load. In this perfect world, more students would have access to

quality legal education at a reasonable cost, freeing future attorneys to take on a

wider array of career challenges without concerns about repaying education debt.

Inefficiencies in the market for legal education result in high costs, insufficient

quality standards, and barriers to access. This Note will 1) examine how the cur-

rent legal education system fails to provide accessible, quality legal education at

a reasonable price; 2) diagnose key deficiencies in the market; 3) offer criteria for

analyzing policy choices; and 4) propose regulatory solutions to move closer to a

world in which every reasonably qualified student can become a lawyer free of

onerous debt.

I. THE AMERICAN LEGAL EDUCATION SYSTEM FAILS TO PROVIDE

STUDENTS WITH ACCESS TO REASONABLY PRICED EDUCATION THAT

ADEQUATELY PREPARES THEM FOR WORK IN THE FIELD

The legal education market answers to two beneficiaries: students pursuing a

juris doctorate degree and employers who rely on law schools to produce employ-

ees who can adequately perform. American legal education is failing both benefi-

ciaries in three ways: 1) high tuition costs limit students’ career choices and

disincentivize entry into lower-paying fields of law; 2) insufficient quality stand-

ards leave students unprepared for practice; and 3) access barriers disproportion-

ally prevent minority and low-income students from enrolling in law school.

A. THE HIGH COST OF LAW SCHOOL LEAVES STUDENTS WITH A

BURDENSOME DEBT LOAD THAT CONSTRAINS FUTURE CAREER CHOICES

The average cost to attend law school as an out-of-state student is $47,300 as

of 2021.

8

Ilana Kowarski, 10 Most Expensive Law Schools, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REP. (June 7, 2021, 2:40 PM),

usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/the-short-list-grad-school/articles/most-expensive-law-schools

[https://perma.cc/S3PP-HMX9].

For the top-ten nationally-ranked law schools, the average cost rises to

$69,600.

9

More than 74 percent of law students graduate in debt, with an average

balance of $160,000 at graduation.

10

Melanie Hanson, Average Law School Debt, EDUCATIONDATA.ORG (July 10, 2021), https://

educationdata.org/average-law-school-debt [https://perma.cc/3HNY-W4FJ].

After graduation, 17 percent of law students

report taking a job with a better chance of loan forgiveness over the job of their

choice.

11

The pressure for students to pursue employment that can support debt

repayment may lead fewer graduates to enter low-paying legal fields. In the class

7. Id. at 7.

8.

9. Id.

10.

11. Id.

994 THE GEORGETOWN JOURNAL OF LEGAL ETHICS [Vol. 35:993