Passing the bar examination is the last word ceremony of passage for would-be attorneys, however for one regulation college, bar examination passage charges proceed to function an albatross, and the American Bar Affiliation has lastly determined to do one thing about it.
Longtime Above the Regulation readers will recall the trials and tribulations Cooley Law School has had with its bar examination passage charges, and now, he ABA has formally positioned the varsity on probation over its bar examination woes. Particularly, the ABA Part of Authorized Training and Admissions to the Bar discovered that the varsity was out of compliance with Normal 316, which requires a passage fee of no less than 75% inside a two-year timeframe. Evidently Cooley has been out of compliance since 2020, and the ABA discovered that the varsity did not take acceptable motion. In its probation discover, the ABA notes that Cooley’s noncompliance is “sufficiently severe that it raises issues concerning the high quality of the coed studying expertise supplied by the Regulation College.”
Cooley Regulation was first discovered to be out of compliance with the bar passage fee commonplace 5 years in the past, and was given two years to make issues proper. Law.com has the small print on what occurred subsequent:
In 2022, the council decided the varsity was nonetheless out of compliance and granted a good-cause extension of as much as three years.
The extension required the regulation college to submit a plan to come back into and stay in compliance and “make the numerous monetary funding it has pledged to implement” in its plan, in line with the discover.
Throughout its August assembly, nevertheless, the council discovered Cooley had not made the required enhancements.
The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has found Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School to be not compliant with law school accreditation standards.
From 2018 to 2022, Cooley Law’s bar passage rates have ranged from 62.3% to 57.4%, with 2022’s passage rate being the lowest among all ABA-accredited law schools.
Dean James McGrath told the ABA Journal he was “surprised” that the school had been placed on probation. “While we cannot predict the future, Cooley is confident that when the nationwide results of the July 2025 bar examination are known, Cooley will be able to definitively prove compliance with Standard 316,” he said. “Our program is solid, and our improved bar exam results are just one metric to prove it.”
Cooley Law will make its case before the ABA in February 2026 — and hopefully, this is a test the school is able to pass.
Cooley Law School found noncompliant with ABA accreditation standard [ABA Journal]
ABA Places Cooley Law School on Probation Over Low Bar Pass Rates [Law.com]
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Regulation, the place she’s labored since 2011. She’d love to listen to from you, so please be at liberty to email her with any ideas, questions, feedback, or critiques. You may comply with her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or join together with her on LinkedIn.
