More than 100 law school deans sign letter on the importance of training law graduates to uphold democracy and the rule of law

July 1, 2024

ABA — The ABA Task Force for American Democracy unveiled a letter signed by more than 100 deans from America’s law schools concerning the training necessary for the next generation of lawyers to sustain our constitutional democracy and the rule of law.

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Nineteen state attorneys general defend ABA law school diversity rule in response to letter

July 1, 2024

REUTERS — Attorneys general from 19 Democratic-led states on Thursday pledged to help defend the American Bar Association’s requirement that law schools advance diversity goals, after a coalition of Republican-led states attacked the ABA accreditation standard earlier this month.

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Twenty-one state attorneys general sign letter urging ABA to change law school standards to comply with Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action

June 18, 2024

BLOOMBERG LAW — More than 20 Republican state attorneys general warned the American Bar Association of potential discrimination violations over diversity requirements in the Bar’s law school accreditation system in a letter.

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ABA faces discrimination complaint over student hiring programs

June 17, 2024

BLOOMBERG LAW — A conservative group in Wisconsin filed complaints against the American Bar Association, a federal judge, and three law schools over alleged bias in hiring programs for students.

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ABA legal education section adopts policy statement supporting alternative pathways to attorney licensing beyond the bar exam 

June 4, 2024

REUTERS — The American Bar Association on Friday endorsed alternative attorney licensing pathways that don’t involve the bar exam, marking a major shift in ABA’s stance on admission to practice law.

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Upcoming ABA meeting will examine artificial intelligence and other ethical issues facing the legal profession

May 29, 2024

ABA —  The American Bar Association will hold its 49th ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility on May 30-31 in Denver with an array of programs focusing on timely legal ethics issues, including artificial intelligence, judicial ethics and a retrospective look at the changes in legal ethics stemming from the Watergate episode a half century ago.

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ABA raises concerns over law student scholarship racial discrepancies

May 29, 2024

BLOOMBERG LAW — White lawyers in training receive more full-ride scholarships than their non-White counterparts according to a new memo from the American Bar Association.

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ABA legal education section considers support of alternative pathways to law licensing beyond the bar exam

May 16, 2024

REUTERS — The American Bar Association’s legal education arm may soon endorse lawyer licensing pathways that don’t involve passing the bar exam, potentially softening a pro-bar exam stance the organization has held for more than a century.

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Members of Senate Judiciary Committee urge the ABA to examine character and fitness exam questions about sexual misconduct

May 6, 2024

ABA JOURNAL — The ABA should study the prevalence of bar admissions questions that require the disclosure of campus sexual misconduct complaints and requests for orders of protection, according to a letter by three members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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