Executive Summary
This report is the first to comprehensively explore the three distinct types of law schools in California that provide opportunities to pursue a Juris Doctor (JD) degree: schools approved by the American Bar Association (ABA), schools accredited by the State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners (CALS), and unaccredited schools registered with the State Bar of California.
Key Findings
Enrollment patterns are changing; ABA-approved schools still dominate.
- Although enrollment at ABA-approved law schools has declined since 2009, following national trends, over two-thirds of California’s law students are enrolled in ABA-approved law schools, which are generally larger than CALS and unaccredited law schools.
- Enrollment at unaccredited law schools saw an even steeper decline, plummeting by over 80 percent since 2009. This drop coincides with a 50 percent decrease in the number of unaccredited schools during this period, with three schools securing accreditation and 19 schools permanently shutting down.
- In contrast, CALS enrollment has experienced significant growth coinciding with an expansion of schools accredited by the State Bar. In general, the student populations at the CALS and unaccredited schools reflect the state’s racial/ethnic diversity more so than ABA-approved schools.
Outcomes vary significantly among the three types of law schools.
Analyses of student outcomes show that students who pursue JDs at the state’s unaccredited law schools face significant challenges in their aspirations to become licensed attorneys, with over half experiencing attrition after their first year of school and extremely low bar exam pass rates among those who do graduate.
2022 Data Highlights from This Report
Note: Bar exam pass rates reflect total applicants who took the July 2022 exam.
The report also pinpoints difficulties experienced by students attending schools accredited by the State Bar, such as a 42 percent attrition rate and substantially lower bar exam pass rates compared to ABA-approved schools. Although in general, law students attending ABA-approved law schools have better outcomes, the report also illuminates the difficulties faced by some racial/ethnic groups attending these schools.
Notwithstanding these challenges, the ABA-approved schools play a significant role in shaping the present and future diversity of California’s attorney population despite their student enrollment not fully representing the state’s diverse racial/ethnic population. They enroll more students, have lower attrition rates, and conferred 87 percent of the over 4,500 law degrees awarded in 2022 across all three types of schools. Over 1,650 JD degrees from ABA-approved law schools were conferred upon law students of color, in sharp contrast to the 280 and 37 degrees awarded to students of color by the CALS and unaccredited schools, respectively.