Texas is now the first state in the U.S. to eliminate American Bar Association oversight of its law schools, ending the state’s 42-year-long reliance on the national organization.
The Texas Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday finalizing a tentative September opinion, asserting the ABA should “no longer have the final say” on which law school graduates can take the bar exam — a requirement to becoming a licensed lawyer in each state.
“The Court advised that it intends to provide stability, certainty, and flexibility to currently approved law schools by guaranteeing ongoing approval to schools that satisfy a set of simple, objective, and ideologically neutral criteria using metrics no more onerous than those currently required by the ABA,” reads the order signed by all nine justices.
The change means law school graduates who want to practice in Texas are no longer required to attend an ABA-accredited school. The power to approve those law schools now rests solely with the state’s highest civil court.
In the absence of national guidance, however, the Texas Supreme Court stipulated in Tuesday’s order that it intends to preserve graduates’ ability to use Texas law school degrees in other states and out-of-state law degrees in Texas. The court also doesn’t anticipate immediate changes to the current list of approved law schools and could return to relying on a different multi-state accrediting entity in the future.
How exactly does Texas intend to do this in states that are not Texas? Do they not realize that they only have jurisdiction in Texas?
The degrees should hold just like they have for as far back as I know. They’d have to pass the new state’s bar exam if they want to practice, though because no one else is doing that.
But is the question of whether or not the degrees will continue to hold after bar oversight is removed up to States in which the person will be practicing, or can Texas dictate that they must accept such degrees in the future?
I honestly don’t actually know how accreditation and licensing and lawyer stuff actually works.
Maybe the “lawyer” they used hadn’t passed their bar exam yet.
This is part where the lawyer eats the bar logo
A corrupt SCOTUS. Simple as that. TpUsa certified lawyers coming to a shadow Confederacy near you.
I don’t think it can mean anything even in the best case scenario. If a Texas lawyer is now allowed to use their toilet paper degree in other states that doesn’t mean they have to get hired.
If someone is dumb/cheap enough to hire one, they’re going to get a shitty lawyer.