Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today led a coalition of attorneys general in support of a proposed revision to the American Bar Association’s (ABA) accreditation standards for law schools. The amended standard would require schools to continue to take concrete steps toward improving access to legal education and the legal profession for all qualified aspiring lawyers.
The Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is an independent arm of the ABA and the sole accrediting authority for legal education in the United States. The council has proposed revisions to its Standard 206, which focuses on equitable access to legal education. In a comment letter submitted to the chair of the council today, Raoul and the attorney generals commended the council for maintaining its commitment to diversity with the proposed update to Standard 206.
“The American Bar Association’s continued commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is crucial to dismantling barriers that have historically excluded many talented individuals from accessing legal educations or opportunities within the legal profession,” Raoul said. “Ensuring access to the legal profession for all qualified, aspiring lawyers contributes to an equitable and fair justice system and ensures that law schools comply with state and federal civil rights mandates. I stand with my fellow attorneys general to commend the ABA’s efforts, especially at a time when institutions of higher education are subject to baseless attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and initiatives.”
In June, Raoul led a coalition of attorneys general in sending a letter to the ABA pushing back against false claims that the association’s commitment to ensuring equal access violates the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA). Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling that higher education institutions generally may not consider race in admission decisions, groups seeking to dismantle broader programs aimed at reducing racial inequities have attempted to use the ruling to justify their actions, which have included intimidation efforts and phony legal challenges.
In today’s letter, the attorneys general voice support for Standard 206, both in its most recent form and under the proposed revisions, because it requires law schools to continue to take concrete steps to improve access to, and inclusivity within, the legal profession. They note that despite the strides made toward broadening access to the legal profession over the past several decades, significant disparities persist. In 2023, only 5% of lawyers identified as Black, despite Black individuals accounting for 13.6% of the U.S. population. Only 6% of lawyers identified as Latino, significantly lower than the 19.1% of the U.S. population that identifies as Latino. Such disparities are also apparent in access to key career opportunities, such as federal clerkships. In 2021, Black graduates held only 5.2% of federal clerkships, and Hispanic graduates held only 5.5%.
Raoul and the coalition also encourage the council and the ABA to continue requiring accredited schools to submit demographic data annually and to specifically monitor any abnormal demographic shifts, especially among groups that historically have been disadvantaged or excluded from the legal profession. The attorneys general argue that data collection and transparency are critical to increased access to legal education, and they thank the ABA for its continued collection and publication of data.
Joining Raoul in submitting today’s letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
