David A. Clarke School of Law: Difference between revisions

UDC Law was established as the District of Columbia School of Law after [[Antioch University]] decided to close its law school.<ref name="History" /> The [[Antioch School of Law]] was a [[Washington, D.C.]] school established as part of [[Antioch College]]'s [[Antioch Network]] in 1972 by [[Jean Camper Cahn]] and [[Edgar S. Cahn]], a married interracial couple dedicated to improving legal services for poor people.<ref name="Jean Camper Cahn">{{cite webnews|last1=Fowler|first1=Glenn|title=Jean Camper Cahn Is Dead at 55; Early Backer of Legal Aid to Poor|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/06/obituaries/jean-camper-cahn-is-dead-at-55-early-backer-of-legal-aid-to-poor.html|work=New York Times|date=6 January 1991 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref>

Eager to retain the Antioch School of Law's mission, curriculum, clinical programs, and some personnel for the benefit of the city, in 1986 Antioch School of Law students, alumni and local legal and civic leaders mounted a successful grassroots campaign to persuade the [[Council of the District of Columbia]] to pass legislation that re-established the school as the District of Columbia School of Law (DCSL).<ref name="Antioch Law">{{cite webnews|title=Antioch Law School Gains|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/09/us/antioch-law-school-gains.html|work=New York Times|date=9 October 1986 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref> The [[Council of the District of Columbia]] later passed legislation merging the School of Law with the [[University of the District of Columbia]] in 1996.<ref name="History" /> In 1998 President Clinton signed legislation renaming the School after former D.C. Council Chair [[David A. Clarke]], a civil rights leader and long-time advocate for the law school and its mission.<ref name="History" />

On May 15, 2020, the council of the [[American Bar Association|American Bar Association's]] Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar met remotely and determined this school and nine others had significant noncompliance with Standard 316.<ref name=ABA2020>{{cite web|url= https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/legal-ed-posts-public-notice-for-schools-out-of-compliance-with-bar-passage-standard?sc_sid=00954663&promo=&additional4=&additional5=&sfmc_j=216248&sfmc_s=46716697&sfmc_l=1527&sfmc_jb=141&sfmc_mid=100027443&sfmc_u=7034218 |title=10 law schools are out of compliance with bar passage standard, ABA legal ed section says|publisher=Stephanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal, May 28, 2020|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref> This Standard was revised in 2019 to provide that at least 75% of an accredited law school's graduates who took a bar exam must pass one within two years of graduation.<ref name=ABA2020 /> The school had been asked to submit a report by Feb. 1, 2021; and, if the council did not find the report demonstrated compliance, the school would be asked to appear before the council at its May, 2021 meeting.<ref name=ABA2020 /> By August 2020, the School of Law was able to demonstrate compliance, asserting the class of 2018 had a two-year bar passage rate of 75.3%, and its class of 2019 was showing progress toward a 75% pass rate.<ref name=InCompliance>{{cite web|url=https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/two-law-schools-dinged-for-bar-pass-standard-now-found-to-be-in-compliance?sc_sid=00954663&promo=&additional4=&additional5=&sfmc_j=262618&sfmc_s=46716697&sfmc_l=1527&sfmc_jb=156&sfmc_mid=100027443&sfmc_u=8217264 |title=2 law schools dinged for bar pass standard are now found to be in compliance|publisher=Stepanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal, August 25, 2020}}</ref> The August council also specifically found that the school was in compliance with Standards 501(b) and Interpretation 501–1, which deal with admissions policies and practices.<ref name=InCompliance /> However, in late 2022, the school was again found out of compliance for having an actual 67.24% pass rate for the class of 2019.<ref name=ABA2022>{{cite web|url= https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/three-law-schools-found-to-be-out-of-compliance-with-standard-316?sc_sid=00954663&promo=&additional4= |title=3 law schools dinged for low bar pass rates|publisher= Stephanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal, December 14, 2022|accessdate=December 16, 2022}}</ref> The school indicated the 2019 results were an anomaly.<ref name=ABA2022/> The ABA determined the school was back in compliance by March 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/a-few-law-schools-dinged-on-bar-pass-rates-last-year-see-improvement?sc_sid=00954663&promo=&additional4=&additional5=&sfmc_j=639343&sfmc_s=46716697&sfmc_l=1527&sfmc_jb=26006&sfmc_mid=100027443&sfmc_u=18925103 |title=3 law schools dinged on bar pass rates see improvement; another back in compliance with diversity standard|publisher=Stephanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal, March 6, 2023|accessdate=March 14, 2023}}</ref>

For 2024, ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' ranked UDC Law in the category #180-196 out of 196 [[American Bar Association|ABA]] accredited law schools, being in the bottom 7.69% of those schools, at most.<ref name="USNWR Profile"/>

[[Category:Historically black law schools|Historically black law schools]]