Education
Jun. 10, 2014
UC Irvine School of Law gets full ABA accreditation
The school had received provisional accreditation in 2011 but wasn't eligible for full approval for three more years.
By Don J. DeBenedictis
Daily Journal Staff Writer
The UC Irvine School of Law received full accreditation Friday from the American Bar Association.
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, who opened the school less than five years ago, called the ABA endorsement "a wonderful milestone" for what he has promised would be a Top 20 law school from its inception.
"I wasn't worried; I wasn't surprised; it's a relief," Chemerinsky said from Cleveland, where the governing council of the ABA Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar met Friday.
He and UCI Provost Howard Gillman made a presentation to the council, the ABA's accrediting body, in the morning. Soon after leaving, Chemerinsky said, he received an email that the council had voted for full accreditation.
UCI law school had received provisional accreditation in 2011 but wasn't eligible for full approval for three more years. In a press release, the dean said he is proud the final step came "at the earliest possible time under the ABA rules."
The school began in August 2009 with an inaugural class of 60 and last month graduated 92 students out of a total student body of 330, a spokeswoman said.
"The ABA's decision puts the official seal of approval on the hard work of scores of faculty, administrators, students, and supporters, both on campus and in the legal community," the dean said in the press release. "We are so grateful for the generosity and support we have received in building the University of California, Irvine School of Law."
The ABA action also means that next year, U.S. News & World Report will include the school in its controversial but influential rankings. "That's another consequence of full accreditation," Chemerinsky said.
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Don De Benedictis
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