Accredited Law School Law and Legal Definition
The term "accredited law school" has reference to any law school approved or provisionally approved by the American Bar Association or which is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. “In order to ascertain whether an applicant has acquired the education equivalent to that of an American Bar Association (ABA)-accredited law school, the court examines the applicant's "general" and "particular" qualifications to determine whether a familiarity with the fundamentals of American law has been obtained. The "general" evaluation focuses on the exposure to common-law tradition and involves a determination whether an applicant has obtained a legal education at a school in a country whose jurisprudence rests upon the common-law tradition. The "particular" evaluation, on the other hand, involves a determination of the extent to which an applicant has been exposed to American law. Relevant to this evaluation is whether the applicant has obtained an LL.M. degree from an ABA-accredited law school and, if the applicant has been admitted to practice in other United States jurisdictions, the length of time and the nature of the applicant's practice.”[ Yakah v. Bd. of Bar Examiners, 448 Mass. 740 (Mass. 2007)].
Following is an example of a federal statute defining the term “accredited law school.” Pursuant to 44 USCS § 1916 (b) “the term "accredited law school" means any law school which is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association approved by the Commissioner of Education for such purpose or accredited by the highest appellate court of the State in which the law school is located.”