About a decade ago, a handful of ABA-accredited for-profit law schools convinced a multitude of budding lawyers to enlist, but over time, faced with several accreditation issues and dismal employment statistics and bar pass rates, most of these high-cost institutions succumbed and eventually had to close their doors.
Today, only two for-profit schools are still in operation: Charleston School of Law and Western State College of Law at Westcliff University. However, as reported by Reuters, that number may soon dwindle down to one. Charleston School of Law is currently seeking to transition into a nonprofit, which means Western State could be the last for-profit law school standing in the near future.
The Charleston institution has petitioned the ABA to approve its shift to a non-profit model, following which it plans to seek approval from the Department of Education and the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education to finalize the change. This leaves Western State in a singular situation, potentially rendering it the last of the for-profit law schools, akin to what Blockbuster represented in the world of video rentals.
At the helm of Western State is law dean Marisa Cianciarulo, who has communicated that she is unaware of any plans to change the school’s for-profit status, even as the trend appears to be veering sharply in the opposite direction.