Civitas Institute Symposium: Texas and the Future of Legal Education

Five scholars discuss what role, if any, the ABA should play in the regulation of legal education.

Recently, the Texas Supreme Court requested comments on "whether to reduce or end the Rules' reliance on the ABA." Perhaps unsurprisingly, all of the Law Deans and nearly all law professors have fallen in line to support the ABA. I thought that the SCOTX would benefit from some alternate views. I helped to coordinate an excellent symposium from the Civitas Institute about the future of legal education in Texas. Here, five scholars discuss what role, if any, the ABA should play in the regulation of legal education.

• Josh Blackman "The Supreme Court of Texas Must Put Texas First, and Liberate Law Students from the ABA‍
• Seth J. Chandler "Accrediting for Tomorrow: Law School Metrics and Interstate Compacts
• Andrew P. Morriss "Ending the ABA's Role in Accreditation Will Benefit Texas
• Derek T. Muller "New Paths for Legal Education Should Be Considered
• Ilya Shapiro "The ABA Deserves to Lose Its Accreditation Monopoly
• John Yoo "The Conserving Force of Lawyers in American Democracy"

My essay challenges the orthodoxy that what is good for elite Texas law schools is good for Texas. I am skeptical.

The Texas Supreme Court, and indeed most state courts, have been subject to regulatory capture. Law deans want to attract law students from across the country, even those who do not plan to stay in Texas. Two decades ago, Justice Clarence Thomas lamented that the University of Michigan Law School was little more than "a waystation for the rest of the country's lawyers, rather than a training ground for those who will remain in Michigan." Thomas, as usual, was right. He questioned UM's "decision to be an elite institution [that] does little to advance the welfare of the people of Michigan or any cognizable interest of the State of Michigan."

We can ask the same question about Texas. Why is it in the interest of the Texas Supreme Court to allow students to be educated here and practice elsewhere? President Trump is fond of saying that Americans should put America first. Why shouldn't Texans put Texas first? Certainly, the Texas legislature does not provide benefits to Texans who pledge to leave the state. Why should the Supreme Court of Texas, when acting as a legislative body, behave any differently?

Thankfully, SCOTX now has a chance to correct the course. In 1983, SCOTX delegated to the American Bar Association the authority to accredit law schools. For the past four decades, law students must graduate from an ABA-approved law school to sit for the Texas bar exam. But in April 2025, SCOTX solicited public comments on "whether to reduce or end the . . . reliance on the ABA." This request came on the heels of the Florida Supreme Court's similar request.

The problems with the American Bar Association's Section of Legal Education are well known. The ABA imposes an endless series of "standards" on law schools, without providing any evidence that these standards are actually effective. The organization imposes a one-size-fits-all all policy, without regard to how the missions of elite law schools differ from those of access law schools. And critically, the left-leaning ABA has dragooned all law schools to impose onerous DEI requirements — a step they have only temporarily suspended in response to action from the Trump Administration. Critically, the ABA does not consider the needs of the people of Texas.

Yet, as could be predicted, the Texas Law Deans have rallied in support of the American Bar Association. On May 12, a "conversation" on the ABA's role as accreditor was convened by all of the Texas law schools (including my own). There were eleven speakers, ten of whom wholeheartedly supported the ABA's role as accreditor. Only Professor Seth J. Chandler of the University of Houston offered some critical comments about the organization. However, such groupthink is emblematic of the broader lack of ideological diversity in the academy. Moreover, this monolithic thought is especially unhelpful when deciding whether to change the regulatory regime. (Indeed, this online symposium hosted by the Civitas Institute was occasioned by the glaring one-sided nature of the ABA defense rally.)

The Texas Supreme Court would be well served to consider the entire symposium.

 

Comments

[Malika the Maiz]

“Let me counter the perception of orthodoxy with my own!”

[Supremacy Claus]

The ABA is a Democrat attack dog. It is a factor in the utter failure of every self stated goal of every law subject. Under its leadership, the lawyer profession has been a rent seeking scam and garbage profession. The lawyer profession continues to use Scholasticism. That was renounced by the slow moving church in the 19th Century. Its methods dominate our procedures. The court looks like a church. The bench looks like an altar. The judge dresses like a priest. People stand and sit as they do in a church service. The same bullshit stentorian, pompous tones are used as they are in church. The entire court violates the Establihment Clause, and should all be demolished. Get some field tables and folding chairs. Better yet, no furniture to speed the proceedings. Make the rent seekers stand. Wear open collar shirts for the meeting of a trial.

The ABA allows the indoctrination into supernatural doctrines. The lawyer is taught about mind reading, the forecasting of rare accidents. The model for good conduct is a fictitious character, who is a thinly disguised Jesus. These powers were attributed to God in the catechism of 1275 AD. Not only are these religious in nature, but they are blasphemous, attributing divine powers to men.

Its vaunted adversarial system is to generate an expensive theater production for the make work employment of 3 lawyers. It has no validation as a methodology whatsoever. The side that generates the most emotion wins. The jury was a cool advance in 1215 AD. Today is has no reliability statistics. It has no validation statistics. The resulting exoneration rate is appalling, even in expensive, careful murder trials. Witness testimony in the absence of objective evidence is mere superstition. Tell us what you did a week ago. Now do the same from 2 years ago when the crime took place. Yet this anti-scientific garbage continues under the indoctrination and leadership of the ABA.

The ABA is even to the left of the lawyer profession. Onnly a minority of lawyers belong to this garbage Democrat attack dog.

[Malika the Maiz]

Crazy people are commonly drawn to MAGA.

[Supremacy Claus]

The per capita GDP of El Salvador is $5000, that of the USA is $80000. It has a low crime rate. The USA has to endure 2 billion crimes a year under the regime of the ABA trained lawyer profession.

[Darwinnie]

Why is there a comma in the title of Blackman’s title? The second clause is dependent.

[TheAmazingEmu]

You're saying Texas should look to California and go, "they have they have the right idea here"?

[Doug Heffernan]

Seems that blackman is advocating for some type of isolationist policy for legal education and practice in texas. He thinks that texas would be all the better if non-texans didn’t attend texas law schools if they later left to practice law outside of texas. Or that a texas legal education might have less value outside of texas.

Two conservative tropes are deployed by blackman. The presumption that universal standards (“one size fits all”) are necessarily bad, and that there is one (and only one) kind of diversity that is desirable. And that is “ideological diversity”.

[Tafkap]

Is anyone in this symposium is going to argue in defense of the ABA or is it an echo chamber ?

[Supremacy Claus]

I will. Their education is highly effective. The lawyer profession takes our $trillion and returns nothing of value. The ABA runs a great and highly stable, immovable scam.

[Ridgeway]

"We can ask the same question about Texas. Why is it in the interest of the Texas Supreme Court to allow students to be educated here and practice elsewhere?"

Seems to me that The South Texas College of Law has resolved that issue!

[David Nieporent]

By skipping the education step?

[y81]

Don't the out-of-state students pay out-of-state tuition which is in excess of the cost of their legal education, thereby helping Texas's balance of trade? Law schools generally are cash cows, since they offer large lecture courses with no expensive lab equipment. Plus the students pay for housing and food while they are in Texas. I guess the problem is that as a true Trumpian, Josh doesn't consider trade surpluses due to providing services to be real; only manufacture of tangible property is real. Both he and Trump are kind of vulgar Marxists in that respect.

[DIsrobing]

Professor at a top 200 law school has some thoughts about how to improve legal education.

Okay.

[MN2828]

Isn't the real issue what would be the alternative to ABA accreditation? You would want some sort of alternative accreditor.

There are several reputable organizations that accredit colleges and universities. As I understand it, universities can choose which accreditation agency to use. I am not aware of any similar organizations interested in accrediting law schools.

Of course, if all of the Texas law schools elect to be accredited by the ABA, none of this really matters. The Texas Supreme Court is not going to say ABA accreditation doesn't count. At most, it would open the door to other organizations.

[bernard11]

Why is it in the interest of the Texas Supreme Court to allow students to be educated here and practice elsewhere?

I don't know what is or is not in the interests of the TX Supreme Court. (Well, I guess a pay raise would be. Notice that Thomas at least asked about, "the welfare of the people of Michigan or any cognizable interest of the State of Michigan," and not the interests of the Michigan Supreme Court. Though why that's Thomas' business is unclear.)

But it seems clear to me that the current policies do benefit Texas.

1. In-state students have a chance to get a high-level legal education at a lower tuition rate (about $15K less than out-of-state students) than otherwise.

2. Admitting out-of-state students raises the overall ratings of the school, presumably improving job prospects for all graduates, in state or not. This may make it easier to recruit outstanding faculty, benefiting all students.

3. Some of the out-of-state students will stay in Texas, which by the logic of the OP helps the state.

4. They add the much-desired ideological diversity.

[MN2828]

Said another way, why would it be in the interest of the Texas Supreme Court to prevent students who are educated here from being licensed elsewhere? Or to prevent students educated elsewhere from practicing in Texas? It wouldn't be and they aren't considering that.

Again, I don't read the Court's request for comment as teeing up the issue of whether ABA accreditation should no longer be acceptable but only whether ABA accreditation should be the only accreditation that is acceptable.

[Dr. Ed 2]

I like what Maine did with Lobster Licenses -- everyone wanted to be in Southern Maine. So they divided the coast up and there are only licenses issued where there are vacancies.

So you wish to sit for the Texas bar -- you are committed to practice in the underserved area of your choice for five years. Only then can you practice out of state...

[ileads]

This symposium raises important questions about the future of legal education and the proper role of the ABA. While there's value in maintaining national standards to ensure quality and mobility, the concerns about regulatory overreach, ideological conformity, and lack of responsiveness to local needs shouldn't be ignored. Texas exploring its own standards—or at least allowing for alternative accreditation paths—could foster innovation and better serve in-state students. The challenge will be balancing quality control with flexibility, and ensuring that any new system truly prioritizes accessibility, affordability, and professional competence. Thanks for bringing together diverse voices on this under-discussed but timely issue.

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