Law School at Florida A&M University Awaiting Crucial Decision on Accreditation

In October 2007 inspectors from the American Bar Association issued a negative opinion on the law school at historically black Florida A&M University in Orlando. The ABA declared that due to faculty dissent and leadership issues, the law school was “stuck in a rut.” The ABA inspectors warned that the law school had a “steep mountain to climb” in order to win full accreditation.

The decision on accreditation of the law school will be made in the coming months. If the ABA declines to accredit the law school, students at Florida A&M will not be eligible to take the state bar examination.

Officials at the law school remain optimistic. Dean LeRoy Pernell, who has been on the job for slightly more than a year, has made significant improvements in the quality of the faculty and in the school’s facilities. But it remains to be seen if these improvements are enough to satisfy the ABA.