Charleston
School of Law wins accreditation
Vote
lauded by administration, students
DEC. 3, 2006 -- The American Bar Association's Council
of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has
voted to grant provisional accreditation to the Charleston School
of Law, Dean Richard Gershon announced today. Provisional accreditation
is the highest form of accreditation that can be granted any school
at this stage.
The vote means the first class of students who graduate from
the new school next May will be able to take the South Carolina
Bar Examination.
"This is great news for our students, professors, staff
and community," Dean Richard Gershon said. "It will
allow us to continue our mission to teach law with an emphasis
on students who understand the value of giving back to their communities."
Student Bar Association President John E. Robinson added, ""The
students of Charleston School of Law are elated that we have received
provisional accreditation. CSOL students are getting a great education
and now the ABA has acknowledged the quality of this school."
According to the ABA, "A school that is provisionally approved
is entitled to all the rights of a fully approved law school.
Similarly, graduates of provisionally approved law schools are
entitled to the same recognition that is accorded graduates of
fully approved schools."
(More: http://www.abanet.org/legaled/accreditation/abarole.html)
Gershon said the accreditation process, which included an intensive
self-study and two visits by a teams of outside legal evaluators,
made the school better.
"It's healthy to undergo a rigorous study of what you're
doing," Gershon said. "What we found out - and what
the ABA recognized - is that we we're doing a great job and the
organization helped us to figure out how we can do an outstanding
job."
Unlike most law schools, students at the Charleston School of
Law are required to do at least 30 hours of public service work
before they graduate. Most second-year students already have completed
their requirement, Gershon noted. Students have donated several
thousands of hours to public service activities, such as internships
in offices of prosecutors, judges, public defenders and non-profit
organizations.
Applications for the school's fourth class of students, who will
start in August 2007, currently are being accepted.
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