George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School hit with noncompliance notice
During the 2021 law school admissions cycle, the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School’s first-year class had increased by 76% to 262. The previous year had 149 1Ls. Photo from Shutterstock.
The George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School has received a public notice of being out of compliance with ABA accreditation standards.
The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar found that the Arlington, Virginia, law school did not meet requirements of Standard 202(a), which requires law schools to have sufficient current and anticipated financial resources to carry out a legal education program.
“The law school is confident that it has and will continue to have the financial resources and support from George Mason University necessary to sustain and grow a robust and highly acclaimed top 35 law school,” wrote Paul G. Allvin, vice president and chief brand officer of George Mason University, in an email to the ABA Journal.
“The Scalia law school continues to grow both in enrollment and budgets, with sustained support from both the university and philanthropy,” he wrote. “The school’s JD applications continue to outpace the market, non-JD enrollments and revenues have grown exponentially, and we continue to experience significant fundraising success.”
During the 2021 law school admissions cycle, the law school’s first-year class had increased by 76% to 262, according to its Standard 509 Information Report released in 2021. The previous year had 149 1Ls.
Ken Randall, George Mason University’s law school dean, told the Journal in a January 2022 interview that the school had added a fifth section for the 2021 entering class but did not hire new tenure-track faculty members.
In October 2022, 159 first-year students enrolled out of 2,114 applicants and 415 granted admission, according to the most recent Standard 509 Information Report.
The school must submit a report by June 28, and it will be considered at the council’s August meeting. If it’s not in compliance, the school must appear before the council in November. During an inquiry, a law school maintains its ABA approval pending final action.
