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Charleston Law School Has a New Suitor in a Nonprofit

Summary: The embattled Charleston Law School has received a new suitor in its efforts to be sold. Founder Ed Westbrook has created a nonprofit in order to keep the school.

Ed Westbrook, the founder of Charleston School of Law, has created a nonprofit corporation in an effort to run the school, according to The Post and Courier. Westbrook said that the nonprofit would be a viable alternative to selling the school to InfiLaw.

The two remaining founders, George Kosko and Robert Carr, are not in line with the plan from Westbrook.

The announcement was made on Thursday as the Law School Transition Eleemosynary Corp. was formed. It has a board of 11 members, all of whom are legal experts. Westbrook hopes the nonprofit will eventually run the law school. This will only occur if InfiLaw is rejected in its efforts to run the school from the state Commission on Higher Education or the American Bar Association.

Andy Brack, a law school spokesman, said that the law school “has a valid and binding contract to sell the school to InfiLaw.”

Kathy Heldman, a spokeswoman for InfiLaw, said, “Nothing has occurred to change our belief that InfiLaw is the best option to build a strong and bright future for the Charleston School of Law. Only InfiLaw possesses the financing and experience to help Charleston meet the demands and challenges of a changing legal education environment. Our agreement to buy the school remains in place and our plans are to execute on that agreement.”

The nonprofit group is being represented by Dawes Cooke, a Charleston attorney. Cooke said that nothing has been determined as to how the nonprofit would acquire the school or how it would be paid for either.

“But Ed is committed to finding what it would take if the option were to become available,” Cooke said.

Jim Vassallo: Jim is a freelance writer based out of the suburbs of Philadelphia in New Jersey. Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and minor in Journalism from Rowan University in 2008. While in school he was the Assistant Sports Director at WGLS for two years and the Sports Director for one year. He also covered the football, baseball, softball and both basketball teams for the school newspaper 'The Whit.' Jim lives in New Jersey with his wife Nicole, son Tony and dog Phoebe.

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