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Expansion of Online Legal Education
Purdue Global Law School graduates, recognized as the first fully online law school, have now gained eligibility to sit for the bar exam in a third state. On October 4, the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee followed in California and Indiana’s footsteps, allowing Purdue Global graduates to take the bar exam beginning in February 2025. This decision marks another step forward for online legal education, as states continue to evaluate the viability of fully online programs amidst ongoing debates about accreditation and quality standards.
Current ABA Standards for Online Law Schools
The American Bar Association (ABA) currently requires law schools to have a physical campus to be fully accredited. Only graduates from accredited institutions can sit for the bar in most states. Purdue Global, while not ABA-accredited, is recognized by the State Bar of California, which allows its graduates to take the bar exam in California. Indiana has also adjusted its rules to enable graduates from non-ABA accredited institutions to take the bar if they qualify to take it in another state. This combination of state-specific decisions has opened the door for Purdue Global graduates to practice law in multiple jurisdictions, but the national landscape remains restrictive for fully online law schools.
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Connecticut’s Three-Year Approval Window
The Connecticut committee’s decision grants Purdue Global law graduates a three-year window, starting in 2025, to take the state’s bar exam. According to Martin Pritikin, the dean and vice president of Purdue Global Law School, this decision applies to graduates from the 2023 calendar year onward. Pritikin expressed satisfaction with the ruling, noting that the committee considered both the school’s petition and the bar pass rates of its graduates before approving.
A Long Road to Recognition
Pritikin has been working on gaining bar exam eligibility for Purdue Global graduates in Connecticut for over seven years. Although the state initially rejected his proposal, significant changes in the legal education landscape, including the pandemic and the school’s accreditation by the State Bar of California in 2020, helped build momentum for approval. Connecticut’s bar exam committee, which does not need to petition the state supreme court to change bar admission rules, ultimately agreed to allow Purdue Global graduates to sit for the exam.
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Broader Implications for Online Legal Education
Beyond Connecticut, Purdue Global is eyeing expansion into additional states. Pritikin has submitted similar requests to Utah and Nevada, aiming to reduce restrictions that prevent online law graduates from taking the bar without years of prior practice. He is also reconsidering Michigan, where a previous proposal was rejected. According to Pritikin, this is part of a broader effort to dismantle barriers to legal education for online students. While some states are beginning to adapt, the ABA’s reluctance to grant full accreditation to online-only law schools remains a significant hurdle.
ABA’s Ongoing Debate on Accreditation Standards
The ABA has yet to make a definitive ruling on online law schools. Earlier in 2024, revisions to ABA Standards 102 and 306 sparked controversy, with 26 law school deans opposing the changes due to concerns about bar passage rates and employment outcomes for online graduates. The ABA’s decision-making process is ongoing, with several steps required before any rule changes are enacted. These steps include gathering input from legal education experts, drafting specific rules for online programs, and providing a period for public comment before the ABA’s House of Delegates makes a final decision.
Looking Ahead
As legal education evolves, the growing acceptance of online law schools like Purdue Global signals a potential shift in the way future attorneys are trained and licensed. For now, Purdue Global’s incremental victories in states like California, Indiana, and Connecticut represent significant progress in the fight for recognition of fully online legal education, though broader reforms may still be years away.
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