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Quite a few things put a damper on grinding out your J.D. like your school hitting the “Welp, no more of this!” button. Followers of Golden Gate know that the school has been facing some trouble for years now. After deciding to shut the doors on their JD program, the scramble to figure out how to meet the needs of their currently enrolled students ramped up very quickly. Despite the initial hiccup, Golden Gate can finally help their students finish strong. From Law.com:
The American Bar Association approved Golden Gate University School of Law’s teach-out plan weeks after several current students and the school’s alumni association filed suit against the institution for breach of contract and seven other counts, including the appointment of a receiver, due to the school sunsetting its J.D. program at the end of this academic year.
Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the ABA posted notice on Wednesday saying that after careful review of the Law School’s revised teach-out plan submitted on Feb. 9, the Law School’s accreditation will continue until July 1, 2027—which could be removed earlier—for the “limited purpose of allowing the Law School to receive credits from currently enrolled students earned as transient students at other ABA-approved law schools and to issue the Law School’s J.D. degree to such students who meet the Law School’s graduation requirements.”
No new students may be admitted and the school cannot offer any “credit-bearing courses beyond the summer 2024 term,” according to the notice.
A win is a win! Students will be able to finish their educations at the University of San Francisco School of Law and Mitchell Hamline School of Law, ranked 165 and 167 respectively. Considering that Golden Gate was ranked 180-196 by USNWR, attending either teach-out school will be a jump up the ladder.
This isn’t the end to the GGU story — the school will continue to offer degrees and there is that lawsuit they have to tend to, but it is a satisfying end to a chapter.
ABA Approves Golden Gate University Law’s Teach-Out Plan [Law.com]
Earlier: Even Golden Gate Law’s Exit Strategy Has A Low Passage Rate
Golden Gate University Sued By Students And Alumni Over Poor Management
Golden Gate Law Will Not Be Handing Out Any More JDs
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.