American Bar Association places Charlotte School of Law on probation

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Channel 9 learned Thursday morning that the Charlotte School of Law has been placed on probation by the American Bar Association.

Documents obtained by Channel 9 from the American Bar Association show that it faulted the Charlotte School of Law for its admission policies by admitting students who were not capable of completing the program and passing the Bar exam.

It also said the Charlotte School of Law has failed to prepare students for the Bar and for a career as lawyers.

The school has until Dec. 15 to explain how they choose which students are admitted.

While under probation, the school also needs to notify students of how many graduates are actually passing the Bar exam.

The school has until the end of the week to notify its students and make its probation clear on the homepage of its website.

Channel 9 checked early Thursday morning and did not see the word "probation" anywhere on the website. The site does say that the first-time Bar passage rate for the most recent graduating class was 45 percent.

The statewide average is 66 percent.

The Charlotte School of Law opened without accreditation in 2006. The Bar Association gave it provisional approval in 2008, and full approval in 2011.

Channel 9 has reached out to the Charlotte School of Law to ask what this means for current students, and whether they will be allowed to take the Bar exam, but has yet to hear back.

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