Arizona approves state's first non — ABA accredited law school

By Karen Sloan Oct 16 (Reuters) — The Arizona Supreme Court has approved the state's first law school not accredited by the American Bar Association, a move the court said would help address Arizona's lawyer shortage. The court's approvalon Thursday of Grand Canyon University Law School, which is slated to open as early as fall 2027, means its graduates will be eligible to take Arizona's bar exam and apply to become licensed to practice in the state. Grand Canyon law graduates would largely be limited to Arizona under current attorney licensing rules in other states that require graduation from an ABA-accredited law school, though some states have begun to relax that provision. Officials at the private, Christian university said the school plans to pursue ABA accreditation but that Arizona's recognition will give it more flexibility amid potential changes to the bar association's status as the federally recognized accreditor of law schools. The US Department of Education under President Donald Trump is poised to revoke the ABA's accreditor status, and five Republican-controlled states including Texas and Florida have moved to end their near-exclusive reliance on the ABA in attorney