"Provisionally Approval" status -- Florida A&M

[nemo]

Hi all, I will be attending Florida A&M this Fall. Now, this law school is provisionally approved, but what would happen if (God forbid) it loses its "provisionally approved" status while I am in attendance? Would I also lose my eligibility to take the Bar exam upon graduation?

Please advise, and thanks in advance.

[GA-fan]

Probably so, at least for Florida, which requires you graduate from an ABA accredited school. As a last resort, there are some states that don't have this requirement where you might be able to take the bar. This is a HUGE gamble if you're paying to go there and you might get screwed out of your time and money.

[nemo]

Thanks Raven, but where did you get this info? I cannot find it anywhere, not even at abanet.org..

And btw, I do plan to take the bar exam in NY. Would the different state jurisdiction have different rulings regarding this?

[GA-fan]

Sorry, I had a link to it that I can't find right now. I know it's posted somewhere on here or top-law-schools, though. It's a state-by-state comparison of Bar admission standards for each state side by side. You can definitely find the florida info on the florida board of bar examiners website though under the requirements to sit for hte bar section.
Sorry if I sounded harsh earlier. But you do need to think long and hard about a plan B if something goes wrong with the accreditation process.

[nemo]

do you mean this chart?

http://www.abanet.org/legaled/publications/compguide2006/chart3.pdf

[galex]

nemo, isn't your possible situtation covered by the ABA rules on provisional accreditation already?  If you start at a school while its provisionally accredited school and graduate on time,you're considered the graduate of an ABA approved school even if the school for some reason loses its provisional status while you're enrolled there.  (See Rule Interpretaion 102-10 @ http://www.abanet.org/legaled/standards/standards.html  (Chapter 1). 

[nemo]

Thanks Galex, that's good to know.

Obviously I don't want to get screwed-over if the school loses the status for some reason.

[jillibean]

look on the bright side-if you are a FL resident you wont be in that much of debt even if it does lose its status

[nemo]

I'm actually a NY resident.
My main concern is whether I would be able to sit for the Bar exam (in NY). I understand that FAMU is not a reputable law school. However, I really don't have many choices...

[GA-fan]

I'm actually a NY resident.
My main concern is whether I would be able to sit for the Bar exam (in NY). I understand that FAMU is not a reputable law school. However, I really don't have many choices...

No offense, but this plan completely ignores reality. FAMU most likely teaches to the Florida bar and nearly all of its residents get jobs in Florida. To move to NY to take the bar would be career suicide unless one of your family members is an attorney who will give you a job. You're going to have a up-category-5-mountain battle trying to get an employer in a distant region to hire you as a grad of a provisionally-accredited law school. Not saying it's impossible, but it's certainly unwise and unrealistic.