Here is a pretty good article on the slow death of the ABA caused by DEI mind poison.
My personal story with the ABA foretold today’s problems 50 years ago.
When I was fresh out of law school, and in keeping with my core political beliefs, I joined the Individual Rights and Responsibilities section of the ABA. I also joined the American Civil Liberties Union. At the time i was interested in keeping the sanctity of individuals in the face of increasing power, scope and authority of all levels of government. Not long after that, the ACLU obviously surrendered its advocacy of individual rights and became a loud advocate for any left-wing cause. The individual Rights and Responsibilities section of the ABA soon became the ABA section for the ACLU. I quit both, but I remained an ABA member and joined a couple sections in line with my professional interests. Towards the end of my career, the entire ABA was surrendering its professional education and advocacy and instead became another voice for left-wing politics.
I dropped my membership and according to the link, I wasn’t the only one. Now the Trump Administration’s department of education is about remove ABA function in accrediting law schools—it’s last important function. Good. The ABA has kicked to the curb most of its once useful function of professional advancement and is now focused on all things DEI, believing that is what it takes to be a good lawyer.
I’ve always thought the first purpose of organizations like the ABA, was to help its membership to become better at what they do. Years ago the ABA was pretty good at that. Now the ABA is almost entirely an advocacy organization for political causes.
ABA: RIP.
Interesting.
What about law schools? Is their ACTUAL primary mission to create high-quality lawyers? Who supervises bar exams now?
Interesting.
What about law schools? Is their ACTUAL primary mission to create high-quality lawyers? Who supervises bar exams now?
Their mission is to make as much money as possible. They're cash cows for the university. It's why they admit minorities with 140 LSATs, charge them $250k completely ruining their life, then send them out to the meet grinder 3 years later. They're useless.
I don’t know if that kind of generalization is appropriate. But I think it is safe to say that, in general, legal education has drifted away from hardscrabble nuts and bolts of general legal excellence to more specialized curricula and issue advocacy. There are many reasons for this. Wokeness and DEI is only a piece of that.
@co-hoosier it’s been a long time for me but that has always been that way. Third tier city schools. Night schools. Nuts and bolts get you to work and make sure you pass the bar. Flagship college town law schools less nuts and bolts more policy issues etc
When did you graduate law school?
I think it started going down hill in early 80’s when Socratic teaching fell away.
