The American Bar Association Has Placed Troubled Law School On Probation

Passing the bar exam is the ultimate rite of passage for would-be attorneys. However, at Thomas M. Cooley Law school in Michigan, the bar exam passage rates continue to serve as an albatross. Now, the American Bar Association has finally decided to do something about it.

Cooley Law School’s bar exam passage rates have been sub-par for almost a decade. Now, the ABA is finally putting it’s foot down. It has officially placed the school on probation because of the low Bar exam results.

The American Bar Association Found Bar Exam Rates Have Been Sub-Par Since 2018

The Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar at the ABA has found that the school was in violation of Standard 316 since 2020. Standard 316 requires a passage rate of at least 75% within a two-year timeframe.

The ABA found that Cooley has been out of compliance since 2020. The ABA also found that the school failed to take appropriate action when the problem began. In its probation notice, the ABA notes that Cooley’s noncompliance is:

“Sufficiently serious that it raises concerns about the quality of the student learning experience provided by the Law School.”

The ABA discovered Cooley Law School was out of compliance with the bar passage rate standard five years ago. The ABA gave the school two years to make things right. Law.com has the details on what happened next:

In 2022, the council determined the school was still out of compliance and granted a good-cause extension of up to three years.

The extension required the law school to submit a plan to come into and remain in compliance and “make the significant financial investment it has pledged to implement” in its plan, according to the notice.

During its August meeting, however, the council found Cooley had not made the required improvements.

The council found Cooley Law School not be in compliance with law school accreditation standards.

From 2018 to 2022, Cooley Law’s bar passage rates ranged from 62.3% to 57.4%. Cooley’s 2022’s passage rate was the lowest among all ABA-accredited law schools.

Dean James McGrath told the ABA Journal he was “surprised” that the school had been placed on probation.

McGrath said:

“While we cannot predict the future, Cooley is confident that when the nationwide results of the July 2025 bar examination are known, Cooley will be able to definitively prove compliance with Standard 316. Our program is solid, and our improved bar exam results are just one metric to prove it.”

Cooley Law will make its case before the ABA in February 2026.

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