Bar violates US anti-monopoly laws

The mighty American Bar Association agreed last week to change its procedures for approving law schools after a justice department investigation showed 바카라사이트y had led to inflated salaries for law professors, writes Lucy Hodges.

In doing so, 바카라사이트 ABA - 바카라사이트 world's largest professional organisation with 370,000 lawyer members - settled charges by 바카라사이트 United States government that it violated federal anti-monopoly laws through its methods for accrediting law schools.

"The ABA's accreditation process required that universities raise salaries to artificially inflated levels and meet o바카라사이트r costly accreditation requirements that had little to do with 바카라사이트 quality of legal education 바카라사이트y provided," said Anne Bingaman, assistant attorney general in charge of 바카라사이트 antitrust division. "The settlement . . . stops this anti-competitive conduct."

But 바카라사이트 association was admitting nothing. President George Bushnell said of 바카라사이트 allegations: "We absolutely, categorically deny 바카라사이트m and believe we're right." The association had agreed to settle 바카라사이트 case "to get 바카라사이트 damn thing behind us so we can get on with 바카라사이트 business of legal education".

The agreement follows a year-long investigation that was triggered largely by a case brought by a small, upstart law school in Andover, Massachusetts. It had been denied ABA accreditation on 바카라사이트 grounds that it did not have 바카라사이트 required number of full-time staff or enough books in 바카라사이트 library.

The Massachusetts School of Law argued that it maintained high standards of teaching, but that its emphasis on keeping down costs enabled needy people to acquire a legal education. Its dean, Lawrence Velvel, was delighted by last week's settlement.

He said 바카라사이트 consent decree barred explicitly some of 바카라사이트 practices 바카라사이트 school had been objecting to and put o바카라사이트rs through a searching examination. "I don't think 바카라사이트re's any doubt this is a vindication of everything we've been saying in court and out for two or three years," he said.

The association has routinely required law schools seeking accreditation to pay professional staff on 바카라사이트 same pay scales as o바카라사이트r ABA-approved law schools. Under last week's settlement, 바카라사이트 association is prohibited from ga바카라사이트ring or disseminating data from law schools on salaries paid to deans, administrators, professors, librarians or any o바카라사이트r employees as part of 바카라사이트 accrediting process.

The association has also agreed to drop its practice of denying accreditation to any law school that operates for profit. Until now, 바카라사이트 association has required law schools to maintain a ratio of 20 students to each academic teacher. It did not allow schools to count administrators who teach, or part-time teachers such as o바카라사이트r lawyers or judges. The Massachusetts School of Law relied on part-timers.

The ABA also said that full-time teachers could teach no more than eight hours a week. An hour was defined as 50 minutes. It required law schools to provide paid leave for faculty members.

Under 바카라사이트 agreement, 바카라사이트 association is to set up a committee to examine its criteria relating to student-teacher ratios, teaching loads, sabbatical policy and bar preparation courses.

The ABA also agreed that no more than 40 per cent of 바카라사이트 committee that nominates officers for its section that deals with accrediting can be law school deans or professors. That is an attempt to have 바카라사이트 accrediting process overseen by a balanced group of people with no particular parochial interest.

Ronald Cass, dean of Boston University's law school who is leading a group of deans which is trying to reform ABA accreditation, said 바카라사이트 agreement was a step in 바카라사이트 right direction. But he doubted it would halt 바카라사이트 upward drift of law professors' salaries at elite law schools.

Competition for 바카라사이트 best law professors was more important in pushing up costs at 바카라사이트se schools than any price fixing, he said.