My dear, sweet LSAT Test-takers, have you ever found yourself staring off into the space across from your desk or study area wishing for the day that the ABA would decide to end your suffering, and ban the use of the LSAT altogether? Well, if your answer is yes, you are not alone; and more so, your wish isn’t as farfetched as you may think it is. Now, don’t have a celebratory fit just yet. If you weren’t aware, every so often, the ABA devises a committee to decide whether or not to abolish the LSAT as a requirement for law school. But, don’t hold your breath. As expected, every time the question comes up, it’s quickly quashed. The most recent attempt at abolishing the requirement of the LSAT was at an ABA committee meeting this past Friday and Saturday in St. Louis. The meeting was held in hopes of revising the ABA’s seven chapters of standards for law schools, one of which included a chapter on the Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools.
The committee voted overwhelmingly to recommend keeping the LSAT as a requirement. They will now send their recommendations for preliminary approval before the section’s governing council, which must approve any changes in the standards. The council meets March 15 – 16 in Tempe, Arizona.
Even though the committee agreed to send their recommendation of keeping the LSAT as a requirement to the council, they also agreed to forward an alternative version of the standard that would eliminate the LSAT requirement altogether. Yes, you did just read the words “eliminate the LSAT requirement altogether.” But, don’t burn your LSAT prep materials in a bonfire just yet. The recommendation of the ABA council is to keep the version of the standard that includes the LSAT; and there is no reason why their recommendation won’t be adopted. Especially since, let’s be honest, the LSAT is truly the best indicator of 1L performance available. I know how hard you are working, but, take it from me, this is how hard you need to study your 1L year, if not harder, if you’d like to stay at the top of your class.
Regardless, even if somehow the ABA council did not recommend keeping the LSAT as a requirement, because it is such a great indicator of how their future 1Ls will fare their first year, it’s highly likely that most law schools would continue to use the LSAT to gauge their incoming class. The ABA would have to actively forbid the use of LSAT scores in the law school admission process in order to actually prevent law schools from using it.
So, even though there will be one more meeting this year discussing a possible alternative to the LSAT, it’ll be many, many moons before you can actually put down your LSAT prep materials down and rejoice. Unfortunately for you, my dear LSAT studiers, the LSAT is most definitely going to be in your legal education future. Don’t get too downtrodden though as that means all the studying you’ve already done won’t go to waste, and all the studying you still have ahead of you will help you hone your skills for your first year of law school.
Happy Studying!
