The U.S. Department of Education recognizes the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar as the accrediting agency for Juris Doctor programs.
“I was in an admissions meeting for the third entering class when I got the email at 12:23 p.m.,” Randall C. Berg Jr. Founding Dean Nick Allard said March 1.
The ABA’s communication said, in part: “In accordance with Standard 102, the Council concludes that Jacksonville University College of Law has established that it is in substantial compliance with the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools and has presented a reliable plan for bringing itself into full compliance with each of the Standards within three years after receiving provisional approval.”
“It was one of my most memorable moments when I went into the classroom to tell the students we were approved,” Allard said.
On March 1, americanbar.org listed JU on its alphabetical list of 197 approved law schools between Iowa, accredited in 1923, and Judge Advocate General’s School, accredited in 1958.
“The deliberate speed with which we went through this understandably rigorous process underscores why the JU College of Law is the 197th law school in America,” Allard said.
Being declared in substantial compliance with the standards for accredited law schools means, effective immediately, JU possesses all the rights of a law school fully approved by the ABA.
Its students are eligible to take the Bar examination, become members of the Bar and qualify for jobs and clerkships open only to students graduating from ABA accredited schools.
25 months from start to approval
About seven years ago, Jacksonville University began exploring the possibility of adding a law school to the graduate programs.
At a news conference at City Hall in February 2022, JU President Tim Cost and Mayor Lenny Curry formally announced that the JU College of Law would be founded and the first class of students recruited.
The inaugural class of 14 students began classes in August 2022 at a temporary campus on the 18th floor at VyStar Tower Downtown.
JU delivered a notice of intent to seek accreditation to the ABA in March 2023, the earliest possible date, Allard said.
The application process, comprising about 500 pages of documents and a $100,000 application fee, also included a site visit in October 2023.
ABA representatives visited Jacksonville to meet and interview law school administrators, faculty and students, along with federal and state judges and leaders from the local government and private practice legal communities.
“We have the enthusiastic engagement of Northeast Florida’s bench and Bar, city government and local business,” Allard said.
“It is an incredible partnership, providing public good for the public investment,” Vice Dean Margaret Dees said.
Allard, Cost and a delegation from JU made the provisional approval presentation Feb. 23 in New Orleans to 21 ABA Council members, 10 ABA staff and three stenographers.
“We were confident that we made a compelling case,” Allard said.
“When we left, we knew we did well. We expected to hear in a few days, and we did.”
After a law school earns provisional approval, it remains in provisional status for at least three years.
To be granted full approval, a law school must demonstrate that it is in full compliance with each of the ABA’s standards.
During a law school’s provisional status, its progress is closely monitored. A site evaluation team conducts a law-school visit in years two and four after provisional approval.
After each site visit, the team submits an evaluation report to the law school and the Council.
The Council reviews the site report and the law school’s response and sends the law school a letter summarizing its findings and indicating any areas where the Council needs further information or where the law school may require further work to achieve compliance.
Moving the law school to a new campus
The provisional approval arrived as JU prepares its new Downtown campus at Hogan and Forsyth streets.
Walls are being built for classrooms, offices and study spaces in the more than 100-year-old former Atlantic Bank headquarters.
The city issued a permit Feb. 29 for the $3.1 million build-out of four floors at 121 W. Forsyth St.
The space is in the five-story Building 100 that is connected to the 10-story 121 Atlantic Place across the street from the Bank of America Tower.
Jacksonville-based Auld & White Constructors LLC is the contractor. Jacksonville-based TTV Architects, working with SmithGroup, is the designer.
The first floor has a reception area, student lounge, administrative offices, catering area and stairs to the second floor.
The first-floor space was formerly occupied by Workscapes, which moved to Dennis + Ives in the Rail Yard District.
The second floor has classrooms, counseling rooms, administrative offices, a faculty conference room, a reception room, student meeting spaces and a kitchenette.
The third floor includes instructional spaces, library offices and study space, faculty and administrative offices and a lounge.
The dean’s office, administrative offices, the law library, instructional spaces and flex space are on the fourth floor.
There is an atrium and stairs between the third and fourth floors.
Including construction, fixtures and equipment, the budget for the new campus is about $12.5 million.
Renderings show a new “College of Law” sign replacing the 121 Atlantic Place sign.
In May 2022, City Council voted 17-1 to enact Ordinance 2022-0317, which included $2.5 million of the $5 million Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration committed to the JU College of Law during a public announcement in February 2022.
In a news release Nov. 22, JU said that the city plans an investment of $6.5 million in 2024.
Classes for the 40 students currently enrolled and orientation for the third class of first-year students will begin Aug. 7-11 at the new campus.
