The Alabama Supreme Court wanted to join other conservative states in limiting the role of the Council on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar of the ABA in determining who is eligible to sit for the Alabama Bar. In its efforts, it seems to be excluding students from a series of JD programs. In particular, the April 30, 2026 order of the Court provides that for those not attending law schools located in Alabama, applicants must have “pursued and satisfactorily completed, as a resident student, a course of law studies that extended for at least 3 academic years of at least 30 weeks each.”
There are two (and maybe three) elements here that could cause problems. The first is the question of “residency” – what does the court mean? Does it include students in pure online JD programs? What about those who take a portion of their program online? There are almost two dozen schools now offering substantially online JD programs. Does it include part-time students – and is there a minimum number of credits that qualifies as residency?
Next comes the three year requirement. A flock of law schools – Baylor, Drexel, Pepperdine, Univ. of Washington, Mississippi College, Albany, Suffolk, Dayton, Creighton, Southwestern, Gonzaga, Cooley, Touro, New York Law, Elon, and Roger Williams come to mind – offer accelerated JD programs lasting fewer than three years. Are student in these programs eligible for the bar?
And finally the requirement that each student study at least 30 weeks per year suggests that anyone relying on a summer semester in lieu of fall or spring, or anyone graduating one quarter early, might be at risk.
Lots of questions. Answers, presumably, forthcoming.