Globalization and the Monopoly of ABA-Approved Law Schools: Missed Opportunities or Dodged Bullets?

Abstract

As the market for lawyers and for law itself has responded to global forces, legal education also is becoming accustomed to working within a global context. U.S. law schools routinely look beyond the country’s borders to attract new students and opportunities. As with law firms and business generally, it no longer is sufficient to be domestic only; in order to gain prestige and to effectively compete in the U.S. market, schools must have a credible claim to being globally connected, if not global themselves. But despite the reorientation of law schools toward globalization, the regulatory regime in which U.S. law schools operate has not made a parallel shift toward embracing a global framework. Rather, it continues to maintain a distinctly U.S.-centric approach. The article offers a case study of globalization’s role in the fragmentation of power, and explores the resulting tensions.

Keywords: legal education, globalization, monopoly, regulation

JEL Classification: J60, L43, K40, K49, K20, J44, F01, I20, I28, N30