National Law Journal, Membership Changes May Take Law School Accreditation Panel in New Direction:

The ABA committee reviewing law school accreditation standards is aiming for a fresh start after ruffling the feathers of legal educators.

The Standards Review Committee — which has been taking a comprehensive look at the accreditation standards since 2008 — now has seven new members and a new chairman, Saint Louis University School of Law professor Jeffrey Lewis. He replaced Donald Polden, dean of Santa Clara University School of Law.

Lewis said on Oct. 19 that he plans to review the work the committee has already done — and give interested parties a chance to weigh in — before continuing. “We want to bring everybody back who has an interest or a concern,” he said. “I’d like to go forward with folks feeling like they have a voice in the process.”

To that end, the committee will host a public forum in Chicago on Nov. 11 so that legal education groups can comment about the many proposed changes to the standards.

The change in the panel’s membership was routine — the newcomers replaced members whose terms had expired.

The committee had been criticized for not allowing public comments during each meeting and for not incorporating public suggestions into its proposals. Michael Olivas, president of the AALS and a professor at the University of Houston Law Center, has been one of the most vocal critics. He said he hoped the new faces will take the panel’s work in a new direction. One of the new members is Reese Hansen, immediate past president of the AALS and a professor at BYU. …

There has been no shortage of controversial issues for the committee to address [e.g., faculty tenure, student learning outcomes, minimum bar passage requirements].

Requests to speak at the Nov. 11 forum are due by Oct. 31.