Affirmative Action in American Law Schools

On June 16, 2006, a panel of experts briefed members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on affirmative action in American law schools. The panel convened to debate the empirical strength of the research on the effects of racial preferences in law school admissions and the legal and policy implications of the American Bar Association's diversity standards. Richard Sander, professor at University of California at Los Angeles Law School, and Richard O. Lempert, professor at the University of Michigan Law School, addressed the impact of racial preferences in law school admissions on the academic performance and bar admissions of African-American students. David Bernstein, Professor of Law at George Mason University, and Dean Steven Smith, Chair of the American Bar Association's Council on the Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar and Dean of the California Western School of Law, addressed the standards by which law schools are accredited by the Council and the Council's then proposed changes.