PLEASE NOTE: Publication for public comment is not, and shall not be, construed as a recommendation or approval by the Board of Trustees of the materials published.
Proposed Amendments to Guideline 8.4 (Library Content), Guidelines for Accredited Law School Rules
In accordance with the standards for accreditation of a law school in California that is not approved by the American Bar Association, which are contained in Rule 4.160 of the Accredited Law School Rules, California Accredited Law Schools (CALS) “… must maintain a library consistent with the minimum requirements set by the Committee.” Guideline 8.4 of the Guidelines for Accredited Law School Rules (Guidelines) lists the specific content that must be maintained in the schools’ libraries. Access may be through hard copy volumes or online, as noted in the Guidelines.
Pursuant to Guideline 8.4, a CALS law library currently must have and regularly update three sizable collections of the reported decisions of both the California Supreme Court and the California Court of Appeal and those of the United States Supreme Court, along with an almost complete set of California statutes. Additionally, hard copies of legal encyclopedias and legal treatises for all courses offered in the J.D. degree curriculum must be maintained and updated, all at a considerable expense.
The maintenance of a compliant, hard-copy law library is among the highest overhead expenses the CALS are required to make. Over the past several years, the expense to keep a compliant library updated has risen sharply. At the same time, access to and use of online law libraries is common in both today’s legal profession and legal academia. As a result and as required by the Guidelines, CALS provides their students with access to one or both of the major online legal research services, Lexis/Nexis or Westlaw.
The Committee of Bar Examiners’ (Committee) Advisory Committee on California Accredited Law School Rules (RAC) submitted proposed amendments to the list of library contents that, if adopted, would reduce the hard-copy library expenditures by reducing the number and scope of the hard copy legal authorities currently required by Guideline 8.4. The Committee agreed in principle with the proposed amendments, subject to a public comment period and consideration of a final proposal.
The Committee took the following action adopting the proposed amendments in principle, subject to a public comment period, final review and adoption by the Committee:
It was moved, seconded and duly carried that the proposed amendments to Guideline 8.4 (Library Contents) of the Guidelines for Accredited Law School Rules, which were submitted for consideration by the Committee’s Advisory Committee on California Accredited Law School Rules (RAC) in the form attached hereto, be approved in principle; that the proposed amendments be circulated for a 45-day public comment period; and, following receipt of any public comments, the proposal and any comments received be referred to the RAC for its input prior to consideration of the final amendments by the Committee.
Attachment A: Guideline 8.4 Library Content
None.
June 18, 2015
Proposed Amendments to Guideline 8.4 (Library Content), Guidelines for Accredited Law School Rules