Drexel law school gets provisional accreditation

The Drexel University College of Law has received provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association, Drexel President Constantine Papadakis announced.

Law schools can apply for provisional accreditation at the beginning of their second year of operation. Drexel's law school opened in August, 2006.

Provisional accreditation means all Drexel Law graduates will be able to take the bar exam in any jurisdiction. Upon passing the exam, graduates can begin practicing professionally.

The College is the first law school established by a doctoral university in more than 25 years and the first to open in the Philadelphia area, which now has six law schools, in more than 30 years, Papadakis said. The University is among 25 top-ranked private universities that have both law and medical schools.

It is one of only two law schools in the country to use the co-op approach to legal education. Students supplement classroom study with professional experience. Almost 100 employers have joined Drexel Law as co-op partners, including law firms, the courts, in-house corporate counsel, nonprofit organizations, government and public-interest agencies.

Students can concentrate in three emerging and high-growth areas of the law, intellectual property, health care and entrepreneurial business.

The school cannot apply for full accreditation until they have operated under provisional accreditation for two years.