American Bar Association greenlights Penn plan to merge law schools

The American Bar Association has greenlit Pennsylvania State University’s plan to merge its two law schools, Penn State Law and Penn State Dickinson Law, reported Reuters.

Penn State had spent two years angling for the reunification, which was granted earlier this month by the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admission. The combined institution will take the Penn State Dickinson Law name.

Dean Danielle Conway has been appointed to lead the merged school, which will mainly be located at the Penn State Dickinson Law campus in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. According to university officials, the combination would reduce costs and enable Penn State Dickinson Law to better compete with area law schools.

Penn State is one of just three universities to have two law schools. Rutgers operates unified law campuses in New Jersey’s Newark and Camden; Widener maintains separately accredited and led law schools in Wilmington, Delaware, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

At present, Penn State Law and Penn State Dickinson Law are accredited and operated as different schools. Penn State initially purchased Dickinson Law in 1997, and the University Park campus was established in 2006. The two schools were run as a single institution until 2014, when the decision was made by university officials to operate them separately and seek distinct ABA accreditations.

Reunification was considered in November 2022, when Penn State University President Neeli Bendapudi said that she would bring together a panel to look into consolidating the schools again.

Penn State Dickinson Law intends to start admitting new students for the fall of 2025. The combined class will comprise 200 students, consisting of 125 in-person Juris Doctor students and 75 at University Park each year, according to Reuters.

Penn State is presently ranked 68th among schools while Penn State Dickinson Law is 75th in the U.S. News & World Report.