American Bar Association places Cooley Law School on probation

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - The American Bar Association has placed Cooley Law School on probation, a move school officials say they were “surprised by.”

The ABA says the Lansing-based school fell below the threshold of graduating students passing the bar exam within two years of graduation. The association made the decision after a hearing last month, but school officials say it boils down to confusion.

In a statement to News 10, Cooley Law School President and Dean James McGrath says more than 75% of the school’s 2024 graduates who have taken a bar examination have passed, but they fell out of compliance because they don’t yet know the bar results for “a small number of 2024 graduates who did not take a bar examination before July 2025.”

“We also testified that while we cannot predict the future, Cooley is confident that when the nationwide results of the July 2025 bar examination are known, Cooley will be able to definitively prove compliance with Standard 316,” McGrath said in the statement.

“Our program is solid, and our improved bar exam results are just one metric to prove it,” McGrath added.

While Cooley was placed on probation last week, students are still eligible for federal student financial aid and graduates are still able to take the bar exam.

The school remains accredited.

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