Law schools that are accredited have been approved by the state where the law school located, and an accrediting body such as the American Bar Association and/or the Association of American Law Schools. Accreditation means that the law schools meet the minimum requirements set by the Council and Accreditation Committee of the Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar. However, The ABA makes no stance about the quality of the legal education offered by non-approved or nonaccredited law schools, according to USLegal.
Law schools that are not accredited by the ABA or AALS have standards that aren't as strict as those that are accredited. They may allow admission to students who can't meet the criteria set by accredited schools, such as a high grade point average or LSAT score. Also, the schools may allow students who don't have a bachelor's degree.
However, nonaccredited law schools can be tough. For instance, California has what is called the First-Year Law Student Examination, also known as the Baby Bar Exam. According to BarPlus California Bar Review, the one-day exam consists of four essays and 100 multiple-choice questions. Students attending nonaccredited law schools must pass the examination in order to continue in law school and eventually to sit for the final state bar examination. State bar examinations are the final step in becoming a licensed practicing lawyer.
In California, law schools that are not accredited by the ABA or AALS can be accredited by the California Bar Association. However, there are still law schools in California that are not accredited by either accrediting body. Nevertheless, California has one of the toughest state bar exams because it not only measures competence, but regulates the number of lawyers who can practice, according to the Princeton Review. This means that students who graduate from nonaccredited law schools take the same bar examination as students who received a legal education from accredited law schools.