ANNUAL REPORT 2018
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AccessLex Institute®, in partnership with its nearly 200 nonprofit and state-affiliated American Bar Association-approved Member law schools, has been committed to improving access to legal education and to maximizing the affordability and value of a law degree since 1983. The AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence® advocates for policies that make legal education work better for students and society alike, and conducts research on the most critical issues facing legal education today. The AccessLex Center for Education and Financial Capability® offers on-campus and online financial education programming and resources to help students confidently manage their finances on their way to achieving personal and professional success. AccessLex Institute is a nonprofit organization with offices in West Chester, PA and Washington, D.C., and with accredited financial counselors throughout the U.S.
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Table of Contents Welcome ............................................................................................ 4 2025 Plan Objectives ....................................................................... 5 AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence ........................ 6 AccessLex Center for Education and Financial Capability ......... 12 AccessLex in the News ................................................................... 16 Coming in 2019 ............................................................................... 18 By the Numbers ............................................................................... 20 Leadership ........................................................................................ 22 Board of Directors ........................................................................... 23
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Welcome
Christopher P. Chapman
W.H. Knight, Jr.
President and Chief Executive Officer AccessLex Institute
Board Chair, AccessLex Institute Distinguished Academic in Residence Seattle University School of Law
As we approach the second anniversary operating as AccessLex Institute, we are reminded of the organization’s evolution over the years. We have vigorously examined our mission, strengthened our existing services and developed new initiatives that expand our reach and deepen our positive impact. And, we have done so during a period of great external change in the ecosystem in which AccessLex exists. The AccessLex 2025 Plan focuses our strategic vision into actionable and measurable objectives and creates various pathways to ensure we remain on track for success. As 2018 comes to a close, it is gratifying to acknowledge the strides made to advance our ambitious objectives and to preview some new elements of our journey to serve as a leader in the common efforts to improve access, affordability and value in legal education. Through the work of the AccessLex Center for Education and Financial Capability ®, our multi-faceted personal finance program, MAX by AccessLex®, is now in its second year and is being utilized at more than 140 law schools by over 10,000 1L and 2L students. Programming for 3L students will be introduced in the 2019-2020 academic year. In addition, we have expanded our Pre-Law Services team, as well as its available tools and resources – including MAX Pre-Law by AccessLexSM, our all-new online program for aspiring law students scheduled for release this spring. The AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence® has also advanced the 2025 Plan objectives in a meaningful way. Expanding its reach through its Programs for Academic and Bar Success, the Center convened the inaugural Bar Research Forum in April and recently debuted Raising the Bar, a publication dedicated to the exchange of evidence-based thinking about the bar exam. Programs for Diversity developed the AccessLex Diversity Pipeline Program Directory and released Volumes 1 and 2 of a multi-part series of guides focused on providing meaningful and actionable tactics for increasing law school diversity, Roadmap to Enrolling Diverse Law School Classes. And, our advocacy efforts remain relevant and strong. Examples include our positions on the PROSPER Act, the Aim Higher Act and the regulation of law schools through the accreditation standards, all of which have been recognized and cited at the national level. Even more rewarding is how our two Centers work together to effect results greater than the sum of their parts. For example, intensive collaboration between the Centers has produced XploreJD by AccessLexSM. This free, online law school-matching tool will offer aspiring law students a data-based approach to identifying law schools that best meet their personal priorities. The Centers have also created AccessLex Resource Collections (or the “ARC” for short), an actively curated, digital repository of leading research in legal education. Both tools will be released in early 2019. Many more achievements and ventures are detailed in the pages that follow. But at the highest level, we hope that you will see each of our activities as reflective of an organization that is steadfastly moving forward with great intention and momentum to empower the next generation of lawyers. We thank you for your support of our vision and always welcome your thoughts, perspectives and advice as we strive to pursue our philanthropic objectives in support of both legal education specifically, and the legal profession more generally.
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2025 PLAN OBJECTIVES BAR SUCCESS 70% first-time bar passage rate at each member law school
DIVERSITY J.D. graduating classes reflect the racial and economic diversity of the country
ACTIONABLE DATA All data necessary to effectively inform empirical research relating to legal education and decision-making by schools, students, policymakers and other stakeholders are centralized, cogently organized and accessible
FINANCIAL EDUCATION All prospective and current law students are offered best-in-class resources to maximize their financial capability and success
TOOLS FOR SUCCESS > Research, both internal and commissioned
> Public policy development and issue advocacy
> Grant programs and competitions
> Convening, professional development and partnerships
> Data and information clearinghouse operations > Public education and communication
Our 2025 Plan focuses the organization’s strategic vision into actionable and measurable objectives, goals and strategies, creating pathways and waypoints to ensure we remain on track to succeed in our pursuit.
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CENTER FOR LEGAL EDUCATION EXCELLENCE Located in our nation’s capital, the AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence is the hub of our efforts to increase access, affordability and value. The Center’s focus areas include: • Strategic Research: Collecting data and conducting primary and secondary research in support of the Center’s research priorities; • Actionable Data: Developing and disseminating analyses, training and online tools that equip school leaders and administrators, policymakers, students and graduates to be datainformed in their decision-making; • Policy Analysis and Issue Advocacy: Identifying, analyzing and informing on policy issues that impact graduate and professional degree students and schools, and taking action accordingly; • Programs for Diversity: Working to expand access to legal education for historically underrepresented students; • Programs for Academic and Bar Success: Working to increase rates of success for law students in school and on the bar exam; and • Outcome-driven Grantmaking: Funding projects that have the potential to “move the needle” in legal education. The Center released six publications this year, highlighting notable issues and trends in legal education, and in graduate and professional education more broadly. The research was undertaken both internally and in collaboration with external experts and organizations. One of the reports was Law School Applicants by Degrees: A Per Capita Analysis of the Top Feeder Schools, a research brief on “applicant concentration” at the top American Bar Association (ABA) law school applicant feeder schools. The report examines the number of law school applicants in relation to the number of bachelor’s degree recipients from these institutions. The brief aims to contextualize the Law School Admission Council’s annual report of the top 240 ABA applicant feeder schools by measuring the supply of law school applicants from a given ABA feeder school relative to the size of the institution. A notable finding of the analysis is that private and minority-serving institutions tend to have high applicant concentration rates relative to other institution types. The report was featured in TaxProf Blog and Law.com. 6
Also, the 2018 Legal Education Data Deck was released in June, accompanied by an infographic titled, “Who is Applying to, Going to, and Graduating from Law School?� The deck was updated in October with new data from the U.S. Department of Education and employment outcomes for Class of 2017 graduates, including employment rates, job placement by sector and type of employment, and annual salaries.
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Policy and Advocacy Improving access to legal education begins with improving education policy. That’s why our policy experts routinely meet with lawmakers, policy advocates and other influencers on behalf of law students specifically, and in the interest of legal education overall. We continue to engage law schools and other graduate and professional schools through our #MakeTheCase advocacy campaign, which promotes policy priorities related to increasing access, affordability, and the value of legal education specifically, and graduate and professional education more broadly. This campaign enables institutions and students to take an active role in advocating for policies that would benefit students in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Our policy and advocacy efforts in 2018 included: • Actively engaging in Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization and responding to potential threats to graduate and professional students. The Center issued statements concerning HEA reauthorization bills, released a set of guiding principles for reauthorization and assisted students and our members in their advocacy with Members of Congress; • Publicly supporting a number of bills related to AccessLex’s policy positions, including the treatment of professional licenses when an individual defaults on a student loan, increasing student loan disclosures, and allowing borrowers to rehabilitate private loans; • Releasing a white paper analyzing how changes to income-driven repayment plans in the PROSPER Act would impact borrowers; and • Providing public comments on crucial federal higher education policies, such as the dischargeability of student loans in bankruptcy.
The PROSPER Act “AccessLex is encouraged to see provisions in the bill that would enhance financial aid counseling and require borrowers to participate in counseling each year that he or she receives a federal loan. We believe strongly that students must have the necessary information to make the best financial decisions, and for some students the minimum counseling requirements are simply not enough. We have long supported changes to provide borrowers with more and better information, and we made similar recommendations to the U.S. Department of Education earlier this year.” – AccessLex Institute Committee on Education and the Workforce
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The Aim Higher Act “We are heartened by several of the policy prescriptions offered by the Aim Higher Act introduced on Tuesday. These proposals further the fundamental goals of HEA to increase access and affordability of higher education.” – AccessLex Institute Education and the Workforce Committee Democrats
More 2018 Highlights Programs for Diversity Launch of the AccessLex Diversity Pipeline Program Directory, which includes a list of pipeline programs that meet our definition of a true diversity pipeline program and fall within the scope of our strategic goals and objectives. It is an important resource for underrepresented college students/graduates and pre-law advisors. Release of Volumes 1 and 2 of the multi-part series, Roadmap to Enrolling Diverse Law School Classes, which have been designed to provide law school administrators with specific strategies that may serve as a roadmap for increasing racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of their student bodies. Release of a brief entitled Priming the Pump: How Pipeline Programs Seek to Enhance Legal Education Diversity to be a resource for prospective students, pre-law advisors, and anyone else who may be interested in information about programs designed to increase legal education diversity.
Programs for Academic and Bar Success The Bar Research Grant program was successfully launched. Numerous meaningful and important research studies were proposed, with several applicants awarded funding. These research projects will contribute to the body of knowledge about the bar exam. The AccessLex Bar Exam Research Forum, held in April, brought together law school faculty and deans as well as bar admission regulators for discussions about the state of research on the bar exam. The event fostered robust and ongoing discussions among a varied group of legal education and bar admission stakeholders. Much of the discussion initiated through the Forum has been continued through a blog post series and the release of our new bar exam newsletter, Raising the Bar – a publication dedicated to the exchange of evidence-based thinking about the bar exam.
Development of a presentation entitled Applying to Law School: A Strategic Approach for prospective law students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to create transparency about the law school application process. This presentation is available in person and through our webinar series.
Outcome-Driven Grantmaking Since launching its grant programs in June 2014, AccessLex Institute has awarded $6,392,705 through 60 grants. Over $1.5 million was awarded in 2018. This total includes a $515,000 grant to the State Bar of California (see below). In support of our research and diversity priorities, our grantmaking approach focuses on funding projects that have the potential to “move the needle” in legal education. Measurement and evaluation are essential components for demonstrating the effectiveness and scalability of interventions and are key factors when deciding what grants we make. We operate five grant programs to fund research and projects related to legal education and our focus on access, affordability and value, namely: the Legal Education Diversity Pipeline Grant program; the Research and Dissertation Fellows program; the Directed Grant program; the Unsolicited Grants program; and new this year, the Bar Success Research Grant Program.
GRANTEE SPOTLIGHT:
California Attorney Job Analysis Study The California State Bar (“State Bar”) conducted a series of studies in 2017 to evaluate various components of the California Bar Exam (“CBX”). These studies evaluated the pass line of the CBX and the alignment of the subject matters on the exam in relation to the expected knowledge and skills of entry-level attorneys. While the studies represented a milestone in taking a comprehensive assessment of the CBX, the study conclusions were limited partly due to the lack of appropriate information from an attorney job analysis study. The grant funding will support The State Bar, which is currently planning various activities to launch the California Attorney Job Analysis Study. The research project plans to use an innovative method, called Experience Sampling Method (ESM), to collect detailed, empirical data about how attorneys in their daily routines use their knowledge and skills to perform the tasks with competency. The study results will set the foundation to revisit the issues of CBX pass line and content, as well as exam format and other aspects of the exam. 9
The Audacity to Innovate: Pioneering an Online J.D. Program Responding to the challenges they’ve faced, law schools are moving cautiously -- and boldly -- into digital education, writes Christopher P. Chapman.
JUNE 13, 2018
“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.” — E R N E S T H E M I N G W AY, T H E S U N A L S O R I S E S
Despite a latent concern that my brain is filled with too many quotes from literature and film that often push their way into my consciousness to frame an issue, every now and again one seems particularly apt. The negative consequences of apathy, inertia and aimlessness have affected individuals, organizations and industries alike throughout history. Our nation’s law schools are not exempt. Over the last decade, legal education has endured a torrent of challenges, criticism and self-doubt over its value and purpose. An AccessLex Institute-commissioned report by Gallup illuminated increasingly negative perceptions around law school cost and value, particularly among more recent law graduates. The good news for aspiring lawyers and our society is that many law schools have taken the initiative to evolve their curriculum to meet tomorrow’s needs, improve teaching and student services, and increase access. Syracuse University College of Law’s implementation of the nation’s first live, online J.D. program stands out for its audacity and its far-reaching potential to dramatically improve access and affordability. And recently, the University of Dayton School of Law announced that it too plans to offer a program that blends online and on-campus instruction beginning in August 2019. One of the immediate advantages of hybrid and online programs is the flexibility they allow, as flexibility begets access. Syracuse or Dayton may now become an option for a talented student for whom the opportunity and other costs of a residential program would have been too high even to consider. And better access to legal education provides a societal benefit as well. It has the potential to increase the 10
distribution of lawyers across the country and into areas that are outside traditional job centers and without proximity to law schools. And this, in turn, could lead to increased access to justice. Access to legal education is also improved by the fact that technology always tends to lower the cost of delivery of a service over time. Regardless of what Syracuse, Dayton or any other law school may ultimately decide with respect to pricing, hybrid and online programs will unlock the potential for others to replicate its success and offer a lower-cost legal education. It must also be noted that while Syracuse, and now Dayton, should get due credit for the risk they are taking, the ABA Council should be applauded as well for its critical role in approving a variance to its accreditation standards for these fully interactive online programs. Though often criticized for restricting innovation in legal education through its incremental approach, the ABA in these variances has shown a willingness to embrace alternative delivery models that are proven to work. In 2014, Mitchell Hamline School of Law received a variance that allowed it to create a hybrid part-time J.D. program in which most of the instruction was online. AccessLex Institute funded an interim evaluation of that program, and results demonstrated that students in the hybrid program were achieving learning outcomes comparable to residential students. I suspect that this positive experience supported the ABA’s consideration of the programs at Syracuse and Dayton. Performance-related standards are undoubtedly paramount to the credibility and sustainability of legal education, but not all law schools should look the same. A natural and reasonable concern is whether students in an online program will get the personal and individual attention it takes to succeed at the same or better rates as students in that school’s campus-based program. But rather than fear the virtual aspect of teacher-student engagement, these law schools have grasped an incredible opportunity to chart a course for how 21st-century lawyers (and all of us) interact with technology -- and subsequently with each other via that technology. Time will tell how successful Syracuse and Dayton will be in achieving their goals and objectives with their new programs. But this type of innovation and experimentation is exactly how law schools can work to positively impact their real and perceived value while maintaining the rigor and experience upon which they have staked their reputation. So, if I may be so bold as to paraphrase Hemingway, “How did you achieve success, Syracuse and Dayton?” “Two ways. Gradually and then suddenly.” I’m rooting for them.
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CENTER FOR EDUCATION AND FINANCIAL CAPABILITY AccessLex Institute recognizes that challenges in law school go beyond the classroom. Financial stress is not only linked to academic success in law school, but it also impacts the ability of many students to pursue legal education in the first place or to pursue potential career options on the back end. A primary component of our mission is to offer programming and resources that help students and graduates confidently manage their finances on their way to achieving personal and professional success. It was in that spirit last year that we introduced MAX by AccessLex®, the first personal finance program created just for law school students. MAX covers all of the personal finance building blocks important for growing financial capability, both while students are in law school and on into their professional career and is delivered over the course of their law school enrollment. Much of the MAX curriculum is delivered online, which is necessary to provide learning opportunities on-the-go and in short, manageable segments. But research shows, and MAX feedback sessions and surveys confirm, that meaningful knowledge gain and behavior change are more likely to occur when learning is supported through multiple channels and with varied touchpoints. For this reason, MAX includes:
MAX Online The online personal finance curriculum and resource center This simple profile environment (name, email address, school and class year) allows students to personalize their experience and track their progress while keeping profile creation time and personal details to a minimum. MAX Online is fully mobile; built with smart-phone and laptop/ tablet functionality.
MAX In-Person Workshops Fall and Spring workshops highlight topics covered in the Fall/Spring online learning paths. MAX Coaches work with school administrators to select the best opportunities on campus for these workshops, even customizing multiple sessions to address different student demographic needs.
MAX Talks These high-energy webinars and podcasts focus on single topics (foundational, special interest and hot topic tracks). MAX Talks appear on the calendar and in MAX paths online for easy sign-up and viewing.
MAX Monthly This monthly newsletter reinforces MAX content and encourages relevant and timely actions toward specific personal financial goals. Plus, it reminds students of their incentive opportunities as well! For convenience, students can also view newsletter content in the MAX Online environment.
MAX Coaching Access one-on-one financial coaching with our AFC®-accredited MAX Coaches. Students may reserve times for virtual coaching sessions via MAX Online or take advantage of MAX Coaching opportunities offered onsite in conjunction with MAX Workshops – or at other prescheduled times throughout the year. 12
AccessLex Institute Awards $100,000 in Scholarships through its MAX by AccessLex® Personal Finance Program WEST CHESTER, Pa., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ In its first year, 120 law schools and their 1L students participated in the MAX program. This year, as we introduced programming for secondyear students, the number of law schools enrolled in the MAX program grew to over 140, and the number of students with registered MAX Online accounts surpassed 10,000. Programming for 3Ls will be released in summer 2019.
MAX Scholarships! MAX offers built-in incentives to help students maintain motivation and momentum as they progress through the MAX curriculum. In 2017-2018, we awarded $100,000 through the MAX program, including two $40,000 grand prize scholarships.
-- 2020 juris doctor candidates Kourtney Hodge, University of Missouri, Kansas City School of Law, and Andrea Shaia, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, were each awarded $40,000 toward their 2018-2019 law school tuition and other expenses as this year’s winners of the MAX by AccessLex® Grand Prize Scholarship Drawing. AccessLex Institute awarded a total of $100,000 in scholarships through this program in the 2017-2018 academic year. Designed exclusively for law students, MAX is a comprehensive personal finance curriculum that combines in-person workshops, online programming and one-on-one counseling with fully accredited financial counselors to drive the knowledge gain and behavior change that is essential for students to make sound financial decisions. The program is structured to complement the work that schools are already doing to educate students on loan repayment and debt management. Students who participate in MAX are entered into drawings by completing online lessons and attending the program’s webinars and workshops. The more students learn, the more credits they earn – and the better their chance of winning. “We understand the busy and stressful schedules of law students and recognize that for many of them, personal finance may not be a top priority right now,” said Cynthia Cassity, Vice President for Education and Strategic Engagement at AccessLex. “MAX’s built-in scholarship incentives are meant to help them maintain their motivation and momentum as they follow the program’s learning path. Hopefully seeing two of their peers win $40,000 will do just that.” MAX was launched and made available free of charge to all ABA-approved law schools and their students in May 2017, and 120 schools registered for the 2017-2018 academic year. With 140 law schools registered for the fall, MAX will include programming for first- and second-year law students and scholarship awards of more than $200,000 for the 2018-2019 academic year. “In its first year, nearly 4,000 1L students signed on to MAX, signaling they view personal finance as a critical component of their legal education,” said AccessLex Institute President and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher P. Chapman. “We look forward to offering this groundbreaking resource to 2Ls this fall, to expanding to 3L students in 2019, and to awarding many more scholarships for years to come.” 13
Pre-Law Services We believe that when aspiring law students make wise financial decisions, the positive impact can follow them throughout their lives. With that in mind, we expanded our Pre-Law Services to include new on-campus workshops and online presentations: • Financing Your Legal Education Pursuing a legal education is a significant life decision—one that will allow you to follow any number of professional pathways. You may ultimately choose to practice in a corporate firm, go into public interest law or use your legal background in another field. But regardless of where you end up, it is important for you to understand the realities of your student loans and finances now. In this session, we’ll discuss the costs of pursuing a legal education, describe the financial aid application process, review the available financing option and identify ways to be financially prepared to achieve your goals. • Maximizing Your Law School Dollars What you borrow to finance your education today can have a significant impact on your financial well-being tomorrow. And knowing how much to borrow requires a good look at your spending habits and spending plan. In this session, we’ll review the financial aid process and basics of student loans and also discuss strategies for reducing your indebtedness while in law school. • Applying to Law School: A Strategic Approach In this one-hour interactive presentation, we review the essential components of a successful law school application – and offer tips and strategies for applicants. • Pre-Law Resources to Enhance Your Program Advising aspiring law students can be challenging – especially when the landscape of law schools, costs and information changes so much from year to year. In this 45-minute presentation, we’ll review the latest research and refresh your understanding of the tools available to help you and your students make wise decisions about their investment in law school. You’ll get demonstrations of our student loan calculator, our law school comparison tool, our financial aid helpline and our popular Financing Your Legal Education workshops. You’ll also have the chance to connect with colleagues and share your feedback in this interactive live webinar.
We have also enhanced our AccessConnex by AccessLexSM service. This free student loan – and now financial aid – helpline is available to assist students in navigating their specific personal financial questions. Aspiring law students, current students and recent graduates can now call, email, chat or book an appointment with one of our Accredited Financial Counselors via our online scheduler. AccessConnex continues to be a valuable resource, providing nonbiased, confidential information that students and other users can trust.
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Flagship Events AccessLex Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference Since 1988, the AccessLex Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference has provided new and veteran administrators in financial aid, admissions, career services and other student-facing roles the opportunity to learn from expert speakers, address current challenges and gain invaluable industry insights. And at a time when so much about financing a graduate or professional education is being debated at the national level, the information and materials provided at our nationally recognized event has never been more relevant. This year’s Conference was held in November in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 2019 Annual Conference is scheduled for November 12-14 in Orlando, Florida. Keynote Speaker, ABC News veteran John Quiñones
AccessLex Legal Education Research Symposium In November, we hosted the 4th annual AccessLex Legal Education Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona. Each year, the Symposium offers law school deans, administrators, faculty and researchers an opportunity to engage in and drive the most important conversations being had in legal education today, and this year was no different. Attendees networked with colleagues from across the nation and met the grant winners and scholars producing the latest research on diversity issues, bar success and so much more. This year’s keynote speaker was Dr. Paola CecchiDimeglio, who is Chair of the Executive Leadership Research Initiative for Women and Minority Attorneys at Harvard Law School. She presented, Nudges: A Subtle Approach to Increasing Diversity in Legal Education and the Legal Profession. The 2019 Symposium is scheduled for November 11-12 in Orlando, Florida.
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ACCESSLEX IN THE NEWS 2018
“Some schools value the LSAT’s record of predictability and will keep the test, but many law schools are looking to innovate and experiment.” Christopher P. Chapman President and Chief Executive Officer AccessLex Institute
“Our first effort is to set the stage because looming ahead sometime in the next five years is that affirmative action may be coming to an end, so we are trying to emphasize evidence-based and practical information to law schools to help them find what works to diversify.” Aaron N. Taylor Executive Director AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence
“I think what you’re seeing across virtually all law schools is a real hard look at how they’re operating, starting from how they’re legally organizing all the way down to how they’re running the school day-to-day. With the work John Marshall and other schools are doing, it’s heartening to me to see that the law schools understand that the world is changing and are taking steps to act in a way that’s positive to advance their missions.” Christopher P. Chapman President and Chief Executive Officer AccessLex Institute
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I think that most people still think lawyers and the law degree are valuable and important for our society. But it’s one thing to think they are valuable, and another thing to say, ‘I would do it.’ Aaron N. Taylor Executive Director AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence
“Temporary Expanded PSLF is a great first step in ensuring the program is doing what it was intended to do —incentivize people to work in public service.”
Nancy Conneely Director of Policy AccessLex Institute
“You can go golfing with a baseball bat, but it doesn’t work as well as a club. A lot of people think of CDs for investing goals, but they might not be the most appropriate.”
Derek Brainard Manager – Education Services AccessLex Institute
“This initial PSLF approval rate is not indicative of what a likely approval rate is going forward. It’s not indicative of some draconian interpretation of the law to keep everyone out, even if you’re otherwise qualified. All those years ago, it wasn’t clear to people what they should be doing. Going forward, it’s easy to comply and check the boxes if you know what you need to do. I don’t think it’s a problem.” Christopher P. Chapman President and Chief Executive Officer AccessLex Institute
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Coming in 2019! Regional Workshops for PreLaw Advisors
Our innovative personal finance program for law students, MAX by AccessLex® – currently being used by over 140 law schools – is being expanded with a version tailored exclusively for pre-law students.
plore You’re more than a score. XploreJD by AccessLexSM is a free, online search tool that offers aspiring law students a data-based approach to finding law schools that best meet their criteria. By answering questions for eight primary factors in the law school decision-making process—Location, Cost, Selectivity, Enrollment, Diversity, Curriculum, Outcomes and Employment—and prioritizing the attributes that will most impact their decision, students can build a list of potential law school options that fit what they want and need in their law school experience. XploreJD is created with publicly available general and school-specific data, and results are determined by a proprietary algorithm.
AccessLex Resource Collections (ARC) is a digital repository of the leading research in legal education today. Developed to curate what we believe are the most relevant and influential scholarly works in one place, ARC will provide easy access to the breadth of in-depth analysis being done by experts in the field on bar success, diversity and inclusion, and financial education. 18
Pre-Law advisors will get a high-impact and interactive day of sessions to help them stay up-to-date on some of the most important topics related to legal education – the latest research and trends, paying for law school, supporting the public interest candidate, the diversity pipeline, and much more. Administrators will walk away with the knowledge, resources and connections to enhance their pre-law work and their students’ success. These workshops are also free of charge to attend.
Regional Workshops for Law School Administrators At AccessLex Institute, professional development means not only focusing on the most current issues and challenges of the job but also on the people facing them every day. Professional development is personal development, and this new series of free, regional one-day trainings – with locations around the country – is dedicated to broadening administrators’ knowledge within and outside their current roles. A full day of high-impact sessions will help law school professionals stay upto-date on the most important topics related to law student success while reaffirming their stake and passion for helping students achieve it.
Personal finance is often more personal than financial. That’s why we’ve created our new podcast, LEX Talk Money! which focuses on the financial matters that matter most to graduate and professional students. Our team of Accredited Financial Counselors will answer questions, interview the top minds in money and higher education, and break down complex financial topics into practical strategies students and administrators can use.
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BY THE NUMBERS Prudent financial management is a core operating principle at AccessLex Institute, ensuring the continuous funding of our mission-based activities and the retention of resources for future strategic endeavors. In practice, this means that our assets are managed in a manner that increases available capital, provides sufficient liquidity and preserves the flexibility to adapt to current and future challenges. In this way, AccessLex can maximize the resources available to support our philanthropic activities.
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$700MM
$640MM
$650MM $600MM
$527MM
$550MM $500MM
Cash & Investments (Unrestricted)
$450MM
$450MM
$403MM
$393MM
$400MM $350MM
$309MM
$300MM
$243MM
$250MM $200MM $181MM $150MM $100MM
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
$688MM
$700MM $650MM
$608MM
$600MM $550MM
$499MM
$500MM
Net Assets
$380MM
$400MM $350MM $250MM
$516MM
$449MM
$450MM
$300MM
2018
$320MM $255MM
$200MM $150MM $100MM
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
$10B $9B $8B
$8.2B $7.2B
$7B
Net Student Loans Outstanding
$6.3B
$6B
$5.7B
$5B
$5.1B
$4.5B
$4B
$3.9B
$3B
$3.3B
$2B $1B $0
$10B $9B
2011
2012
2013
2015
2016
2017
2018
$8.8B $7.7B
$8B
$6.8B
$7B $6B
Total Assets
2014
$6.3B
$5.7B
$5B
$5.1B
$4.6B
$4B
$4.1B
$3B $2B $1B $0
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
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LE ADERSHIP Executive Management Christopher P. Chapman
President and Chief Executive Officer
Debra C. Swartz
Senior Vice President General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer
Aaron N. Taylor
Executive Director AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence
Cynthia Cassity
Vice President Education and Strategic Engagement
James Cassity
Vice President Information Technology
David Getty
Vice President Risk Management and Financial Analysis
David Ramage
Vice President Investments and Corporate Development
 
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Board of Directors W.H. Knight, Jr., Board Chair
Chris Guthrie
Distinguished Academic in Residence Seattle University School of Law
Dean and John Wade-Kent Syverud Professor of Law Vanderbilt Law School
Robert K. Rasmussen, Board Vice Chair
The Hon. Clarine Nardi Riddle
J. Thomas McCarthy Trustee Chair in Law and Political Science University of Southern California Gould School of Law
Counsel at Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP
Mary Crossley, Board Secretary and Treasurer John E. Murray Faculty Scholar and Professor of Law University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Dean Emerita and Professor of Law Michaels Faculty Research Scholar Boston University
Hannah R. Arterian
Austen L. Parrish
Dean Emerita Syracuse University College of Law
Dean and James H. Rudy Professor of Law Indiana University Maurer School of Law
David A. Brennen
Ralph D. Sinsheimer
Maureen A. O’Rourke
Dean and Professor of Law University of Kentucky College of Law
Co-founder and Managing Director of The Solaris Group LLC
Christopher P. Chapman
Emeritus Honorable Raymond Sullivan Professor of Law University of California, Hastings College of the Law
President and Chief Executive Officer AccessLex Institute
William K.S. Wang
Mark C. Dawkins
Dean Coggin College of Business, University of North Florida
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Corporate Office: 10 N. High Street, Suite 400 West Chester, PA 19380 Washington, D.C. Office: 440 First Street NW, Suite 550 Washington, D.C. 20001
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© 2018 AccessLex Institute (12/18)