People’s College of Law to close after nearly 50 years

LOS ANGELES (CN) — It may not look it, from its shabby, two-story, green and putty colored storefront, with its broken lights and faded graffiti, but the People's College of Law has produced a surprising array of influential lawyers and politicians.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, state Senator Maria Elena Durazo and former City Councilman Gil Cedillo all attended the four-year, unaccredited public interest law school, as did Carol Sobel, a public interest attorney who helped shape homeless policy for the last few decades.

But after nearly 50 years, the People's College of Law is closing. The California State Bar's Committee of Bar Examiners voted last week to revoke the school's registration in May, effectively shutting down the democratically run nonprofit which claims to be the "only student- and community-run law school in the nation."

"I’m sad," said Durazo. "It was a real hotbed of activism at the time. There was nothing else like it. I don’t think there’s anything like it even today."

For much of its history, the school had an all-volunteer faculty. Only it recent years did the school start paying its dean and its administrator a modest salary. "There were some pretty extraordinary individuals who gave their time, volunteered their time," Durazo said. "We had faculty there that were just phenomenal."

Sobel agreed. "We were taught by some of the best civil rights lawyers around. A lot of people went on to do really great things," she said.

Despite its storied history, the school appears to have fallen on hard times. Only seven students remain. Whereas its graduating classes once regularly numbered in the dozens, only five students have graduated in the last three years. During that time, the school has had five different deans.

And there are money problems. According to Natalie Leonard of the state bar, "the school has been operating at a significant six-figure loss for a period of time," despite raising its annual tuition to about $5,000 per year, having once charged just $500. The school is also in the process of selling its building, which has been damaged by a succession of fires. Money from the sale will go to pay off loans the school has been taking out to meet operating expenses.

One significant expense was the state bar's investigation itself. The bar is allowed to collect fees for its oversight work from unaccredited schools on probation. According to the agency, it's charged PCL $47,075 in fees since December 2022.

Ira Spiro, who served as the unpaid dean of People's College of Law for four years, said the school's trouble are in part due to the rising cost of living in Los Angeles.

"When PCL started in the 70s, you could live in Los Angeles affordably," said Spiro. "It’s not true anymore. It’s awfully hard for people to go to law school and support themselves." Spiro also said that the school had incurred heavy costs from trying to comply with the state bar's many investigations.

Most law schools are accredited by state bars. There are also a few dozen schools that are unaccredited, most of them in California. These schools are often less competitive and cheaper. Many of them also offer more flexible schedules. Even though they are unaccredited, they are still subject to various regulations by their state bar.

According to the State Bar of California, the People's College of Law has "a history of compliance issues 15 years in the making." The school has been on probation since December 2022 and since then has "has failed to show sustained compliance." A 2020 report cited 22 guidelines on which the school was out of compliance. In 2023, 16 of those still remained, along with 11 additional "compliance issues."

Most of the irregularities stem from the school's reliance on an all-volunteer faculty and mostly volunteer staff. According to the most recent report by the Committee of Bar Examiners staff, "PCL lacks appropriate administrative oversight to ensure a quality law education for its students," and its curriculum "does not provide a sound legal education."

"Courses are offered on an ad hoc basis depending upon who is available to teach, rather than according to a coordinated plan," the report noted. "Review of subject matter, syllabi, exams, and grading appears ad hoc and is conducted by individual — including students and administrators — who lack the necessary experience and expertise."

The report also said that "student outcomes and satisfaction are poor," pointing out that in 2022, none of the first-year students went on to their second year (to enter their second year, students at unaccredited schools are required to pass the First-Year Law Students' Examination, or "baby bar"). A number of students have filed complaints with the state bar. According to a 2020 disclosure form by the school, just six PCL graduates passed the bar between July 2015 and February 2020, out of 70 takers — a roughly 9% pass rate, just a bit lower than the 13% average for students coming out of unaccredited law schools in 2023.

Other irregularities cited by the committee seem more like technicalities — an "inadequate record keeping process," disclosure forms not signed by students, and the lack of a law library with physical books.

"It’s just crazy," said Dan Kapelovitz, who teaches criminal procedure and evidence at PCL. "All the complaints have nothing to do with the quality of education. They're just weird technicalities. Not enough books at the library. No one looks at books anymore anyway. They're just going after the school. I don’t know why."

The Committee of Bar Examiners saw things differently.

"These may look at administrative glitches, but having read these reports, these are really fundamental administrative problems," said committee member Vince Reyes, during the meeting last Thursday. "There have been students that have complained, former employees that have complained."

He added: "I just think there's too many problems to overcome."

Some of the public commenters at the 2 1/2-hour meeting, conducted over Zoom last week, were even more strident. Katrina Hayes, a member of the LA tenants union, said PCL faculty and students have been defending tenants for decades.

"I honestly think that it shows the the the hidden white supremacy of the California Bar Association to to simply summarily shut them down a 50-year Institution, knowing that the process itself, the judicial process itself, is inherently white supremacist," said Hayes.

The Committee of Bar Examiners had been poised to immediately revoke PCL's registration. But after dozens of public commenters pleaded for at least a temporary reprieve, the committee voted to give the school until May, which will allow students in their fourth year to graduate, and give the other students time to find a school to transfer to.

"PCL has faced a number of challenges over the past few years, which were exacerbated by the pandemic," said the school's interim dean, Ana Maria Lobos, in an email. "We are disappointed with the state bar’s actions and would have hoped that it viewed PCL not as a problem, but as a partner in addressing the problems with the practice of law, especially the underrepresentation of people of color among bar membership."

The school still has the option of appealing the state bar's action the California Supreme Court. In a follow-up email Lobos said, "We will determine at a later date whether an appeal to the Supreme Court is prudent."

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People’s College of Law to close after nearly 50 years

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