COLUMBIA, S.C. ― A committee of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education is recommending that the sale of Charleston School of Law to a for-profit company be denied.
The commission’s Committee on Academic Affairs and Licensing voted 3-1 on Monday against the sale over concerns that Florida-based InfiLaw’s lower standards and pending lawsuits would devalue the school’s education and pose a risk.
For the past year, InfiLaw has sought to purchase the 10-year-old, private law school. The sale faces opposition from students, alumni, faculty and one of the three remaining co-founders who does not wish to sell. InfiLaw owns three American Bar Association-accredited law schools at Arizona Summit (formerly Phoenix), Charlotte and Florida Coastal.
“This isn’t in the best interest of South Carolina,” said committee member Natasha Hanna, who put forward the motion to deny the license application.
Hanna said she has concerns over InfiLaw’s lower entry requirements, bar rates, attrition rates, the risks posed by pending lawsuits against InfiLaw and the reputation and character of the for-profit law school provider.
The lone dissenting vote was Admiral Charles Munns who disagreed with Hanna’s criteria for denying the acquisition.
“These all point to speculation of future events and what we have in front of us is a license application … with a school with an existing curriculum,” Munns said.
