Cornell president on advisory committee to launch new pathway to law school
The Law School Admission Council announced today a bold initiative that will offer undergraduate students a new, holistic pathway to law school, and Cornell College President Jonathan Brand is on the advisory committee guiding the process.
LSAC’s new Legal Education Program will help students develop the skills necessary for success in law, navigate the law school admission process, and build a supportive community of belonging in law.
Brand joins the nation’s leading academics and legal leaders on LSAC’s Legal Education Program Advisory Committee in order to guide the development process. Brand has been president of Cornell College since 2011 and also teaches courses on the law. He holds a law degree from Cornell University.
LSAC will begin to pilot the Legal Education Program with undergraduate institutions—including Cornell College—this fall.
In addition to equipping more students with the skills and support to pursue legal education, the Legal Education Program will provide a second, equally valid and reliable alternative for law school admission in the future that will complement the proven LSAT exam. While studies consistently show that the LSAT is the single best predictor of law school success and that the LSAT’s predictive validity is consistent across all demographic groups, LSAC is innovating to create an additional pathway to law school that meets potential students earlier.
LSAC is developing its Legal Education Program in partnership with students, law schools, undergraduate institutions, DEI advocates, and members of the legal profession. This development will be rooted in measurement science, using LSAC’s deep expertise in assessment science and research to build an additional tool that will reliably predict law school success.
In order to guide the development process, some of the nation’s leading academics and legal leaders have joined LSAC’s Legal Education Program Advisory Committee. The committee’s members are:
- Jason Barnwell, assistant general counsel, Microsoft Corporation
- Jonathan Brand, president, Cornell College
- Erwin Chemerinsky, dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
- Danielle Holley-Walker, dean and professor of Law, Howard University School of Law
- Hari M. Osofsky, dean and Myra and James Bradwell Professor of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
- Eduardo Peñalver, president, Seattle University
- Andrew M. Perlman, dean and professor of law, Suffolk University Law School
- Choi Portis, senior attorney, DTE Energy, and chair, ABA Young Lawyers Division
- L. Song Richardson, president, Colorado College
- Joseph West, partner and chief diversity officer, Duane Morris LLP
- Sarah C. Zearfoss, senior assistant dean, University of Michigan Law School
