February of 2025 proved to be a trying month for the St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law. It finds itself answering to the American Bar Association (ABA) after being deemed out of compliance with ABA standards.
Not to be confused with the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minnesota (the two are unaffiliated), the St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law is based in Miami Gardens, Florida. Cited for noncompliance under ABA Standard 202(b), the school must supply a report to the ABA by September 26 and appear before the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar in February 2026.
The St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law also had their application to create a program featuring an alternative path to a J.D. denied.
New Name, New Issues
Founded in 1984, the St. Thomas College of Law was renamed in 2023 to honor renowned civil rights attorney Benjamin L. Crump. This makes it one of two law schools in America currently named after an African American.
In February, the St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law was found to be out of compliance with the ABA standard concerned with resources for law school programs. ABA Standard 202(b) states:
"A law school that is part of a university shall obtain at least annually from its university an accounting and explanation for all charges and costs assessed against resources generated by the law school and for any use of resources generated by the law school to support non-law school activities and central university services."
Generated resources include law school tuition and fees, gifts to the law school, endowments restricted to the law school, appropriated support, and revenue from contracts, grants, and law school property. Standard 202 states that if a law school has a current or anticipated financial condition that negatively affects its ability to meet the ABA's Standards, it is no longer in compliance.
In response to the ABA's ruling, St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law's dean, Tarlika Nunez-Navarro, stated that the school is working with the ABA to regain compliance and felt that it was an opportunity to keep the program moving in a positive direction.
Administrators from the St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law are responsible for submitting paperwork showing proof of compliance by Sept. 26, which will be considered by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Council in November. Officials from the law school must then attend the council's meeting in February of 2026.
The school has 758 students and 82 faculty split between full- and part-time. It was ranked #172 in the 2024 U.S. News and World Report rankings for Best Law Schools.
About That Other Thing
The school's application to create a part-time hybrid distance education J.D. program was denied by the ABA in February as well. Designed to meet the needs of working professionals looking to obtain a law degree, the proposal would allow a mixture of online coursework and on-campus classroom instruction in pursuit of a Juris Doctor degree. Weekend-based sessions would also be available.
Related Resources
- Should You Get an Online Law Degree? (FindLaw's Law Students)
- Let's Take a Closer Look at the ABA's Law School Enrollment Data (FindLaw's Legal Professionals)
- A New Law School Just Got Its ABA Accreditation. What Does That Mean? (FindLaw's Practice of Law)
