1 Sep, 2006
The Chance of Flunking Out of Law School
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Pre-Law Discussions, Prelaw News, Reader Questions 
I try to be realistic in this blog by mentioning both the good and bad aspects of law school. I'm not trying to scare anyone who is heading into law school.
But reading this article (thanks to JD2B for the link), I think it's important to inform you that law schools sometimes do ask students to leave when those students' performances are unsatisfactory grade-wise. Read more about flunking out of law school...
The person in the article was expelled from his law school for poor grade performance and is now suing the school.
You have to be aware that some schools expell a good amount of students due to bad grades. The general pattern I see is that the more highly regarded the school, the less number of academic expulsions each year. It seems the schools with lesser reputations tend to ask more of their students to leave.
How to find your school's attrition rate
Don't rely on the law school's tour guide or an administrator or an
admissions counselor from that school to answer the question of how
many people from that school flunk out unless they have hard numbers.
Most of the time you get a general answer like "not a lot," "just a
few," or, if a student, "I don't know of anyone."
Rely on the facts. The fact is, at most schools there are not many students who are asked to leave if any. But the chances of being asked to leave at certain schools is much higher than at others.
Use the LSAC Guide
You can check prospective school's attrition rate using the LSAC's Official Guide to ABA Law Schools. Find your school, and follow the ABA School Data link. It opens a .pdf file. Find out how many students left for academic reasons under the attrition box on the second page.
This isn't something that should factor heavily in deciding what law school you attend. But it's something to be aware of, especially if you suspect you are at the low end of the academic spectrum of students entering a law school that regularly expels students for academic performance.