{"id":165047,"date":"2026-10-15T08:20:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T16:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/15\/doj-threatens-aba-with-antitrust-probe-over-adjunct-professors\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T08:20:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T16:20:46","slug":"doj-threatens-aba-with-antitrust-probe-over-adjunct-professors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/15\/doj-threatens-aba-with-antitrust-probe-over-adjunct-professors\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Threatens ABA With Antitrust Probe Over\u2026 Adjunct Professors"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration\u2019s long war on the American Bar Association has opened a new front, and it\u2019s\u2026 adjunct professors. According to The Wall Street Journal<\/a>, the Justice Department has warned the ABA that it could face an antitrust investigation unless it loosens the accreditation rules limiting how much part-time faculty can teach law students.<\/p>\n

The warning came in an Oct. 7 letter from Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the DOJ\u2019s No. 3 and before that Walt Nauta\u2019s defense lawyer in Trump\u2019s classified documents case, to the ABA\u2019s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, the arm of the organization that actually accredits law schools. Woodward\u2019s argument is that adjuncts are cheaper, often bring more real-world experience, and that capping their teaching load hurts legal education and pushes tuition up. The DOJ\u2019s theory of legal education, apparently, is that knowing how to teach is the one qualification a law professor doesn\u2019t need, and that a career spent learning how 1Ls actually learn is just a cost to cut. He gave the council 15 days to change the standard or explain why it doesn\u2019t violate federal antitrust law. If the answer is deemed \u201cinsufficient,\u201d the department \u201cmay proceed with additional investigatory steps necessary to address the apparent violation of federal antitrust law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woodward also wrote that the standard appears to restrict his own ability to teach first-year students. Woodward, per his DOJ biography, is an adjunct law professor at Catholic University.<\/p>\n

So, is that<\/em> the issue? One senior Justice Department official who\u2019d like a crack at the 1Ls? Or is it just another way for MAGAland to take a swipe at the ABA for the unforgivable sin of suing the White House<\/a> (over its campaign against Biglaw and then asking for the receipts<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Last month, the council proposed eliminating its requirement that full-time faculty teach the first third of the curriculum, while still requiring full-timers to cover more than half of a school\u2019s credit hours or two-thirds of student contact hours. Woodward\u2019s letter says that won\u2019t fully resolve the department\u2019s concerns, and a spokeswoman for the council says it plans to respond.<\/p>\n

If the \u201ccomply, and then get told it isn\u2019t enough\u201d routine sounds familiar, that\u2019s because the ABA has been living it since the start of Trump 2.0. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded the ABA scrap its diversity standard<\/a> back in early 2025 or risk losing its accreditor status. The ABA suspended Standard 206, extended the suspension, moved to repeal it<\/a>, and finally killed it outright. Its reward? The Education Department moved to yank the ABA\u2019s accreditor role anyway<\/a> on the same day the council was voting to surrender. Meanwhile, the FTC blamed high law school tuition on ABA accreditation<\/a> and started leaning on state supreme courts<\/a> to stop relying on it, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched his own investigation into the ABA\u2019s accreditation practices earlier this month.<\/p>\n

The ABA thought it could buy peace by dropping Standard 206, but this administration isn\u2019t (just) trying to end diversity \u2014 it\u2019s also punishing institutions that oppose them.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> ABA Going To Lose Law School Accreditor Role On Same Day It Surrenders To Trump Administration<\/a>
The ABA Wants The White House\u2019s Receipts On The Biglaw Executive Orders<\/a>
Trump Sued By ABA Over\u2026 Gestures At Months Of Lawlessness<\/a>
Judge Ali orders DOJ to name who drafted the Biglaw EOs<\/a>
DOJ tries to boot Susman Godfrey from the ABA suit<\/a>
FTC Blames High Law School Costs On ABA Accreditation<\/a>
FTC presses Tennessee Supreme Court to drop ABA accreditation<\/a>
ABA proposes repealing Standard 206<\/a>
ABA\u2019s Diversity Requirement Suspension Not Enough For Pam Bondi<\/a>
Supreme Court Wannabes Head Search Committee For Bari Weiss University Law School Dean<\/a>
Federalist Society & Bari Weiss University Planning New Law School\u2026 Move Over ASSLaw!<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post DOJ Threatens ABA With Antitrust Probe Over\u2026 Adjunct Professors<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s long war on the American Bar Association has opened a new front, and it\u2019s\u2026 adjunct professors. According to The Wall Street Journal<\/a>, the Justice Department has warned the ABA that it could face an antitrust investigation unless it loosens the accreditation rules limiting how much part-time faculty can teach law students.<\/p>\n

The warning came in an Oct. 7 letter from Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the DOJ\u2019s No. 3 and before that Walt Nauta\u2019s defense lawyer in Trump\u2019s classified documents case, to the ABA\u2019s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, the arm of the organization that actually accredits law schools. Woodward\u2019s argument is that adjuncts are cheaper, often bring more real-world experience, and that capping their teaching load hurts legal education and pushes tuition up. The DOJ\u2019s theory of legal education, apparently, is that knowing how to teach is the one qualification a law professor doesn\u2019t need, and that a career spent learning how 1Ls actually learn is just a cost to cut. He gave the council 15 days to change the standard or explain why it doesn\u2019t violate federal antitrust law. If the answer is deemed \u201cinsufficient,\u201d the department \u201cmay proceed with additional investigatory steps necessary to address the apparent violation of federal antitrust law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woodward also wrote that the standard appears to restrict his own ability to teach first-year students. Woodward, per his DOJ biography, is an adjunct law professor at Catholic University.<\/p>\n

So, is that<\/em> the issue? One senior Justice Department official who\u2019d like a crack at the 1Ls? Or is it just another way for MAGAland to take a swipe at the ABA for the unforgivable sin of suing the White House<\/a> (over its campaign against Biglaw and then asking for the receipts<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Last month, the council proposed eliminating its requirement that full-time faculty teach the first third of the curriculum, while still requiring full-timers to cover more than half of a school\u2019s credit hours or two-thirds of student contact hours. Woodward\u2019s letter says that won\u2019t fully resolve the department\u2019s concerns, and a spokeswoman for the council says it plans to respond.<\/p>\n

If the \u201ccomply, and then get told it isn\u2019t enough\u201d routine sounds familiar, that\u2019s because the ABA has been living it since the start of Trump 2.0. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded the ABA scrap its diversity standard<\/a> back in early 2025 or risk losing its accreditor status. The ABA suspended Standard 206, extended the suspension, moved to repeal it<\/a>, and finally killed it outright. Its reward? The Education Department moved to yank the ABA\u2019s accreditor role anyway<\/a> on the same day the council was voting to surrender. Meanwhile, the FTC blamed high law school tuition on ABA accreditation<\/a> and started leaning on state supreme courts<\/a> to stop relying on it, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched his own investigation into the ABA\u2019s accreditation practices earlier this month.<\/p>\n

The ABA thought it could buy peace by dropping Standard 206, but this administration isn\u2019t (just) trying to end diversity \u2014 it\u2019s also punishing institutions that oppose them.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> ABA Going To Lose Law School Accreditor Role On Same Day It Surrenders To Trump Administration<\/a>
The ABA Wants The White House\u2019s Receipts On The Biglaw Executive Orders<\/a>
Trump Sued By ABA Over\u2026 Gestures At Months Of Lawlessness<\/a>
Judge Ali orders DOJ to name who drafted the Biglaw EOs<\/a>
DOJ tries to boot Susman Godfrey from the ABA suit<\/a>
FTC Blames High Law School Costs On ABA Accreditation<\/a>
FTC presses Tennessee Supreme Court to drop ABA accreditation<\/a>
ABA proposes repealing Standard 206<\/a>
ABA\u2019s Diversity Requirement Suspension Not Enough For Pam Bondi<\/a>
Supreme Court Wannabes Head Search Committee For Bari Weiss University Law School Dean<\/a>
Federalist Society & Bari Weiss University Planning New Law School\u2026 Move Over ASSLaw!<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration\u2019s long war on the American Bar Association has opened a new front, and it\u2019s\u2026 adjunct professors. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department has warned the ABA that it could face an antitrust investigation unless it loosens the accreditation rules limiting how much part-time faculty can teach law students. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":165009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}