Nonprofit AccessLex Institute to Create Market-Altering Bar Exam Preparation Program

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Mar 13, 2019, 10:13 ET

PHILADELPHIA, March 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AccessLex Institute, a nonprofit organization which fosters broad-based access to quality legal education and works to maximize the value and affordability of a law degree, has announced it will offer a superior bar examination preparation program at a price that will rationalize and reset market pricing. With current bar prep programs retailing at two to three times the estimated cost of delivery, this new AccessLex initiative can ultimately save bar exam takers tens of millions of dollars annually.

"For far too long, the leading commercial bar exam preparation companies have leveraged their market positions to exact outsize profits from the tens of thousands of aspiring lawyers who sit for the bar exam every year," said AccessLex President and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher P. Chapman. "Now is the time for AccessLex to apply its resources, relationships and reputation to expose and disrupt the oligarchy-esque pricing model that continues to stubbornly exist."

The model for the AccessLex program is simple--commit mission-driven funding to build a superior program and offer it to law students at the operating cost incurred by AccessLex. The program will function like a co-operative, with a transparent pricing structure established at a break-even level and reduced further as cost efficiencies are gained.

"We believe there are untapped technological and pedagogical resources available, and we know we can offer those resources at a fraction of the price currently charged by profit-driven bar prep companies," said Mr. Chapman. "At a minimum, we are confident that all users of the AccessLex program will fare as well or better, but at a substantially lower price point."

Currently, through its Programs for Academic and Bar Success division, AccessLex works with academic success professionals to study and identify interventions that can reduce barriers to bar passage. And now, AccessLex will address the final mile of a law student's journey to becoming a lawyer. In much the same way it utilized an in-depth pilot program to develop its MAX by AccessLex® personal finance program, which is currently being used by over 10,000 students at 145 law schools across the country, the AccessLex program with input and feedback from invested member schools and stakeholders in the legal education community.

"It is an accident of history and a demonstration of the barriers to market entry that the bar exam preparation industry exists as it is today. Accessibility, affordability and bar passage should drive the market—not profits. And that's where we come in," said Mr. Chapman. "The stakes are extremely high and the need for an entity with the mission, resources, and stamina to stand up and radically change the current dynamic is obvious. So I say, if not us, who? And, if not now, when?"

The AccessLex program is in the early stages of development and is tentatively scheduled for release in 2021.

About AccessLex Institute
AccessLex Institute is a nonprofit organization committed to helping talented, purpose-driven students find their path from aspiring lawyer to fulfilled professional. In partnership with its nearly 200 Member law schools, improving access and positively influencing legal education have been at the heart of the Company's mission since 1983. AccessLex Institute has offices in West Chester, PA, and Washington, D.C., with a team of accredited financial education counselors based throughout the United States. Learn more at AccessLex.org.

For more information, please contact Amy Dardinger, 574.286.5629, [email protected].

SOURCE AccessLex Institute