Miles Law School

Law School in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.

33°28′53.13″N 86°54′31.9″W / 33.4814250°N 86.908861°W / 33.4814250; -86.908861Bar pass rate20% (1 of 5, July 2019 first timers), 4.3% (1 of 23, July 2018 repeats) ^[2]Websitewww.mlaw.edu

Miles Law School is a law school located in Birmingham, Alabama. It is independent of Miles College.

Miles Law School was founded on August 26, 1974. Among the founders were Bishop C. A. Kirkendoll of the C.M.E. Church, Dr. W. Clyde Williams, former president of Miles College, former Alabama Judge and state Senator J. Richmond Pearson, and Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Program of Study

The school offers a four-year part-time evening program. Graduates of the law school receive the Juris Doctor. Of the 31 Miles alumni who took the Alabama bar exam in February 2020, none passed.^[4]

Miles Law School - Alabama Bar Passage Rates^[4]
	July 2016	Feb 2017	July 2017	Feb 2018	July 2018	Feb 2019	July 2019	Feb 2020
First Time Takers	6	4	3	1	4	7	5	8
Passed	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
% Pass	16.7%	---	---	---	---	---	20.0%	---

Repeaters	18	14	18	16	17	18	23	23
Passed	1	3	2	2	0	0	1	0
% Pass	5.6%	21.4%	11.1%	12.5%	---	---	4.3%	---

Total Takers	24	18	21	17	21	25	28	31
Passed	2	3	2	2	---	---	2	0
% Pass	8.3%	16.7%	9.5%	11.8%	---	---	7.1%	---

Accreditation

Miles Law School is not accredited by the American Bar Association.^[5] It is one of two unaccredited law schools in Alabama, the other being the Birmingham School of Law.^[6] Miles Law graduates are however eligible to take the Alabama Bar Exam pursuant to the authority granted by the Alabama Legislature and the Alabama Supreme Court.^[7]

Notable alumni

William A. Bell, Mayor of Birmingham
Danny Carr, District attorney of Jefferson County, Alabama
Bobby Singleton, Alabama State Senator
Carole Smitherman, former Mayor of Birmingham, current Circuit Court Judge
Rodger Smitherman, Alabama State Senator
Ontario Tillman, member of the Alabama House of Representatives

References

^ "Miles Law School - Our Dean". Archived from the original on 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
^ Alabama State Bar Detailed Examinee Statistics for July 2019
^ "FAQ".
^ ^a ^b "Alabama State Bar Admission Office - Exam Statistics". admissions.alabar.org. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
^ US Non-ABA Approved Law Schools, Law School Admission Council, Inc.
^ Group, Sinclair Broadcast (2013-07-30). "Dean of Miles Law School addresses poor Alabama Bar passage rates". WBMA. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
^ Section 34-3-2.1: Certified graduates of certain law schools authorized to take bar exam Archived 2010-03-16 at the Wayback Machine. Alabama State Legislature.