As U.S. legal education undergoes major changes, a University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law professor is helping to set new standards for law schools across the country.

Professor Michael Hunter Schwartz was selected to join the Bar Association Accreditation Council in early August, which is responsible for accrediting all Juris Doctor programs in the U.S. 

The council brings together professionals from across the legal and higher education fields, including lawyers, law professors, education experts, former law school deans and judges to establish and update accreditation standards and ensure they are maintained.

Schwartz, who served as the dean of the law school from 2017-2025, is nationally recognized for his work in legal education and currently serves as co-director of the Institute on Law Teaching and Learning. 

“It was such a pleasure to work on trying to improve legal education, and eventually I ended up writing seven books and about 250 presentations,” Schwartz said. “What started as an interest became my full-time work as a law professor.” 

Schwartz has traveled around the world to present his research, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Republic of Georgia, Italy, Germany, Taiwan and Chile. He’ll now bring that expertise to the accreditation council. 

“I have the experience of being a faculty member, I have been a dean at two law schools, and now I think the next way I can be of service to the legal profession is by serving on the council,” he said. 

He joins the council at a time of significant changes in legal education, including some states moving away from American Bar Association accreditation programs in favor of state-approved programs. In April, Alabama's Supreme Court voted to amend its bar admission rules. Graduates of the state's five law schools, three ABA-accredited and two non‑accredited, can now sit for the state bar exam without needing to have graduated from an ABA‑accredited program. 

Artificial intelligence is also reshaping how law schools approach teaching and learning. The University of Chicago Law School recently banned first-year students from using phones and laptops in the classroom, as part of an effort to address the impact AI has had on higher education and the legal profession.

“I hope I can be of service and support what the council is trying to do and what legal education needs in 2026,” Schwartz said. “We’re in a time of incredible challenge and change. Everything from a dramatic change in the student loan program to aspects of the accreditation to changes being rocked by AI and its impact on legal education.”

Schwartz’s expertise in legal education has earned national recognition. In January 2024, National Jurist Magazine named Schwartz the 9th Most Influential Person in Legal Education. He was also ranked among the top 15 on the list in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Schwartz’s contracts course was recognized by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System as “an innovative course that reflects exemplary innovative teaching.” 

“I aspire to help students realize that they can be their whole selves as lawyers. It’s not that they completely have to envelop this lawyer stereotype, but rather they can be the caring, passionate, empathic, committed people they were before they came to law school,” Schwartz said.