A group of students at the American Justice School of Law, a private institution in Paducah, Kentucky, recently filed a $120 million class action suit against the school’s administration. In an 82-page document, the law suit alleged that the dean and others had engaged in a breathtaking catalogue of wrongs, including racketeering, conspiracy, theft, wire fraud, mail fraud, extortion and abuse of their offices in order to "enrich themselves at the expense of the students".

The suit was filed by Tom Osborne, a local lawyer who had recently resigned as the school board’s chairman, on behalf of himself and the student body. It claims the dean and associate dean worked together to delay distribution of student loans so that they could invest the funds and earn interest. The action also asserts that the students will suffer because although they have taken out large loans to pay their fees, their chances of getting a law degree are remote, as the school has not been accredited by the American Bar Association.

In addition to the $120 million in damages, it also seeks a restraining order to prevent the school from filing for bankruptcy. The defendants say they’ve done nothing wrong and that the claim was encouraged by disgruntled academics who were not given permanent contracts.

No law school can keep everyone happy. Sir John Mortimer, QC, creator of Rumpole of the Bailey, complained that as a student he found the law syllabus “enormously dull” and “spent as little time at it as possible”. But to actually sue your law school is entirely another matter. In 1965, a student brought a claim against the University of London alleging negligence against the law examiners, but was unable to persuade the Court of Appeal that he deserved better marks. The student represented himself but got the law wrong in arguing his case.

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In the early 13th century, Henry III actually shut down England’s law schools — not because they were bad but because the King considered them dangerously good. He issued a writ forbidding the teaching of the laws in London and ordered the Mayor and Sheriffs to “put a stop to it at once” should they discover such a school. Back then, the King had his own special ways of teaching people the rules.

Professor Gary Slapper is Director of the Centre for Law at The Open University

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