U.S. law schools are heading into a challenging year, with major financial and oversight changes on the horizon even as the application pool has soared. Here are some of the top issues law schools are watching out for in 2026.
STUDENT LOANS
Looming over all law schools this year is the question of how future students will fund their education.
President Donald Trump’s 2025 budget bill capped annual professional degree borrowing at $50,000, with a cumulative cap of $200,000. That’s a big change for students attending the priciest law schools, who have been able to borrow their full costs under the current system.
More than half of the 197 American Bar Association-accredited law schools had full-time annual tuition above $50,000 in 2024, according to an analysis by the Law School Admission Council’s LawHub, while 29 had tuition of $70,000 or more. Those figures don’t include living costs such as food and rent.
That means many law students starting in the fall will have to find alternative funding if they max out their annual $50,000 federal borrowing limit. Experts say most will end up taking out private student loans, which could mean higher interest rates and denials for students with fewer financial resources.
The Santa Clara University School of Law in September said it will give guaranteed annual scholarships of $16,000 to all new students this year to bring its current $63,280 tuition below the new cap.
ACCREDITATION
The American Bar Association’s longstanding role as the nation’s primary law school accreditor came under fire in 2025, with attacks from the White House and a handful of Republican-led states.
The ABA will likely remain under the microscope throughout the year as it launches a sweeping effort to streamline its law school standards and make them less burdensome.
Texas’ Supreme Court is planning to develop its own system to determine which law schools’ graduates may sit for the state’s bar exam — replacing ABA accreditation as the standard. Other states could follow suit. Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee have each said they are reviewing their own ABA requirements.
Much of the recent pushback against the ABA stems from its diversity and inclusion rules for law schools, which are now suspended and may be eliminated altogether. Trump in April called the rules “unlawful” and directed
Education Secretary Linda McMahon to assess whether to suspend or terminate the ABA as the government’s official law school accreditor.
Others claim the ABA’s myriad law school requirements have driven up the cost of legal education and hindered innovation.
NEW BAR EXAM AND LICENSURE REFORMS
The long-awaited new national bar exam — called the NextGen UBE — will debut in July when six states give the overhauled test.
The National Conference of Bar Examiners has been developing the exam since 2021 with the goal of testing practical skills better and deemphasizing memorization. The new test is shorter — a day and a half instead of two days-long — and will be given entirely by computer at in-person testing locations.
A handful of states have said they won’t use the revamped test, though California is reconsidering after its alternative online exam in February was plagued with problems. Nevada is moving to its own lawyer licensing process this year, combining multiple-choice and performance testing with supervised practice.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Law schools’ adoption of artificial intelligence is poised to accelerate this year as legal educators become more comfortable with the technology and its use expands among lawyers.
At least eight law schools last year required at least some AI training for first-year students while student clubs dedicated to AI proliferated, with students bringing in experts to help them understand the potential impact of AI on their careers.
AI companies are also forging into legal education. As many as 17 law schools are now using legal AI platform Harvey.
ADMISSIONS BOOM
Law schools are likely to have plenty of students to choose from, building on a blockbuster admission cycle last year that saw an 18% increase in national applicants and an 8% surge in first-year enrollment.
As of late December, the national applicant pool was up 20% over the prior year, indicating that strong demand for a legal education will carry into 2026.
