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FACT BRIEF

Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Jennifer Dorow and Dan Kelly get their law degrees from an unaccredited law school?

By Tom Kertscher
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NO

Two of the four Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates, Jennifer Dorow and Daniel Kelly, got law degrees from Regent University School of Law after it had been provisionally accredited.

The law school opened in 1986 and was provisionally accredited by the American Bar Association in 1989. According to the association, provisionally accredited schools are entitled to all the rights and recognitions as fully accredited schools.

Regent was fully accredited in 1996. The school remains in good standing, having received a reaffirmation of accreditation by the ABA last June.

Dorow got her law degree from Regent in 1996 and Kelly got his in 1991, State Bar of Wisconsin records show.

The university was founded in Virginia Beach, Virginia, by the Rev. Pat Robertson in 1977 to train students to represent Christ in their professions.

Regent is ranked #142 out of 192 schools on the U.S. News & World Report's 2023 Best Law Schools list.

Clarification (2/22/23): An earlier version of this article stated that Regent was accredited in 1989. Regent was provisionally accredited in 1989, but did not receive full accreditation until 1996.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
American Bar Association ABA-Approved Law Schools
American Bar Association Schools Seeking ABA Approval
Regent Alumni ABA Affirms Regent Law Accreditation
State Bar of Wisconsin Attorney Information | Hon. Jennifer R. Dorow
State Bar of Wisconsin Attorney Information | Justice Daniel Kelly
Regent University History
Regent University Regent Law Earns ABA Reaffirmation of Accreditation and Appoints New Dean
US News & World Report Regent University
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.