In Wake Of 93% Enrollment Decline, Florida Coastal Law School Seeks To Ditch InfiLaw, Become Nonprofit, And Merge With University In The Southeast (But Not In Florida)

Following up on my previous posts (links below):  Jacksonville Daily Record, Florida Coastal School of Law Seeking Not-For-Profit Status:

Florida Coastal School of Law has applied to the American Bar Association to change its corporate structure from for-profit to not-for-profit.

Pending approval from the ABA, the transition would mean that Florida Coastal would sever its ties with InfiLaw, the holding company that founded the school in 1996, and become an independent law school governed by an independent board of trustees.

InfiLaw has been cooperating with the process and would contribute the school’s assets to the proposed 501c3, Florida Coastal Dean Scott DeVito said.

He said that applying to the ABA to make the major change in corporate structure and ownership is the latest part of a strategy that started four years ago when Florida Coastal began increasing its academic requirements for admission.

“The first step is to become a nonprofit law school. Then, if the board thinks it’s appropriate, we could merge with a nonprofit university,” DeVito said.

He said Tuesday that Florida Coastal is “working closely” with a potential merger partner school.

However, pending the ABA’s consideration of the transition plan, DeVito said it’s premature to identify a possible partner, other than to say the school is not in Florida, but is in the Southeast.

• ABA Journal, Last InfiLaw School Seeks Nonprofit Status From ABA's Legal Ed Section
• Florida Times-Union, Florida Coastal School of Law Seeking Nonprofit Status From ABA
• Inside Higher Ed, For-Profit Law School Seeks Shift to Nonprofit
• Law.com, Florida Coastal Law School Aims to Ditch InfiLaw and Become Nonprofit

Here are Florida Coastal's admissions statistics from Law School Transparency:

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• After 71% Enrollment Decline, Florida Coastal Plans To Further Shrink 1L Class To Raise Minimum LSAT Score By 7 Points And Avoid Fate Of Arizona Summit, Charlotte Law Schools (July 3, 2017)
• ABA Notices To Law Schools About Potential Non-Compliance With Accreditation Standards (Oct. 31, 2017)
• Florida Coastal Law School: 'We Are Not For Sale' (Nov. 29, 2017)
• ABA: Florida Coastal Law School Remains Out Of Compliance With Three Of Four Accreditation Standards (May 3, 2018)
• Florida Coastal Law School Sues ABA; Kirkland & Ellis Alleges Arbitrary Enforcement Of Accreditation Standards (May 11, 2018)
• Florida Coastal School of Law Seeks Restraining Order Against The ABA (June 19, 2018)
• Federal Judge Denies Florida Coastal Law School's TRO Bid Against The ABA (June 20, 2018)
• ABA Gives An Inch In Accreditation Fight With Florida Coastal Law (June 27, 2018)
• ABA Moves To Dismiss Florida Coastal's Lawsuit Alleging Arbitrary Enforcement Of Accreditation Standards (July 3, 2018)
• ABA Wins Early Round Against Florida Coastal Law In Accreditation Lawsuit (July 11, 2018)
• ABA: Florida Coastal Remains Out of Compliance With Law School Accreditation Standards (Sept. 8, 2019)
• July 2018 Florida Bar Exam Results (Sept. 18, 2018)