Getting out of a binding agreement Forum

[TheMick]

So I was talking with a school and was having trouble paying the seat deposits as things came up family wise. I signed a binding agreement that I would go there and remove all my other apps within a week. Well within the week the school I have been hoping to get into got me in off the waitlist.

I wanted to know if there is a way I can get out of the binding agreement, or if I just tell the school I am not going and select this other school what can happen. Can they do something to me or get me removed form the other school if I accept.

The school I want to go to is close to home and on the same coast as one of my family members who is really sick. My concern is if I do move to the West Coast I will be too far away in case something happens.

Please help :S

[Mack.Hambleton]

LSAC allows you to attend schools off the wait list even if you've deposited or whatever at other schools. It should not be a problem

[Clearly]

Tell them the truth about your family member and I'm sure they'll cooperate. Otherwise out the school so we can judge them and put them on ATL

[pittsburghpirates]

Post removed.

[SPerez]

Tell them the truth about your family member and I'm sure they'll cooperate. Otherwise out the school so we can judge them and put them on ATL

+1

Law schools don't have enforcement arms. No one is going to send a militia out to force you to attend a school. The worst thing a school can do if it feels you backed out of a binding agreement is report you to LSAC for misconduct. If the school you want to go to doesn't care, then you're good to go. It would, however, show up during the C&F process for your state bar. Even then, my own layperson/non-expert self would be really surprised if something like this kept someone from practicing law.

As Mack said, the LSAC Statement of Good Practices says schools should "allow applicants to freely accept a new offer from a law school even though a scholarship has been accepted, a deposit has been paid, or a commitment has been made to another school" outside of a formal ED program. I said "should" because the recommendations in that document are not binding on law schools. There is nothing but social pressure keeping a law school from going rogue and doing all sorts of crazy things that we, as law school adcoms, have broadly agreed are wrong/bad/generally not nice.

In the end, though, we are mostly reasonable human beings. Just be honest and explain your situation.

Dean Perez
Texas Tech Law