William & Mary Law School mistakenly sends acceptance emails to 400 applicants

By Karen Sloan

Feb 13 (Reuters) - William & Mary Law School mistakenly sent acceptance emails to 410 applicants on Tuesday — the result of what officials said was a technological problem.

Some of the incorrect acceptance letters were sent to people on the law school's waitlist or to those whose applications were still under review, while a "small" number went to applicants who had been denied, a school spokesperson said on Thursday.

The law school said it caught the error within minutes and quickly emailed applicants to apologize.

"We recognize the emotional impact of such an error, and we are taking immediate steps to prevent it from happening again," said Issa DiSciullo, associate dean for J.D. admissions and financial aid.

The mistake came during the height of the law school admissions cycle, which runs from September to June. Nearly 52,000 people so far have applied for a spot at an American Bar Association-accredited law school this cycle, which represents an almost 21% increase over this time last year, according to the Law School Admission Council. Thousands of would-be lawyers are now awaiting word on their applications.

William & Mary is ranked as the 36th best law school in the country by U.S. News & World Report, out of 196 law schools. It received 1,564 applications last year and accepted 504, ultimately enrolling 158 new students in 2024, ABA data show.

William & Mary isn’t the first law school to inadvertently send acceptance letters. Northeastern University School of Law accidentally sent such letters to 205 applicants in October 2022, correcting the mistake several hours later.

In 2017, more than 17,000 prospective applicants received congratulatory acceptance emails from Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center — including only one who had actually applied to the school. Southwestern Law School made a similar mistake the following year when it invited people who had not applied to an event for admitted students.

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