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University of Michigan Law School
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The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees. The Law School has 81 full-time faculty members (60 tenured and tenure-track and 21 in clinical and legal practice). It is regarded as one of the most selective and prestigious law schools in the world.
The law school has graduated the late U.S.

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The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees. The Law School has 81 full-time faculty members (60 tenured and tenure-track and 21 in clinical and legal practice). It is regarded as one of the most selective and prestigious law schools in the world.
The law school has graduated the late U.S. Supreme Court Justices Frank Murphy, William Rufus Day, and George Sutherland, as well as a number of heads of states and corporate executives. The school places more graduates in Supreme Court clerkships than any other public law school in the United States.
Reputation
Michigan Law has long been a leader in elite legal education. Michigan Law was ranked third in the initial U.S. News & World Report law school rankings in 1987, only below Yale and Harvard, and is one of seven schools to never appear outside the magazine's top 10. In the most recent U.S. News ranking, Michigan Law is ranked ninth. As recently as 1997, the Law School was tied for the top spot in the U.S. News attorney/judge survey. Michigan Law consistently ranks first among public law schools. In Vault Law Rankings, Michigan is ranked second in the country. Only Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and Columbia Law School have graduated more Supreme Court Justices than Michigan Law, and Michigan Law has placed more Supreme Court law clerks than any other public law school, with over 50 to date.
Admission to Michigan Law is highly selective. Only one in five applicants is accepted. The most recent class had a median LSAT score of 169 (top two to three percent of test-takers), and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.7.
About 99 percent of the graduating class of 2007 was employed by graduation, earning a median starting salary of $160,000. About 750 employers were present in Ann Arbor for the Law School's Early Interview Week in August 2006. The majority of Michigan Law grads work in New York, Illinois, California, Washington, D.C. and Michigan.
History
The Law School was founded in 1859, and quickly rose to national prominence. By 1870, Michigan was the largest law school in the country.
In 1870, Gabriel Franklin Hargo graduated from Michigan as the second African-American to graduate from law school in the United States. In 1871 Sarah Killgore, a Michigan Law graduate, became the first woman to pass the bar.
Although the law school is part of the public University of Michigan, only three percent of the law school's expenses are covered by state funds. The remainder (97-98% of Michigan Law's budget) is supplied by private gifts, tuition, and endowments.
As of 2009, Michigan Law is engaging in a $102 million dollar enterprise, constructing an addition to the law building that remains loyal to the English Gothic style. This enterprise is fully funded by endowments and private gifts.
Law Quad
The Law Quadrangle is designed in English Gothic style
Built between 1924 and 1933 by the architectural firm York and Sawyer with funds donated by William Cook (an alumnus), the Cook Law Quadrangle comprises four buildings:
- Hutchins Hall, the main academic building, named for former Dean of the Law School and President of the University, Harry Burns Hutchins
- The Legal Research Building. In 2007, the University of Michigan Reading Room was named 94th on a list of "American's Favorite Buildings."The building is one of only three law buildings on the list.
- John Cook Dormitory, providing housing for 352 students
- The Lawyer's Club, a meeting space for the residents of the Quad, highlighted by a Great Lounge, and a dining room with a high-vaulted ceiling, an oak floor, and dark oak paneling.
Publications
Michigan Law School students publish six well-regarded law journals including the Michigan Law Review, the sixth oldest legal journal in the U.S. The other law journals include:
Moot Court Competitions
Students may compete in intramural and extramural moot court competitions, the oldest of which is the prestigious Henry M. Campbell Moot Court Competition, an eighty-year tradition at the Law School.
Student Funded Fellowships Student Funded Fellowships (SFF) is a program designed to fund Michigan Law students who public interest summer jobs with low-pay. SFF is governed by a board of 9-12 law students and operates independently of the Law School. The Board elects its own members, including two co-chairs, a treasurer, and various committee chairs. Board members head fundraising efforts throughout the year, ranging from Donate a Day's Pay (DADP), in which highly paid law firm clerks donate a day's salary to SFF, to a grand auction in March that invites bids on various donated items, including sports tickets, meals with faculty members, and art. In the late spring, Board members review applications for summer funding and select a limited number of highly qualified students for grants. In 2007 about twice as many students applied for grants as could be funded.
Notable faculty
Notable alumni
- Ralph W. Aigler (J.D. 1907), Nationally known expert on property, member of U-M faculty, 1910-1954; also inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor
- Ronald J. Allen (J.D. 1973), Northwestern University John Henry Wigmore Professor of Law, one of only four Americans to be designated as a Yangtze River Scholar (China's highest academic award, which was formerly only for Nobel Laureates) in 2007. Allen is the first law professor to receive the award, which usually goes to scientists or economists.
- Edgardo Angara (LLM 1964), former president of the University of the Philippines and Senate President of the Philippines.
- Melody Barnes, Director of the President's Domestic Policy Council
- Steven G. Bradbury (J.D. 1988), Acting Assistant Attorney General (Office of Legal Counsel)
- Nicole (Niki) Burnham (J.D. 1994), Author, RITA award winner
- Mike Cox (J.D. 1989), Michigan Attorney General, 2003 -
- Ann Coulter (J.D. 1988), Political personality, author
- Clarence Darrow, famous trial lawyer; defense counsel in in the Scopes Monkey Trial and Leopold and Loeb
- Harry M. Daugherty (LL.B. 1880), Republican Party boss, member of the "Ohio Gang"
- William R. Day (LL.B. 1870), United States Secretary of State, 1898; United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, 1903-1922
- Harry T. Edwards (J.D. 1965), former chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- Larry Elder (J.D. 1977), syndicated radio and television talk show host
- Jeffrey L. Fisher (J.D. 1997) - Stanford Law School professor; argued Crawford v. Washington before the Supreme Court
- Harold Ford, Jr. (J.D. 1996) - former U.S. Representative from Tennessee; Democratic Leadership Council chair
- Ralph M. Freeman (LL.B. 1926), Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- John J. Gardner (attended 1866-1867) - U.S. Representative from New Jersey; mayor of Atlantic City
- Richard Gephardt (J.D. 1965) - U.S. Representative from Missouri (1977-2005)
- Wycliffe Grousbeck (J.D. 1986), Owner of the Boston Celtics.
- James P. Hoffa (LL.B. 1966) - President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- Valerie Jarrett, (JD) Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama
- Amalya Lyle Kearse (J.D. 1962) - Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy (J.D. 1947) - Senior Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Raymond Kethledge (J.D. 1993) - Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- J. Thomas McCarthy (J.D. 1963), Author of McCarthy's Treatise on Trademark and Unfair Competition
- Charles Edward Merrill (1906-1907), Co-Founded stock brokerage firm Merrill Lynch (NYSE MER) with Edmund C. Lynch. Worked at Merrill Lynch 1914-56
- Frank Murphy (LL.B. 1914), United States Attorney General, 1939, and United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, 1940-1949
- Rob Pelinka (J.D. 1996), sports agent, best known for representing Kobe Bryant
- John Porter (J.D. 1961), United States Representative from Illinois, 1980-2001
- Rob Portman (J.D. 1984), Director of the Office of Management and Budget
- Branch Rickey (J.D. 1911), Major League Baseball executive and Hall of Famer; created the modern minor league system and signed Jackie Robinson to a contract, breaking the sport's 20th-century color line.
- Richard Riordan (J.D. 1956), Mayor of Los Angeles, 1993-2001
- John M. Rogers (J.D. 1974), Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.
- Ken Salazar (J.D. 1981), former U.S. Senator from Colorado and current United States Secretary of the Interior.
- Miriam Defensor Santiago (LL.M. 1975, S.J.D. 1976) - member of the Senate of the Philippines
- Anthony Joseph Scirica (J.D. 1965), Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Cynthia Leitich Smith (J.D. 1994), author
- George Sutherland (1883), United States Supreme Court Justice
- Masaaki Tanaka (LL.M), President and Chief Executive Officer of UnionBanCal Corporation and its principal subsidiary, Union Bank of California (NYSEUB).
- Daniel Tarullo (JD 1977), Member of Federal Reserve Board
- Larry D. Thompson (J.D. 1974), Former Deputy Attorney General of the United States
- William Wheeler Thornton (LL.B. 1876), Judge, Author, Indiana Deputy Attorney General, Indiana State Supreme Ct. Librarian
- John M. Walker, Jr. (J.D. 1966), former Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Moses Fleetwood Walker (attended 1881-1882) - Baseball player and author; first African-American to play major league professional baseball
- David Westin (J.D.) - President of ABC News
- James J. White (J.D. 1962) - Robert A. Sullivan Professor of Law at Michigan Law; expert on the Uniform Commercial Code
- Ralph Wilson - owner, Buffalo Bills
- Bob Woodruff (J.D. 1987) - journalist; ABC News anchor
- Sam Zell (LSA B.A. 1963; J.D. 1966) - land developer; founder of Equity Office Properties; former National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts chairman and current Chairman and majority owner of the Tribune Company.
See also
External links
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