The
University of Michigan Law School (
Michigan Law) is the
law schoolA law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
of the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, in
Ann ArborAnn Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking
Juris DoctorJuris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
(J.D.) or
Master of LawsThe Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
(LL.M.)
degreesAn academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
, although the school also offers a
Doctor of Juridical ScienceDoctor of Juridical Science, Doctor of the Science of Law, Scientiae Juridicae Doctor , abbreviated J.S.D. or S.J.D., is a research doctorate in law and equivalent to the PhD It is offered primarily in the United States, where it originated, and in Canada...
(S.J.D.) degree. The Law School has 81 full-time
facultyA teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
members (60
tenureTenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
d and tenure-track and 21 in clinical and legal practice).
Michigan Law School consistently ranks among the highest-rated law schools in the United States. It was ranked third in the initial
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
law school rankings in 1987, only below
YaleRapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and Harvard, and is one of seven schools never to appear outside the magazine's top 10. Michigan Law is also one of the "T14" law schools, that is, schools that have consistently ranked within the top 14 law schools since U.S. News began publishing rankings. In the 2011
U.S. News ranking, Michigan Law is ranked 7th overall. Other 2009 rankings place Michigan as high as second. Michigan Law is currently ranked 6th for International Law. In a 2011
U.S. News "reputational ranking" of law schools by hiring partners at the nation’s top law firms, the University of Michigan Law School ranked 4th. Only
Yale Law SchoolYale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
,
Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, and
Columbia Law SchoolColumbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
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. Michigan Law is also among the handful of schools regularly sending substantial numbers of graduates into law teaching.
Admission to Michigan Law is highly selective, with only 18% of applicants accepted. The most recent class to matriculate has a median LSAT of 169 (top 2 to 3% of test takers) and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.73. Approximately 99.8 percent of the graduating class of 2008 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.
The law school has graduated the late U.S. Supreme Court Justices
Frank MurphyWilliam Francis Murphy was a politician and jurist from Michigan. He served as First Assistant U.S. District Attorney, Eastern Michigan District , Recorder's Court Judge, Detroit . Mayor of Detroit , the last Governor-General of the Philippines , U.S...
, William Rufus Day, and
George SutherlandAlexander George Sutherland was an English-born U.S. jurist and political figure. One of four appointments to the Supreme Court by President Warren G. Harding, he served as an Associate Justice of the U.S...
, 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. Michigan Law has also placed 30 of its graduates on the
state's Supreme CourtThe Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot...
, including five who served as Chief Justice. More than 170 Michigan law graduates have served as
legislators as either United States Senator (20 graduates) or as a Congressional representative (more than 150 graduates).
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 both graduate from law school and be admitted to the
barAn admission to practice law, also called admission to the bar, is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. Becoming a lawyer is a widely varied process around the world. Common to all jurisdictions are requirements of age and competence; some jurisdictions also require citizenship...
.
Although the law school is part of the public
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the 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. 2009 also marked the school's sesquicentennial celebration. As a part of the festivities,
Chief JusticeThe Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
John RobertsJohn Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist...
visited the school and participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building.
Law Quad
The Law Quadrangle is designed in the
English GothicEnglish Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
styleArchitectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
.
Built between 1924 and 1933 by the
architectural firmAn architectural firm is a company which employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture.- History :Architects have existed since early in recorded history. The earliest recorded architects include Imhotep and Senemut . No writings exist to describe how these...
York and SawyerThe architectural firm of York and Sawyer produced many outstanding structures, exemplary of Beaux-Arts architecture as it was practiced in the United States. The partners Edward York and Philip Sawyer had both trained in the office of McKim, Mead, and White...
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
Harry Burns Hutchins was the fourth president of the University of Michigan .He was initially named interim president for one year to succeed James Burrill Angell, but his term was later extended after several other candidates, including Woodrow Wilson, were offered the presidency and declined...
- 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
- The Lawyer's Club, providing additional dormitory rooms and a meeting space for the residents of the Quad; highlighted by a Great Lounge, and a dining room
A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level...
with a high-vaulted ceiling, an oakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
floor, and dark oak paneling.
Publications
Michigan Law School students publish six well-regarded law journals including the
Michigan Law ReviewThe Michigan Law Review is an American law reviews established in 1902, after Gustavus Ohlinger, a student in the Law Department of the University of Michigan, approached the Dean with a proposal for a law journal. The Michigan Law Review was originally intended as a forum in which the faculty of...
, 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, established in 1926.
Student Funded Fellowships
Student Funded Fellowships (SFF) is a program designed to fund Michigan Law students who accept 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.
See also
External links