University of Wyoming College of Law
Encyclopedia
The University of Wyoming College of Law is the law school
of the University of Wyoming
and the only law school located in Wyoming
. It is situated in the beautiful rocky mountains
in Laramie, Wyoming
at 7,165 ft. between the Laramie Mountains
and Snowy Range Mountains. Frequently, it is referred to as "Law at its Highest Point" and as states the law school admission council’s law school profile, “the College of Law's proximity to the mountains provides a variety of recreational activities, including skiing, backpacking, rock climbing, hiking, mountain biking, camping, fishing, and hunting.” http://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/SchoolsABAData/SchoolPage/SchoolPage.aspx?sid=176 Established in 1920, the law school offers the J.D.
degree in law, as well “a joint JD/MA in Environment and Natural Resources and joint degrees in JD/MPA and JD/MBA. Other electives include coverage of trial and appellate practice, business planning, estate planning, corporate and commercial law, administrative law, consumer law, international law, Indian law, health law, and education law.” http://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/SchoolsABAData/SchoolPage/SchoolPage_PDFs/LSAC_LawSchoolDescription/LSAC4855.pdf The class of 2010 had an enrollment of 76, and the school typically admits anywhere from 75 to 80 students each year. The class of 2013 admitted 82 students from all over the United States with the majority coming from around the rocky mountain region. http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/law/admissions/admissions_stats.asp
The College is accredited by the American Bar Association
and its graduates are eligible for admission to the bar in every state. In addition, the College is a member of the Association of American Law Schools
. The University of Wyoming College of Law is also specially recognized by being admitted as a member of the Order of the Coif
. http://www.orderofthecoif.org/COIF-members.htm
and the Federal 10th Circuit have come to use it and put on several oral arguments.http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/Law/showevent.asp?eventid=35647
The library has access to many electronic legal databases, such as Lexis and Westlaw. While many of the databases are only accessible to College of Law students, faculty and staff, some are accessible on public computers within the library. http://www.uwyo.edu/lawlib/databases/databasesa-z.html The library is open to the public, and is used by attorneys throughout the state as well as self-represented litigants.
The library, which is named for a 1956 graduate of the College of Law, includes multiple study rooms that can be reserved for student use, and study carrels which are assigned to students through a lottery run by the Potter Law Club. The library is open seven days a week during the fall and spring semesters.
http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/law/Student_life/clubs_orgs.asp
http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/Law
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
of the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
and the only law school located in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. It is situated in the beautiful rocky mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
in Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....
at 7,165 ft. between the Laramie Mountains
Laramie Mountains
The Laramie Mountains are a range of moderately high peaks on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S states of Wyoming and Colorado. The range is the northernmost extension of the line of the ranges along the eastern side of the Rockies, and in particular of the higher peaks of the...
and Snowy Range Mountains. Frequently, it is referred to as "Law at its Highest Point" and as states the law school admission council’s law school profile, “the College of Law's proximity to the mountains provides a variety of recreational activities, including skiing, backpacking, rock climbing, hiking, mountain biking, camping, fishing, and hunting.” http://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/SchoolsABAData/SchoolPage/SchoolPage.aspx?sid=176 Established in 1920, the law school offers the J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris 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...
degree in law, as well “a joint JD/MA in Environment and Natural Resources and joint degrees in JD/MPA and JD/MBA. Other electives include coverage of trial and appellate practice, business planning, estate planning, corporate and commercial law, administrative law, consumer law, international law, Indian law, health law, and education law.” http://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/SchoolsABAData/SchoolPage/SchoolPage_PDFs/LSAC_LawSchoolDescription/LSAC4855.pdf The class of 2010 had an enrollment of 76, and the school typically admits anywhere from 75 to 80 students each year. The class of 2013 admitted 82 students from all over the United States with the majority coming from around the rocky mountain region. http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/law/admissions/admissions_stats.asp
The College is accredited by the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
and its graduates are eligible for admission to the bar in every state. In addition, the College is a member of the Association of American Law Schools
Association of American Law Schools
The Association of American Law Schools is a non-profit organization of 170 law schools in the United States. Another 25 schools are "non-member fee paid" schools, which are not members but choose to pay AALS dues. Its purpose is to improve the legal profession through the improvement of legal...
. The University of Wyoming College of Law is also specially recognized by being admitted as a member of the Order of the Coif
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...
. http://www.orderofthecoif.org/COIF-members.htm
History
The University of Wyoming College of Law was founded in 1920. Classes were held on one floor of the University library building until the College of Law moved to a separate facility in 1953. Because of increasing class size, the College of Law relocated to its current building in 1977. Considerable library space and a variety of other rooms were added to the building in 1993. The building contains three classrooms, a large moot courtroom, a small moot court room, two seminar rooms, a student lounge area, lockers for every student, the law library (which include yearly study carrel), and faculty and staff offices.Moot Court Rooms
In 2009, the University of Wyoming College of Law finished construction on a large addition to the college of law that expanded the main lecture hall and added two highly technologically advanced moot court rooms. The main moot court room is the main lecture hall, but includes a retrieving class room wall that opens up into the large moot court room. This court room has become so useful that since it was finished, the Wyoming Supreme CourtWyoming Supreme Court
The Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming for an eight-year term. The five Justices select the Chief Justice from amongst themselves. The person...
and the Federal 10th Circuit have come to use it and put on several oral arguments.http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/Law/showevent.asp?eventid=35647
Statistics
The University of Wyoming College of Law is a public law school. It only has a full time program that starts in the fall with a 12.4 to 1 student to faculty ratio. Tuition runs $9,996 for residents and $21,156 for nonresidents. Statistics for 2009 show the median LSAT was a 153 and the median GPA was a 3.44. Those numbers along with all numbers have been on the rise since Dean Easton took his place at the school in 2009.http://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/SchoolsABAData/SchoolPage/SchoolPage_PDFs/ABA_LawSchoolData/ABA4855.pdf The average bar passing rate for 2009 was 75% with the majority of students taking the bar in Wyoming and Colorado. The reported average salary for 2009 was $59,546 which ranks close to the University of Denver Law School located in the heart of Denver, Colorado.http://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/SchoolsABAData/SchoolPage/SchoolPage_PDFs/ABA_LawSchoolData/ABA4855.pdfGeorge William Hopper Law Library
The George W. Hopper Law Library http://www.uwyo.edu/lawlib/index.html at the University of Wyoming College of Law serves the students, faculty and staff of the College of Law, as well as the university community and the state. The library's collection includes 206,120 treatises, microfiche, law reviews, federal and state statutes, administrative decisions, digests, looseleafs, citators, encyclopedias, reporters, and audio-visual resources. http://www.uwyo.edu/lawlib/libraryinfo/index.htmlThe library has access to many electronic legal databases, such as Lexis and Westlaw. While many of the databases are only accessible to College of Law students, faculty and staff, some are accessible on public computers within the library. http://www.uwyo.edu/lawlib/databases/databasesa-z.html The library is open to the public, and is used by attorneys throughout the state as well as self-represented litigants.
The library, which is named for a 1956 graduate of the College of Law, includes multiple study rooms that can be reserved for student use, and study carrels which are assigned to students through a lottery run by the Potter Law Club. The library is open seven days a week during the fall and spring semesters.
Clubs and organizations
- Potter law Club
- Order de Coif
- Board of Advocates
- Christian Legal Society
- Delta Theta PhiDelta Theta PhiDelta Theta Phi is a professional law fraternity and a member of the Professional Fraternity Association. The smallest of the three internationally recognized law fraternities , Delta Theta Phi is the only one of the three major law fraternities to charter chapters in the United States at...
Legal Fraternity - Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
- Intellectual Property Club
- International Law Students Association
- J. Reuben Clark Law Society
- Minority Law Students Association
- Natural Resources & Environmental Law Club
- Phi Alpha DeltaPhi Alpha DeltaΦAΔ , or P.A.D., is the largest co-ed professional law fraternity in the United States of America. Phi Alpha Delta has members who are university students, law school students, lawyers, judges, senators, and even presidents. It was founded in 1902 and today has over 300,000 initiated members...
Legal Fraternity - Phi Delta PhiPhi Delta PhiPhi Delta Phi, ΦΔΦ, is the world's second largest legal fraternity. Phi Delta Phi is the second oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States and third oldest in North America...
Law Fraternity - Women's Law Forum
- Wyoming Law Review
- Wyoming Law Students for Equal Justice (WLSEJ)
- Wyoming Society for International Law
- Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association
http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/law/Student_life/clubs_orgs.asp
Current Faculty
- Dean Stephen D. Easton
- Denise Burke
- Jacquelyn L. Bridgeman
- John M. Burman
- Diane E. Courselle
- James M. Delaney
- Debra L. Donahue
- Michael C. Duff
- Stephen M. Feldman
- David D. Freudenthal
- Harvey Gelb
- Bob Golten
- Demetria D. Jackson
- Sam Kalen
- Timothy G. Kearley
- Theodore E. Lauer
- Lawrence J. MacDonnell
- Allen D. Madison
- Noah B. Novogrodsky
- Jerry R. Parkinson
- Debora A. Person
- Dona Playton
- Tawnya K. Plumb
- Dee Pridgen
- Alan R. Romero
- Joel L. Selig
- Michael R. Smith
- Dennis C. Stickley
- Elaine A. Welle
- Matthew J. Wilson
- Stewart M. Young
http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/Law
Notable alumni
The University of Wyoming College of Law has many alumni Wyoming Supreme Court Judges and 10th circuit judges. Currently, all of the Wyoming Supreme Court judges are graduates from the College of Law along with 4 10th circuit judges.http://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/chambers/index.php- James Emmett Barrett (J.D. 1949), Wyoming Attorney GeneralWyoming Attorney GeneralThe Wyoming Attorney General is the senior legal officer of the State of Wyoming. The Attorney General is appointed by the Governor.As of 2011, the current Wyoming Attorney General is Greg Phillips, who is the 35th person to have held that post. His predecessor was Bruce A. Salzburg.- Recent...
, Senior Judge United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Colorado* District of Kansas... - Wade Brorby (J.D. 1958), Senior Judge United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Colorado* District of Kansas...
- E. James Burke (J.D. 1977), Justice of the Wyoming Supreme CourtWyoming Supreme CourtThe Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming for an eight-year term. The five Justices select the Chief Justice from amongst themselves. The person...
- Dave FreudenthalDave FreudenthalDavid Duane "Dave" Freudenthal , is an American politician who served as the 31st Governor of Wyoming. A Democrat, he was reelected to his second term on November 7, 2006, and announced on March 4, 2010, that he would not attempt to seek a third term as Governor.-Education and early...
(J.D. 1980), 31st Governor of Wyoming - Michael Golden (J.D. 1967), Justice of the Wyoming Supreme CourtWyoming Supreme CourtThe Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming for an eight-year term. The five Justices select the Chief Justice from amongst themselves. The person...
- John HickeyJohn J. HickeyJohn Joseph Hickey was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming.Born in Rawlins, Carbon County, Wyoming, Hickey attended public schools and graduated with a law degree from the University of Wyoming in 1934, and practiced law in Rawlins...
(LL.B. 1934), United States Senator from WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, 24th Governor of Wyoming and Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Colorado* District of Kansas... - William Hill (J.D. 1974), Former Chief Justice and current Justice of the Wyoming Supreme CourtWyoming Supreme CourtThe Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming for an eight-year term. The five Justices select the Chief Justice from amongst themselves. The person...
- Alan B. Johnson (J.D. 1964), Judge United States District CourtUnited States district courtThe United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
for the District of Wyoming - Robert H. JohnsonRobert H. JohnsonRobert H. Johnson was a newspaperman, attorney, and, from 1967 to 1978, a Democratic state senator from Rock Springs, Wyoming.-Early years, military, journalism:...
(J.D. 1963), State senator from Rock Springs - Marilyn Kite (J.D. 1974), Justice of the Wyoming Supreme CourtWyoming Supreme CourtThe Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming for an eight-year term. The five Justices select the Chief Justice from amongst themselves. The person...
- Michael R. MurphyMichael R. MurphyMichael R. Murphy is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 25, 1995 to fill the seat vacated by Monroe G. McKay and was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 11, 1995...
(J.D. 1972), Judge United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Colorado* District of Kansas... - Alan SimpsonAlan K. SimpsonAlan Kooi Simpson is an American politician who served from 1979 to 1997 as a United States Senator from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party. His father, Milward L. Simpson, was also a member of the U.S...
(J.D. 1958), United States Senator from WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High... - Gerry SpenceGerry SpenceGerry Spence is a trial lawyer in the United States. In 2008, he announced he would retire, at age 79, at the end of the Geoffrey Fieger trial in Detroit, MI. Spence states that he "has never lost a criminal case either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney...
(LL.B. 1952), Attorney - Mike Sullivan (J.D. 1964), United States Ambassador to IrelandUnited States Ambassador to IrelandThere have been a total of 30 Ambassadors of the United States to Ireland meaning the Republic of Ireland. All except one, Frederick A. Sterling, have been non-career appointees, while there were three under President George W. Bush.-List of Ambassadors:...
and 29th Governor of WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High... - Barton Voigt (J.D. 1979), Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme CourtWyoming Supreme CourtThe Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming for an eight-year term. The five Justices select the Chief Justice from amongst themselves. The person...
- James G. WattJames G. WattJames Gaius Watt served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior for President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983.-Early life and career:...
(J.D. 1962), United States Secretary of the InteriorUnited States Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries... - Matt MeadMatt MeadMatthew Hansen "Matt" Mead , is the 32nd and current Governor of Wyoming.-Early Life:Mead is the son of Peter Mead and Mary Hansen Mead , the GOP gubernatorial nominee in 1990, and the grandson of the late Governor and U.S. Senator Clifford P. Hansen...
(J.D. 1987), 32nd Governor of Wyoming
External links
- University of Wyoming College of Law
- Wyoming Law Review
- Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC)
- Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC)
- Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC)
- Order de Coif Member
- Universit of Wyoming College of Law Events
- Law School Admission Council (LSAC) PDF on University of Wyoming 2009
- Clubs and Organization UW College of Law
- U.S. 10th curcuit judges
- UW College of Law Library Page