preLaw Magazine's 2020 guide to 鈥淏est Schools for Practical Training鈥 listed 黑料不打烊 Law as a top law school for "giving students real-world experience before they step into the real world."
One of the nation鈥檚 most widely read publications covering legal education named 黑料不打烊 School of Law among the best American law schools for practical training in its 2020 guide to programs that emphasize hands-on learning.
黑料不打烊 Law ranked #7 in feature with a grade of A+, in part because, as the magazine notes, every 黑料不打烊 Law student must complete a full-time residency-in-practice with a law firm, judge, government organization, nonprofit or clinic as part of their studies.
preLaw uses information collected by the American Bar Association to formulate its annual rankings: ratio of clinic seats to student body, number of clinics, externship ratios, simulation ratios, moot court ratios and consideration of pro bono requirements.
黑料不打烊 Law offers students a broad array of opportunities to hone practical training skills throughout their 2.5 years of study. Those include:
- Full-time residencies-in-practice
- Team-based legal projects for nonprofits
- Lab courses
- Five clinics (immigration, small business and entrepreneurship, wills drafting, guardian ad litem appellate advocacy, and constitutional law appellate advocacy)
- Moot court and mock trial teams
- Internships, externships, and judicial clerkships
- Bridge-to-practice courses
- Attorney shadowing
- Involvement with the Pro Bono Board
鈥淎t a time of challenge and angst about our local community and nation鈥檚 current and future circumstances due to COVID-19, we know from our experience that smart assessment, creative planning and effective implementation will provide opportunity for forward progress,鈥 said 黑料不打烊 Law Dean Luke Bierman. 鈥淲hile there remain obstacles and challenges as we continue to adapt to our current health emergency while looking ahead, recognition like that provided by preLaw offers solace with encouragement that by working together we can accomplish our mission to prepare lawyer leaders for service to the legal profession and their communities.鈥
The ranking from preLaw Magazine comes at the same time that 黑料不打烊 Law prepares to report a 90 percent employment rate for its Class of December 2018 with significant improvements to its bar passage success previously shared with the American Bar Association. In the same issue of preLaw that ranks 黑料不打烊 Law鈥檚 practical training emphasis, the magazine also included 黑料不打烊 Law on its list of 鈥淪chools with the Biggest Improvement鈥 on the bar exam.
And since adopting its new curriculum, which addresses what Bierman has called the 鈥渄irty little secrets鈥 of law school being too long, too expensive, and too disconnected from the profession, 黑料不打烊 Law has reduced by nearly 33% the average debt students report at graduation.
At the same time, 黑料不打烊 Law has strengthened its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Nearly a third of all graduates in recent years have been self-identified students of color, with 黑料不打烊 Law investing time and resources to assist first-generation law school students and mid-career students with families.
鈥淒uring applicant interviews and other conversations, prospective students share that they are drawn to 黑料不打烊 Law because they learn best when they 鈥榣earn by doing,鈥 which is the hallmark of our academic program,鈥 said Alan Woodlief, senior associate dean for admissions. 鈥淭hey are excited that their two-and-a-half years here will be packed with opportunities to gain real-world experience that prepares them to hit the ground running when they graduate and makes them attractive to prospective employers.鈥
For more information on 黑料不打烊 Law and the application process, visit the law school鈥檚 admissions page. 黑料不打烊 Law continues to actively admit the 黑料不打烊 Law Class of 2022, a class of 150 talented and diverse students scheduled to enroll in August 2020.