Michigan State University College of Law
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Michigan State University campus | |
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| MSU College of Law Building | |
| Use | Law school |
| Style | Postmodernist |
| Erected | 1893 (in Detroit) 1997 (in East Lansing) |
| Demolished | 1997 (Detroit campus) |
| Location | Business area |
| Namesake | None |
| Architect | SSOE, Inc. |
| Former name | Detroit College of Law |
| Website | MSU Law |
The Michigan State University College of Law, established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, was the first law school in the Detroit, Michigan area and the second in the U.S. state of Michigan. The college opened in 1892 with 69 students and was incorporated in 1893. It claims to be the oldest continually operating independent law school in the United States.
The college's first home was in the Detroit College of Medicine building from 1892-1913. From 1913 till 1924 it was housed was located in the YMCA building. In 1935 the college broke ground for a new building at 130 E. Elizabeth St.
The college became affiliated with Michigan State University in 1995 to take advantage of enhanced facilities and association with a Big Ten institution. It relocated to East Lansing, Michigan in 1997, when the original building was demolished to make way for Comerica Park.
In April 2004, the school changed its name to become the MSU College of Law. Although it operates as a constituent college of the university, the college of law remains financially independent and receives no state or university funding. Initially, upon moving to the Michigan State Campus, the school was ranked as a fourth tier law school. The school's ranking is expected to increase dramatically with its close connection to a Big Ten institution. A strong indicator of this predicted leap in ranking is the law school's increased recommended LSAT for admissions, which has jumped from an average of 150 to nearly 160 over the course of two years. As of 2006, it continues to be ranked as a fourth tier school.
The MSU College of Law excels considerably in the areas of intellectual property, patent and communications law, for which it was ranked among the top 20 schools by U.S. News and World Report for 2007.
Famous graduates include Richard Fred Suhrheinrich '63, Ivan Boesky, Dennis Archer '70, Geoffrey Fieger '79, Bernard A. Friedman '78, Clifton E. Haley '61, and Kwame Kilpatrick.
