Boston College Law School

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Established 1929
School type Jesuit
President William P. Leahy, SJ
Location Newton, Massachusetts, USA
Enrollment 750
students
Campus Suburban
Homepage http://www.bc.edu/schools/law/

Boston College Law School, known colloquially as BC Law, is one of the professional graduate schools of Boston College. Located approximately 1.5 miles from the main Boston College campus in Chestnut Hill, Boston College Law School is situated on a 40-acre wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts. With approximately 800 students and 125 faculty members, the Law School is the largest of BC's seven graduate and professional schools.[1] Admission to BC Law is among the most selective in the United States, with approximately 7,000 applicants for the 275 places in the first year class in 2005.[2] 25% of the students are AHANA. Reflecting its Jesuit heritage, BC Law is noted for its programs in human rights, social justice and public interest law. Its faculty has played a significant national role arguing for the repeal of the Solomon Amendment, presenting oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court in Rumsfeld v. FAIR. The U.S. News and World Report 2006 Law School Rankings placed Boston College Law School 27th in the country, fourth in New England, and Brody Admissions ranks BC Law as the 23rd most prestigious law school in the United States, third in New England. [3]

Over the past several years BC Law graduates have received prestigious post-graduate fellowships in the public interest field, including the Skadden Fellowship, the Soros Justice Fellowship, and the NAPIL Equal Justice Fellowship. The Law School was listed by NAPIL as among the top 25 law schools for commitment to loan repayment assistance and easing student debt. BC Law currently provides over $120,000 each year in loan repayment assistance to graduates pursuing public interest careers, an increase of over 50% from prior years. BC Law has also consistently been ranked in the top 5 by US News in Most Collegiate Law Schools, and the friendly atmosphere has led Vault.com to name it the Disney land of law schools. In 2007, the National Law Journal ranked Boston College Law School in the top 20 schools based on law schools with the highest percentage of graduates hired by the top American law firms. [4]


Contents

[edit] History

Although provisions for a law school were included in the original charter for Boston College, ratified by the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1863, Boston College Law School was formally organized in the 1920s and opened its doors on September 26, 1929. It was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1932 and the Association of American Law Schools in 1937. Originally located in the Lawyer's Building opposite the Massachusetts State House in central Boston, it moved to the main Boston College campus in 1954 and to its present 40-acre campus in 1975. Boston College has consistently been ranked a top-tier law school since law school rankings began being published. In 2007, the National Law Journal ranked Boston College Law School in the top 15 law schools based on those with the highest percentage of graduates hired by the top American law firms. [5]

[edit] Curriculum

In addition to J.D., M.A. and Ph.D. programs, Boston College Law School offers joint degrees with BC's Carroll School of Management (J.D./M.B.A.), Graduate School of Social Work (J.D./M.S.W.) and Lynch School of Education (J.D./M.Ed.). Joint degrees in the humanities, fine arts, natural sciences and social sciences are offered with BC's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

BC Law also offers two programs abroad: the Semester in London Program and the Semester in The Hague Program with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Speakers also frequently attend the law school. Past speakers have included supreme court justices, federal appellate court judges and famous scholars of law.

[edit] Libraries

In a new building opened in 1996, the Law Library is located on the Boston College Law School campus in Newton, Massachusetts and contains approximately 500,000 volumes covering all major areas of American law and primary legal materials from the federal government, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, and the European Union. The library also features a substantial treatise and periodical collection and a growing collection of international and comparative law material. The library's Coquillette Rare Book Room houses works from the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries, including works by and about Saint Thomas More.

In addition, Boston College Law students are encouraged by the University to enjoy the eight other graduate and undergraduate libraries of Boston College, many of which are in the gothic style buildings on the main campus. The Bapst Library on the main campus is where many Boston College Law Students study, as there is a portion of the library reserved for graduate students.

[edit] Law Review publications

Boston College Law School maintains six student-run publications. The Boston College Law Review is the oldest scholarly publication at the law school. The Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review is the nation's second oldest law review dedicated solely to environmental law. The Boston College International & Comparative Law Review is one of approximately 30 law reviews in the United States that focus on international legal issues. The Third World Law Journal is a unique legal periodical that fills the need for a progressive, alternative legal perspective on issues both within the United States and in the developing world. The Uniform Commercial Code Reporter-Digest is the only student-written publication at Boston College Law School published by a private corporation.[6] Furthermore, Boston College is the first law school to implement a completely online publication, the Intellectual Property and Technology Forum, providing research articles on issues of copyright, trademark and patent law.[7]

[edit] Student statistics

The total enrollment for BC Law is 800 students. 21% of the student population are students of color and 2% of the population are international students. The student/faculty ratio is 14:1 and 98% of students are employed at graduation. The median starting private salary is $125,000 a year. 49% of the law students receive grant assistance to pay for their education.

The 2006 entering class was composed of 257 students (from 6322 applicants) and it had a median LSAT score of 164 and a median GPA of 3.58. There were 31 students with graduate degrees.

Gothic Library with Graduate Student Area
Gothic Library with Graduate Student Area

[edit] Research centers & institutes

  • Center for Human Rights and International Justice
  • Business Institute, Boston College
  • Center for Asset Management
  • Center for Corporate Citizenship (CCC)
  • Center for East Europe, Russia and Asia
  • Center for Ignatian Spirituality
  • Center for International Higher Education
  • Center For Investment Research And Management
  • Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture (ISPRC)
  • International Study Center
  • Irish Institute
  • Jesuit Institute
  • Small Business Development Center
  • Urban Ecology Institute
  • Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics
  • Women's Resource Center

[edit] Notable alumni

Paul Cellucci ' 73

John Kerry ' 76

[edit] Trivia

  • The Boston College Club is an exclusive club located on the top floor of a Boston skyscraper. BC Law events are often held at the club.
  • Stemming from the nickname of Boston College athletics teams, the term "Legal Eagle" is used to refer to students and alumni of Boston College Law School.
  • The term "Triple Eagle," which technically refers to a recipient of any three degrees from Boston College, is usually used to designate graduates of Boston College High School, Boston College, and BC Law.
  • Boston College Law students popularly use the epithet "that's BC lawyering" to describe an act of exceptional wit and ingenuity that has a sense of absurdity.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.bc.edu/schools/
  2. ^ http://www.bc.edu/schools/law/about/ataglance/
  3. ^ prestige rankings
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ U.C.C. Reporter Digest
  7. ^ http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/law/st_org/iptf/
  8. ^ http://gopliberty.redstate.org/story/2005/10/8/222634/085

[edit] External links


Constituent Colleges and Schools of Boston College
College of Arts & Sciences | Graduate School | Carroll School of Management
Connell School of Nursing | Graduate School of Social Work | Law School
Lynch School of Education | Divinity School | Woods College of Advancing Studies
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