Suffolk University Law School

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Suffolk Law School


Motto	“Honestas et Diligentia"
Established	1906
Type	Private
President	David Sargent
Staff	193
Students	1,672
Location	Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Campus	Urban
Website	www.law.suffolk.edu

Sargent Hall

Suffolk University Law School is a private law school in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The fourth oldest law school in New England in continuous existence (after only Harvard, Yale, and BU), Suffolk was founded in 1906 by Gleason Archer, Sr. to provide a legal education for those who traditionally lacked the opportunity to study law because of socio-economic or racial discrimination. Suffolk has been co-educational since 1937.

The law school currently has both day and evening (part-time) divisions. The school is located in the newly built Sargent Hall on Tremont Street in downtown Boston. There are over 200 upper level electives offered at the law school, and the school is consistently ranked one of the most technologically advanced schools in the nation.[1] Admission to Suffolk is competitive. In 2005, 43% of applicants were admitted to the law school.[2] Suffolk regularly publishes several law reviews, to which students, faculty, and other scholars contribute. The school is featured annually in the Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report rankings. Suffolk has attracted notable scholars and prominent speakers ranging from John F. Kennedy to William Rehnquist to Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Suffolk University alumni are found in high level judicial, political, and private positions throughout the United States. With nearly 17,000 alumni, Suffolk is one of the largest law schools in the Northeast.

1 Admissions
2 Curriculum
3 Libraries
4 Law Review publications
5 Suffolk Law School in literature, film and culture
6 Prominent alumni
7 Prominent faculty and trustees
8 Honorary degree recipients and speakers
9 External links and references
10 See also

[edit] Admissions

In 2005 the median GPA for incoming Suffolk Law students was 3.30, and the median LSAT score was 157. The admission rate for 2005 was 43%. A breakdown of the various degree programs reveals that for certain programs the selectivity can dramatically increase,such as the LL.M. program.[3]

[edit] Curriculum

In addition to J.D. and LL.M., Suffolk University Law School offers joint degrees with Suffolk's Sawyer Business School (J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.S.F., J.D./M.P.A.), and the Suffolk University College of Arts and Sciences (J.D./M.S.C.J., J.D./M.S.I.E.).[4]

Suffolk Law also offers a program abroad: the Semester in Sweden Program with Lund University, a university where Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg researched her book on Swedish Law in the 1960s.^[1]

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 1999, the Law Library is located on the Suffolk University Law School campus in Boston, 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.[5]

In addition, Suffolk University Law students are encouraged by the University to enjoy the other graduate and undergraduate libraries of Suffolk University.

[edit] Law Review publications

Suffolk University Law School maintains four student-run publications. The Suffolk University Law Review is the oldest scholarly publication at the law school. Suffolk's Journal of High Technology Law focuses on providing research articles on issues of copyright, trademark and patent law. The Suffolk Transnational Law Review is one of approximately 30 law reviews in the United States that focus on international legal issues. Also, the Journal of Health and Biomedical Law focuses on cutting edge legal developments in the health fields.[6]

[edit] Suffolk Law School in literature, film and culture

The Departed (2006) - In the film, Matt Damon plays a Suffolk Law School night student, Colin Sullivan, parts of the movie are filmed at Suffolk.[7]
The Practice, ABC (1997-2004) Bobby Donnell is a Suffolk Law alumnus played by Dylan McDermott.
Boston Legal, ABC, (2005-2006) Justin Mentell plays Garrett Wells, a hot shot attorney who graduated at the top of his class from Suffolk Law.[8]

[edit] Prominent alumni

John Hynes, mayor of Boston (1950–1960), namesake of Boston's Hynes Convention Center
Thomas J. Lane, class of 1925, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1941-1963)
James A. Burke, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1959-1979)
Gleason Archer Jr., class of 1939, theologian
Martin F. Loughlin, class of 1951, U.S. District Court of New Hampshire, judge (1979-1995)
David Sargent, class of 1954, President of Suffolk University (1989-)
Joe Moakley, class of 1956, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1973-2001)
Judge Frank Caprio, class of 1965, television judge on Caught in Providence on ABC, Chief Judge Providence, RI Municipal Court
Gunnar S. Overstrom, Jr., class of 1968, vice-chair of Fleet Boston and president and chief operating officer of the Shawmut National Corporation.
James Sokolove, class of 1969, television personal injury attorney
Salvatore DiMasi, class of 1971, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 1979 - present)
James H. Fagan, class of 1973, member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 1992 - present)
Linda S. Dalianis, class of 1974, Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
Richard J. Leon, class of 1974, U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, judge (2002-present)
Paul Reiber, class of 1974, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
Peter Agnes, class of 1975, Superior Court Justice, Massachusetts
Francis Flaherty, class of 1975, Justice of Rhode Island Supreme Court
William F. Galvin, class of 1975, Secretary of State of Massachusetts
Robert Rufo, class of 1975, Superior Court Justice, Massachusetts
James Bamford, class of 1975, Author
Justice Peter T. Zarella, class of 1975, Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
Dan Harrington, world renowned poker player
Jerald G. Fishman, class of 1976, President & CEO, Analog Devices
John F. Tierney, class of 1976, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1997-present)
Paul Suttell, class of 1976, Justice of Rhode Island Supreme Court
John Loftus, class of 1977, author, television commentator
Maureen Goldberg, class of 1978, Justice of Rhode Island Supreme Court
Ronald Machtley, class of 1978, President of Bryant College, U.S. Representative from Rhode Island (1989-1995)
Ellen Simon, class of 1979, U.S. Representative candidate from Arizona (2006)
Nina Mitchell Wells, Secretary of State of New Jersey, (2006-present)
Christopher G. Fallon, class of 1981, member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 1996 - present)
Martin Meehan, class of 1983, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1993-present)
Daniel F. Conley, class of 1983, District Attorney for Boston (Suffolk County)
Cheryl Jacques, class of 1987, Legislator, President of the Human Rights Campaign
Patrick C. Lynch, class of 1992, Attorney General of Rhode Island
Michael A. Costello, class of 1996, Legislator, member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 2002 - present)
Michael Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts