University of North Carolina School of Law

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The University of North Carolina School of Law is a professional school within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, UNC Law is among the oldest law schools in the nation. It is consistently ranked in the top-tier of law schools, and its 2008 US News and World Report ranking is 36.

With an average J.D. class size of 235, the law school has just over 700 students at any time. Attracted by the school's reputation and its affordable in-state tuition, admissions are highly competitive. For the 2006 class, 14.5% of applicants were accepted, with median LSAT score of 162 and a median GPA of 3.60.[1] At least 75% of each incoming class is from North Carolina, although roughly 75% of applications are from out-of-state.

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[edit] History

Following discussion in the North Carolina legal community, on December 12, 1842, the Trustees of the University of North Carolina authorized the University President, David L. Swain, to review and establish a law professorship. In 1845, William Battle Horn was named the first Professor of Law, and legal instruction began at the University. In the years following, Assistant Professors and later an organized faculty and law library were added. The school began taking on much of the character of a modern law school in the 1920s, after the American Bar Association first published guidelines for schools. University President Harry Woodburn Chase was instrumental in leading the efforts for this reorganization over notable opposition, including the Governor of North Carolina. [2]

[edit] Facilities

The Law School is currently located in Van Hecke-Wettach Hall, towards the southeastern side of the Chapel Hill campus, neighboring the School of Government and several athletic facilities. Opened in 1968 and renovated in 1999, the facilities are nevertheless often regarded as too small for the ever-growing programs of the school. The School is, as of fall 2006, studying an expansion of roughly 40,000 sqft, that may include a second courtroom, a larger gathering space, small classrooms, and added office space.[3]

Van Hecke-Wettach Hall includes the Kathrine R. Everett Law Library, located primarily on four floors on the back side of the building.

[edit] Centers and Initiatives

The UNC School of Law is home to several centers that focus on issues of state and national interest:

  • Center for Banking and Finance - Lissa Broome, Director
  • Center for Civil Rights - Julius L. Chambers, Director. Charles Daye, Deputy Director
  • Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity - Marion Crain, Director. This Center was previously overseen by 2008 Presidential candidate John Edwards.
  • Center for Law and Government - Michael J. Gerhardt, Director

[edit] Clinics

  • Community Development Law Clinic: Third year law students counsel large and small nonprofit and community development organizations.
  • Civil Clinic: Third year law students represent indigent clients in civil matters.
  • Criminal Clinic: Third year law students defend and represent juvenile defendants.
  • Immigration Law and Policy Clinic

[edit] Law Journals

The school is home to five student-edit law journals. The oldest, the North Carolina Law Review, was founded in 1922. This journal notably features an annual North Carolina issue reviewing developments in the state's law.

[edit] Notable Alumni

The more than 9,300 alumni[4] of the school have gone on many notable roles, including countless government offices in North Carolina. Among these are several recent NC Governors (Hunt, Holshouser, Moore, and Sanford), the current Speaker of the NC House, Joe Hackney, and (as of the 2007 term) six of the seven North Carolina Supreme Court Justices (Parker, Martin, Edmunds, Newby, Timmons-Goodson, and Hudson). Former United States Senator and Vice-Presidential nominee John Edwards is an alumnus and former member of the faculty; Elizabeth Edwards is also an alumnus. Former White House Counsel to George H.W. Bush and current Ambassador to the European Union C. Boyden Gray graduated in 1968.

[edit] Leadership

  • William Horn Battle, 1845-1868; 1877-1879 (as Professor of Law)
  • John Manning, 1881-1899 (as Professor of Law)
  • James Cameron MacRae, 1899-1909 (as Dean)
  • Lucius Polk McGhee, 1910-1923
  • Merton Leroy Ferson, 1924-1926
  • Charles T. McCormick, 1927-1931
  • Maurice Taylor Van Hecke, 1931-1941
  • Robert Hasley Wettach, 1941-1949
  • Henry Brandis, Jr., 1949-1964[2]
  • James Dickson Phillips, Jr., 1964-1974
  • Robert Gray Byrd, 1974-1979
  • Kenneth S. Broun, 1979-1987[5]
  • Judith Welch Wegner, 1989-1999
  • Gene R. Nichol, 1999-2005
  • John "Jack" Charles Boger, 2006-

[edit] References

  1. ^ Student Body Profile (accessed 21 November 2006)
  2. ^ a b Coates , Albert, The Story of the Law School of the University of North Carolina, North Carolina Law Review 47, Oct. 1968 Special Issue
  3. ^ Boger, John, From the Dean, Carolina Law Alumni News, Fall 2006 http://www.law.unc.edu/pdfs/alumninewsfall06.pdf
  4. ^ Carolina Law Alumni Association (accessed 21 November 2006)
  5. ^ The University of North Carolina School of Law: A Sesquicentennial History, North Carolina Law Review 73.

[edit] External links



University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  v • d • e 

Academics

Schools: School of Medicine • School of Law • School of Information and Library Science • School of Public Health • School of Pharmacy • School of Journalism and Mass Communication • School of Dentistry • School of Nursing • School of Education • School of Government • Kenan-Flagler Business School Scholarship Programs: Morehead Scholarship

Athletics

Athletic Program • Men's Basketball • ACC • Tar Heel • Rameses (mascot) • Kenan Stadium • Dean Smith Center • Carmichael Auditorium • Fetzer Field • UNC-Duke rivalry • South's Oldest Rivalry • UNC-NCSU rivalry • I'm a Tar Heel Born • Here Comes Carolina • Woody Durham • Tobacco Road

Campus

Old Well • Old East • Davie Poplar • Silent Sam • Coker Arboretum • Morehead Planetarium • Student Health Action Coalition • Chapel Hill • Images • Frank Porter Graham Student Union • Franklin Street • Student Stores • libraries • Fetzer • Woolen • Student Recreation Center • Irwin Belk • Sonya Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History • UNC Hospitals • George Watts Hill Alumni Center • Ram's Head • Ram's Village

Student life

The Daily Tar Heel • Student Television (UNC Chapel Hill) • WXYC • Carolina Student Biotechnology Network • Di Phi • Black Student Movement • Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Straight Alliance • Bounce Magazine • Company Carolina • Achordants • Carolina Undergraduate ACLU • Campus Y • UNC Dance Marathon • The Order of Gimghoul • Marching Tar Heels • Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship • UNC Young Democrats • UNC College Republicans

People

Notable Alumni • Michael Jordan • Dean Smith • Roy Williams • Mia Hamm • James K. Polk • John Edwards • Paul Wellstone • Thomas Wolfe • Lewis Black • Andy Griffith • Jack Palance • Chris Matthews • David Brinkley • Charles Kuralt
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