Western New England College School of Law

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Established 1919
School type Private
Dean Arthur R. Gaudio
Enrollment 593
Faculty 53
Location Springfield, Massachusetts
Campus Suburban
Homepage http://www.law.wnec.edu/

Western New England College School of Law is a private, American Bar Association-accredited law school in Springfield, Massachusetts, the only ABA-accredited law school in Massachusetts outside the greater Boston area. It is one of the four schools of Western New England College.

The law school offers both full- and part-time programs. The full-time program is divided into three sections during the first year, with approximately 50 students in each section; the part-time evening program consists of a single section with approximately 40 students.

Contents

[edit] History

Western New England College was established in 1919 as a branch of Northeastern University. It began offering evening law classes to residents of western Massachusetts. In 1923 the first seven law graduates were recognized. In 1951, Western New England College incorporated as its own institution. The full-time law program began in 1973.

[edit] Curriculum

Main Campus
Main Campus

The school offers two law programs, a JD and an LLM. Three joint-degree programs are also available: JD/MBA with the School of Business; JD/MSW with Springfield College; and a JD/MRP with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Western New England College School of Law also offers two Bachelor/JD programs to the college's undergraduate students. The 3+3 Law Program allows students in most majors to complete a Bachelor's program and a JD in six years. The six-year Biomedical Engineering/Law program provides students with the opportunity to earn an undergraduate biomedical engineering degree and a JD in six years. The Six-year Biomedical Engineering/Law program began accepting undergraduate students in the fall of 2007.[1]

[edit] LL.M. Program in Estate Planning and Elder Law

The LL.M. Program in Estate Planning and Elder Law is a part-time program designed to accommodate attorneys who wish to obtain the LL.M. This is the only such program in the Northeast and one of only a few in the nation.[2]

[edit] Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship

The Western New England College Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship was established to offer graduate business and law students an opportunity to provide practical consultation to entrepreneurs starting new and building existing small businesses.

The Small Business Clinic, one of five clinics associated with the School of Law, is the cornerstone program of the Center. The Clinic pairs students from the Schools of Law and Business to offer legal and business consultation to small businesses in the area. Areas of expertise include legal advice in corporate and commercial law as well as business advice on marketing, human resources, and competitive analysis.[3]

[edit] S. Prestley Blake Law Center

[edit] History

In the early 1970s, the Western New England College Board of Trustees set up the Law School Study Committee to investigate the viability of a full time day program for the School of Law. This program opened in the fall of 1973. Since no proper facility was available on the Western New England College campus the School of Law was housed at the former Our Lady of Lourdes School on Tinkham Road in Springfield. Students referred to this building as "Our Lady of the Law School."

In May 1974, a Building Committee was formed. Blueprints were drawn up in the spring of 1976 and groundbreaking on the facility began on May 2, 1977. The building was opened on August 19, 1978, at a cost of $3.4 million. The building is named after S. Prestley Blake, President and Cofounder of Friendly's Ice Cream after he made a gift of $250,000 to the project.[4]

[edit] Law Center Expansion Plans

On September 19, 2006, Western New England College announced a $20 million fundraising campaign titled Transformations: The Campaign for Western New England College.

One of the major projects that will be funded through the donations to the capital campaign is a $5.5 million expansion to the S. Prestley Blake Law Center. Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on June 5, 2007 and the new wing will include seminar, study, and meeting rooms; an expanded library; and modernization of several classrooms and the Moot Courtroom. Funds from an $800,000 Challenge Grant from The Kresge Foundation are earmarked for this expansion.[5]

The new main lobby and administration offices in the expansion opened in February 2008.[6]

The dedication ceremony for the expansion is slated for September 16, 2008.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

v • d • e
Law schools in Massachusetts