| South Texas College of Law | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Justitia et Veritas Praevaleant (Latin) |
| Motto in English | Let Justice and Truth Prevail |
| Established | 1923 |
| Type | Private |
| President and Dean | RADM Donald J. Guter, USN (Ret.) |
| Academic staff | 99 |
| Students | 936 |
| Location | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Former names | South Texas School of Law and Commerce |
| Colors | Crimson and gold |
| Website | http://www.stcl.edu |
South Texas College of Law is a private American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). Located in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States it was founded in 1923—the oldest law school in Houston and the third-oldest in Texas.12
South Texas College of Law has a faculty of 59 full-time professors and 40 adjunct professors.
US News consistently ranks the South Texas trial advocacy program in the top ten; in 2010, South Texas advocacy was ranked third in the country by U.S. News in Trial Advocacy. US News also ranks the College in the Fourth Tier of law schools nationwide. [1]
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South Texas offers a "3 and 3" program with Texas A&M University. This program makes it possible to obtain a Bachelor's degree and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) in six years. South Texas College of Law is also part of a consortium of four independent ABA and AALS accredited American law schools—California Western School of Law, New England School of Law, and William Mitchell College of Law. The Consortium for Innovative Legal Education (CILE), combines resources designed to enhance and strengthen the educational mission of each school separately and all of them collectively. This partnership provides access to educational programs on a national and international basis. Students at South Texas can study abroad in London, Ireland, Malta, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Turkey, Chile and Mexico.
In 2005, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Trial Advocacy Program at South Texas number one in the nation, and it consistently ranks among the top 10 every year.3 4 In 2006, South Texas won the Association of Trial Lawyers of America national mock trial competition, beating over 260 schools. In 2007, South Texas won the National White Collar Crime Invitational Mock Trial Competition hosted by Georgetown Law School.[2]. As of August 2011, South Texas has won a record setting 108 national titles. The school's most recent win was at the Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Tournament in 2011.[3]
South Texas College of Law publishes several student-edited journals of legal scholarship, including Corporate Counsel Review, Currents: International Trade Law Journal, and South Texas Law Review.
49% of the Class of 2009 were known to be working for law firms in the private sector nine months after graduation. [4] 9.1% of the Class of 2009 were either unemployed or had an unknown employment status nine months after graduation. [5]. These employment statistics are self-reported and not audited by an independent third party.
The average Class of 2009 graduate had $104,862 of student loan debt. [6]
South Texas sponsors the "Direct Representation Clinics," which provide legal representation to low-income residents of Harris County, Texas in the areas of family law, probate, estate planning, and guardianship cases. South Texas is also the first Texas law school to provide $400 each month toward student-loan indebtedness for its alumni working for non-profit legal-aid organizations that provide services to the poor.
The Texas First Court of Appeals and the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals were located in the 1307 San Jacinto Building on the campus of the South Texas College of Law; the first court occupied the 10th floor while the 14th court occupied the 11th floor.[7][8] Since September 3, 2011, the courts are now located in the 1911 Harris County courthouse.[9][10]