| The John Marshall Law School | |
| Established | 1899 |
|---|---|
| School type | Private |
| Dean | Dean John E. Corkery |
| Location | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Enrollment | 1,907 (1,546 Full-Time, 361 Part-Time) numbers are approximate |
| Faculty | 103 |
| USNWR ranking | 140
bar pass rate = 89%.[1] |
| Annual tuition | $38,259 [2] |
| Website | www.jmls.edu |
The John Marshall Law School is a law school in Chicago, Illinois, that was founded in 1899 and accredited by the American Bar Association in 1941. The school was named for the influential nineteenth century U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall.
The John Marshall Law School, called "Chicago's law school" by Mayor Richard M. Daley, offers programs for both part-time and full-time students, with both day and night classes available, and by offering January enrollment, choices most law schools no longer offer.
John Marshall is located in Chicago's central financial and legal district, most commonly known as The Loop. It is across the street from the Dirksen Federal Building, which houses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and about four blocks from the Daley Center, which houses the Cook County Courts. It is also next door to the Chicago Bar Association.
The Fall 2011 entering class had a median GPA of 3.22 and a median LSAT of 154.[3]
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The John Marshall Law School in Chicago is an independent law school located just outside of Chicago’s legal, financial, and commercial districts. The Dirksen Federal Court House is located across the street and the nation’s largest circuit court — Cook County — is very close, as are many other government offices. This proximity offers John Marshall students many educational and career opportunities.
The school is ranked as #141 in 2011 and has nationally-ranked trial advocacy (13th in nation, 2007), legal writing (6th in nation, 2008), and intellectual property law programs (20th in the nation). John Marshall also offers the nation’s only graduate program in employee benefits, one of the first ever in information technology and privacy law, and one of only two in the nation in real estate law. The bar passage rate for the July 2010 bar exam was 89.07% and 87% of John Marshall Law School graduates were employed within nine months of graduation.[4]
An unrelated law school with the identical name has existed in Atlanta, Georgia since 1933.
John Marshall has day and evening divisions, with identical instruction, course content, and scholastic requirements. Lawyering Skills courses, which focus on writing, research, and oral argument, are an integral part of the core curriculum. These courses are taught in small groups, to maximize the individual attention given to each student. A student may specialize in a certain area of the law and receive a certificate, or focus more emphatically and earn a joint degree (J.D./LL.M.).
The school also offers Master of Science (M.S.) programs for working professionals and other individual students.
The law school's Global Legal Studies Program is primarily designed for lawyers and law students from other countries, and students enrolled in the program can receive a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree.
Practical legal experience plays a vital role in education at The John Marshall Law School. John Marshall is one of the few law schools in the nation with a training program in fair housing law and enforcement. Other clinical programs include: Veterans Advocacy, intellectual property law, immigration law, employee benefits law, tax law, prosecution, defense, and municipal and state government work.
The John Marshall Law School offers seven Master of Laws (LL.M.) programs for attorneys seeking specialized education in legal issues and for current J.D. students who would like the maximum concentration in particular areas of the law. As the largest graduate law school in the Midwest, John Marshall offers a comprehensive curriculum in the following areas: Employee Benefits Law, Information Technology and Privacy Law, Intellectual Property Law, Global Legal Studies, International Business and Trade Law, Real Estate Law, and Tax Law.
In 2007, the school’s Advocacy and Dispute Resolution Team of Daniel Padernacht and Curtis Vosti placed Second in the Nation in the American Bar Association National Negotiation Competition. [5] This competition involved 220 teams from law schools around the country.[5] The John Marshall team of Padernacht and Vosti then went on to represent the United States in the 2007 International Negotiation Competition for Law Students in Singapore[5] where they placed Sixth in the World.[6] The team was coached by Dawn Bode, Kenneth Kandaras and Susann Maclachlan.
In 2007, in the ABA Dispute Resolution Mediation and the CBA Mediation competitions, John Marshall placed second and fourth.
In 2007, The John Marshall Moot Court teams won Second Place Brief at the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Competition, First Place in the Frederick Douglass (Black Law Student Association) Competition Nationals, Second Place in the Hispanic National Bar Association Competition, Second Place (Petitioner's Brief) at the John J. Gibbons Criminal Procedure Competition, and competed in the Semifinals of the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition (hosted by NAPABA), winning Third Best Brief in the nation against eighty teams.
In 2008, The John Marshall Moot Court program took first place in the Hispanic National Bar Association Moot Court competition. The school also took second place at the Cardozo/BMI Entertainment and Communications Law Moot Court Competition and at the 21st Annual August A. Rendigs, Jr. National Products Liability Moot Court Competition.
The Louis L. Biro Law Library occupies the 6th - 10th floors of the law school's State Street building. A team of over 20 professional librarians and staff members work to serve the students during the 96 hours/week that the library is open. The library holds over 410,000 volumes and microform equivalents and provides on-campus and remote access to over 4,000 titles via our specialty electronic databases. It is continually adding more online subscriptions to its growing collection of electronic resources, including Lexis, Westlaw, CALI Lessons, BNA Premier, IICLE SmartBooks, Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law Online, Justis International Law Reports, Courtroom View Network, which contains audio versions of law school casebooks and streaming trial videos, and Mango languages, an easy to follow system for learning over 20 different languages.
Students have wireless access throughout the law school and the library offers seating for 750 including 8 group study rooms. In addition to supporting the research & instructional needs of the students, faculty & staff of the law school, the library is also open to law school alumni and members of the Chicago Bar Association, whose headquarters building is next door.
There are five honors programs: The John Marshall Law Review, The John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law ("RIPL"), the Journal of Computer and Information Law, the Moot Court Honors Program, and the Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution Honors Program[2]. John Marshall sends teams to more than 30 moot court and mock trial competitions annually.
The student community at The John Marshall Law School includes more than 50 student organizations engaging in social awareness, community service, legal discussions, and social activities.