University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law
The University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri. It was founded in 1895 as the Kansas City School of Law, a private, independent law school located in Downtown Kansas City, and was purchased by the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1938. The law school moved to UMKC's main campus in 1974. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
It is one of three law schools in Missouri (St. Louis University School of Law, University of Missouri Columbia School of Law, Washington University School of Law). It is one of seven American law schools to have produced both a President of the United States (Harry S. Truman) and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (Charles Evans Whittaker). Truman attended but did not graduate from the law school and never practiced law. The other schools that have had President-Supreme Court graduates who practiced law are Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, the University of Virginia School of Law, the William & Mary Law School and the University of Cincinnati College of Law.[1]
Rankings
- The school is ranked #113 best law school in the U.S by the U.S News publication, placing it in the third tier according to the four tier system of law schools based on the US News & World Report Annual Rankings. (2010 data)[2]
Degree programs offered
Clinics
Five clinical programs permit students, acting under faculty supervision, to develop legal skills and learn professional values in actual practice settings:
- Child & Family Services Clinic
- Entrepreneurial Legal Services Clinic
- Guardian ad Litem Workshop
- Kansas City Tax Clinic
- Midwestern Innocence Project
Publications
- The UMKC Law Review
- The Urban Lawyer
- Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Notable alumni
Politics
- Barbara Allen (class of 1985), Kansas politician
- Edward F. Arn (class of 1932), 32nd Governor of Kansas
- James P. Aylward (class of 1908), Missouri politician associated with the Tom Pendergast political machine
- William M. Boyle (class of 1926), Chairman, Democratic National Committee (1949–51)
- Hilary A. Bush (class of 1932), Lieutenant Governor of Missouri (1961–65)
- George H. Combs, Jr. (class of 1921), Missouri politician
- Scott Ferris (class of 1901), Oklahoma politician
- Jolie Justus (class of 1998), Missouri politician
- Clarence M. Kelley (class of 1940), Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1973–78)
- Wesley Lloyd (class of 1906), U.S. Representative from Washington
- Susan Montee (class of 2000), State Auditor of Missouri (2007–present)
- Edward H. Moore (class of 1900), U.S. Senator from Oklahoma (1942–49)
- William J. Randall (class of 1936), Missouri politician
- Katheryn Shields (class of 1978), Jackson County, Missouri Executive (1995–2006)
- Roger C. Slaughter (class of 1932), Missouri politician
- Harry S. Truman (attended), 33rd President of the United States (1945–53); 34th Vice President of the United States (1945); U.S. senator from Missouri (1935–1945)
Judiciary
- Bower Slack Broaddus (class of 1910), Judge, United States District Courts for the Western District of Oklahoma, Eastern District of Oklahoma, and Northern District of Oklahoma (1940–49)
- Wesley E. Brown (class of 1933), Judge, United States District Court for the District of Kansas (1962–present) (currently the oldest serving federal judge at 103 years old)
- Gary A. Fenner (class of 1973), Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (1996–present)
- Zel Fischer (class of 1988), Judge, Supreme Court of Missouri (2008–present)
- Fernando J. Gaitan Jr. (class of 1974), Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (1991–present)
- Shelby Highsmith (class of 1958), Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (1991–2002)
- Rubey Mosley Hulen (class of 1914), Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (1943–56)
- Charles Henry Leavy (class of 1912), Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (1942–51)
- Arthur Johnson Mellott (class of 1917), Judge, United States District Court for the District of Kansas (1947–57)
- Edward D. Robertson, Jr. (class of 1977), Judge, Supreme Court of Missouri (1985–98) (Chief Justice, 1991–93)
- Ortrie D. Smith (class of 1971), Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (1995–present)
- Melissa Standridge (class of 1993), Judge, Kansas Court of Appeals
- Arthur Jehu Stanley, Jr. (class of 1928), Judge, United States District Court for the District of Kansas (1958–71)
- Dean Whipple (class of 1965), Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (1987–2007)
- Ronnie L. White (class of 1983), Judge, Supreme Court of Missouri (1995–2007) (Chief Justice, 2003–05)
- Charles Evans Whittaker (class of 1924), Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court (1957–62)
Business and practice
- Lyda Conley (class of 1902), first woman admitted to the Kansas Bar and first Native American woman to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court; championed Native American causes
- Jay B. Dillingham (class of 1935), president of the Kansas City Stockyards and president of the Chambers of Commerce for both Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas.
- Donald Fehr (class of 1973), Executive Director, Major League Baseball Players Association (1986–2009)
- Thomas Calloway Lea, Jr. (class of 1898), noted Texas criminal lawyer
- Bob Stein (class of 1973), Kansas City Chiefs American football player; youngest person ever to play in a Super Bowl
Notable faculty and former faculty
References
- ^ http://www.lsac.org/LSACResources/Publications/2011OG/lsac6872.pdf
- ^ "Best Law School Rankings | Law Program Rankings | US News". Grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings/page+5. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
External links