| Western New England University School of Law | |
| Motto | Scientia Integritas Servitium |
|---|---|
| Established | 1923 |
| School type | Private |
| Endowment | 48.6 Million USD[1] |
| Dean | Arthur R. Gaudio |
| Location | Springfield, Massachusetts, USA |
| Enrollment | 593 |
| Faculty | 53 |
| Bar pass rate | 75.3% |
| Annual tuition | $36,854 |
| Website | law.wne.edu |
Western New England University School of Law is a private, American Bar Association-accredited law school in Western Massachusetts, the only ABA-accredited law school in Massachusetts outside the greater Boston area.
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.
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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. The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association meaning graduates can sit for the bar in all 50 states.
On July 1, 2011, Western New England College School of Law officially became Western New England University School of Law. The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approved the change in March 2011. [2]
The school offers two law programs, a JD and an LLM. Four joint-degree programs are also available: JD/MBA and JD/MSA with the Western New England University College of Business; JD/MSW with Springfield College; and a JD/MRP with the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Western New England University 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]
Responding to the ABA-commissioned McCrate Report analyzing the effectiveness of legal education, Western New England University introduced six concentrations beginning in the Fall 2008 term. Second- and third-year students can choose a concentration to focus their study on. Each concentration has specific course and fieldwork requirements. In fall 2011, the School of Law introduced a seventh concentration in Gender and Sexual Studies. The concentrations are in:
The LL.M. Program in Estate Planning and Elder Law is a live and online 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]
The Western New England University 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 School of Law and College of 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]
Western New England University School of Law has also been very competitive in National Moot Court competitions. Western New England University School of Law currently sponsors the following national and international moot court competitions:
Western New England University School of Law has won many national championships since 2001.
The Western New England Law Review publishes three issues per year. The editorial board consists of members of the School of Law who rank at or near the top 10 percent of their first year class. The Law Review also permits a certain number of "write-on" candidates who are put onto the law review based on the recommendation of their Legal Research and Writing professor (LRW) after the end of their first year. More information about the Law Review can be found at the Western New England Law Review website.
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. During the planning and construction of the School of Law building 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 Law Center 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.[5]
On September 19, 2006, Western New England College announced a $20 million fundraising campaign titled Transformations: The Campaign for Western New England College. The S. Prestley Blake Law Center was one of the major projects funded through this campaign as a $5.5 million expansion and renovation was added to the building. Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on June 5, 2007. The expanded Law Center includes a new 10,500-square-foot (980 m2) wing and entrance that provides a gateway to the rest of the campus. The entrance, with its soaring marble pillars, leads to a two-story lobby that serves as a primary gathering space for students and the hosting of Law Center events. The project also saw the reconfiguration of several classrooms, creating smaller, more intimate learning environments. In addition, the College also dedicated the J. Gerard Pellegrini Moot Court Room in honor of the 1957 graduate of the School of Law and longtime adjunct professor. Pellegrini, an accomplished trial lawyer, is a former president of the Hampden County Bar Association and founded the Springfield-based firm of Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan & Blakesley, P.C. Funds from an $800,000 Challenge Grant from The Kresge Foundation were used for this expansion.[6] The new main lobby and administration offices in the expansion opened in February 2008.[7] A ribbon cutting ceremony for the expansion took place on September 16, 2008.[8]
The Western New England University School of Law has over 7,000 alumni. The alumni magazine is called Perspectives.[7]
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