Oklahoma City University School of Law

Oklahoma City University School of Law
Motto	Veritas Ecclesia Cognitio
Established	1907
School type	Private
Endowment	US$ 80.5 million[1]
Dean	Valerie Couch
Location	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US
Enrollment	598[2]
Faculty	120[3]
USNWR ranking	149
Bar pass rate	94%
Website	law.okcu.edu
ABA profile	OCU Law Profile

Oklahoma City University School of Law, also known as OCU Law, is one of the professional graduate schools of Oklahoma City University. OCU Law is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and was founded in 1907. OCU Law is located in the Sarkeys Law Center on the southwest side of the Oklahoma City University campus.

The Oklahoma City University Law Library, located in the historic Gold Star Memorial Building, houses a collection of over 300,000 volume and volume equivalents, and is open to the public. OCU Law has been accredited by the ABA since 1960 and has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 2003.^[4][5]

The 2010 edition of U.S. News & World Report's Best Law Schools ranked OCU Law as a 2nd Tier Law School among ABA accredited schools.^[6][7] OCU Law was also listed under the outstanding category in the 2010 edition of the Princeton Review's best law schools release.^[8] The IRLG ranked OCU Law #52 overall in its 2009 ranking of law schools, based upon the percentage of graduates who pass the bar exam. IRLG also ranked it #107 overall, in its ranking of law schools, based upon the 57.2 percentage of prospective applicants who are accepted.^[9][10]

According to OCU Law's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 56.5% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners.^[11]

History

The law school has educated judges, political figures and founders of prestigious private law firms. Due to its long tradition of providing evening education, the college has also produced highly successful business leaders, particularly in the real estate, engineering, and oil and gas industries, who are non-practicing attorneys. The student body commonly includes medical doctors, university professors, military officers, and professionals from other fields. The School of Law is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1960.

The current dean of Oklahoma City University School of Law is Valerie Couch former U.S. Federal Magistrate for The Western District Court of Oklahoma, who succeeded Lawrence Hellman, who succeeded Rennard Strickland, a noted legal historian and former Dean of the University of Oregon School of Law, and the Honorable Robert Harlan Henry, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Publications at the Oklahoma City University School of Law

Students of the Juris Doctor (JD) program are involved in preparing and publishing:

• Oklahoma City University Law Review - The Law Review is published three times a year. It has been published for more than 30 years and includes articles from professors, practitioners, judges, and OCU Law students. The OCU Law Review provides the opportunity for students to write and edit scholarly articles while being exposed to viewpoints and commentaries written by authors from the United States, as well as internationally. Membership is highly selective and third-year members have the opportunity to serve on the Law Review’s Board of Editors. Service on the law review is an integral part of the educational experience for those students selected for it. In recent years, the law review has published symposia on topics of importance to Oklahoma practitioners. The OCU Law review is ranked in the first tier of law journals according to the Global Jurist.^[12]
• Oklahoma Tribal Court Reports
• The Gavel^[13]
• Conference on Consumer Finance Quarterly Report

Academics

The School of Law offers Juris Doctor programs for full-time and part-time students. Oklahoma City University School of Law also offers students the ability to obtain a joint J.D./M.B.A. and to study abroad in China, Argentina, Spain and the Netherlands.

Programs

Alternative Dispute Resolution Center

Oklahoma City University School of Law provides a negotiation, mediation, and arbitration program designed to settle disputes in lieu of litigation in the Courts.

Native American Legal Resource Center

The Native American Legal Resource Center provides services to tribal governments in the State of Oklahoma and those across the United States.

Center on State Constitutional Law and Government

The Center on State Constitutional Law and Government was founded to develop and implement programs dedicated to the improvement of state constitutions and state governance.

Externship Program

Oklahoma City University School of Law offers a Government Law Externship program that provides extensive opportunities for students to gain practical experience in the practice of public law.

Employment

According to OCU Law's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 56.5% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo-practitioners.^[11] Including solo-practitioners, the full-time long-term bar passage-required employment rate for 2013 graduates was 66.5%,^[11] higher the national average of 57% for ABA-approved law schools.^[14]

OCU Law ranked 41st among ABA-approved law schools in terms of the percentage of 2013 graduates with non-school-funded, full-time, long-term, bar passage required jobs nine months after graduation.^[15]

OCU Law's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 16.5%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.^[16] 91.8% of the Class of 2013 was employed in some capacity while 1.2% were pursuing graduate degrees and 5.3% were unemployed nine months graduation.^[11]

Costs

The total cost of full-time attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at OCU Law is $52,982.^[17]

The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $161,172.^[18]

Notable alumni and students

Name	Class	Accomplishments
Irven Box[19]	1969	Oklahoma Defense Attorney and Media Legal Analyst
Brandon Creighton[20]		Member of the Texas House of Representatives from his native Montgomery County in the Houston suburbs
Johnston Murray	1946	14th Governor of the State of Oklahoma[21]
Marian P. Opala[22]	1953	Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Oklahoma 1978–2010
Enoch Kelly Haney[23]	1964	Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
Yvonne Kauger[24]	1969	Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Oklahoma 1984–Present
Mickey Edwards[25]	1969	US Representative from Oklahoma's 5th district who served from 1973-1993. Also, an author, political commentator, and professor.
Carol Hansen[26]	1974	Judge, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals 1985–Present
Tom Quinn	1974	Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service 2000–Present
Ernest Istook[27]	1976	US Representative from Oklahoma's 5th district who served from 1993–2006 and the Oklahoma Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2006
James R. Winchester[28]	1977	Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Oklahoma 2007–Present
Richard Lerblance[29]	1979	Senator from District 7 of the Oklahoma State Senate 2003–Present
Robert "Bob" Burke	1979	Secretary of Commerce for the State of Oklahoma
William Hetherington	1979	Judge, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals 2009–Present
Elizabeth A. Hayden[30]	1980	District Judge for Stearns County, Minnesota 1986–2009
Fred Morgan	1980	President and CEO of the Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce 2009–present
Michael D. Brown[31]	1981	Director and Administrator of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Deborah BarnesDeborah Barnes	1983	Judge, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals 2008–Present
Hannah Diggs Atkins	1985	Secretary of State for the State of Oklahoma, Civil Rights Leader[32]
Jeff Cloud	1991	Elected commissioner of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission 2004–2011[33]
Christina Melton Crain	1991	President of the Dallas Bar Association 2009–Present
Mark Campbell[34]	1992	District judge of Bryan County District Court 2005–Present
Elizabeth Brown	1994	Associate Judge for Adair, Oklahoma 2002–Present
Jim Roth	1994	Head of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission 2002–2009
Tim Moore	1995	member of the North Carolina General Assembly
Hiram Sasser	1999	Director of Litigation for Liberty Institute, 2002 to the present
Abdul P. Zindani	2000	Vice President of Research in Motion developer of BlackBerry 2007–present
Carlos Moran	2002	District Attorney for Paducah, Kentucky 2005–Present
Todd Lamb[35]	2005	Lt. Governor of Oklahoma 2011–Present
David Holt[36]	2009	Oklahoma State Senator from District 30 2010–Present
Jason Sutton[37]	2010	Director of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Media Division 2012–Present

Keyrock aka "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer" 1987 World's Greatest Personal Injury Lawyer 1987–Present

Christopher Tyler . .2009 Chief of Appeals Oklahoma Employment Security Commission 2011-2015

References

External links

• Oklahoma City University School of Law

Oklahoma City University Academics Meinders School of Business Petree College of Arts and Sciences Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Arts Management Wanda L. Bass School of Music Kramer School of Nursing Wimberly School of Religion Margaret E. Petree College of Performing Arts School of Drama School of Law Athletics Oklahoma City Stars Baseball men's basketball Golf Rowing Soccer Softball Wrestling Volleyball

Coordinates: 35°29′38″N 97°32′37″W / 35.49389°N 97.54361°W / 35.49389; -97.54361