University of Idaho College of Law

University of Idaho College of Law
Parent school University of Idaho
Established 1909
School type Public
Dean Mark L. Adams
Location Moscow, Idaho, U.S.
46°43′41″N 117°00′58″W / 46.728°N 117.016°WCoordinates: 46°43′41″N 117°00′58″W / 46.728°N 117.016°W
Enrollment 366
Faculty 37
USNWR ranking Tier 3, Ranked # 118/203 ABA accredited law schools[1]
Bar pass rate 85.3% (2013)
Website www.uidaho.edu/law
ABA profile UI College of Law Profile

The University of Idaho College of Law is the law school of the University of Idaho, with its main campus in Moscow. The school has also established a second and third-year option in Boise.[2] The College of Law was established in 1909. Graduates from Idaho Law tend to dominate the legal market in Idaho.

Idaho Law has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1914 and has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1925. In 2014, the US News & World Report ranked Idaho Law at # 118/203 ABA accredited law schools in its annual law school rankings.[3]

The College of Law in fall of 2014 had an enrollment of around 366 students, with an entering first-year class of 113 students. As a public law school, new students hail from across Idaho and 18 different states and foreign countries. Over 70 undergraduate colleges and universities were represented.

University of Idaho College of Law offers one of four areas of emphasis: Native American Law; Natural Resources and Environmental Law; Business Law and Entrepreneurship; and Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

The College of Law has a second location in Boise.[4] The Boise second and third-year option accommodates 35 students,[5] but could eventually grow into a three-year, comprehensive branch of the College of Law.[6] The University of Idaho College of Law is the only A.B.A. accredited law school in the State of Idaho.

According to Idaho Law's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 54.7% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[7]

Admissions

For the 2013 incoming class, the 25th/75th percentile LSAT range was 149/156 and the GPA range was 2.93/3.51.[8] The College of Law in 2013 had a 55.7% acceptance rate.

Bar passage rate & job placement

According to Idaho Law's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 54.7% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[7] Idaho Law's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 18.8%, 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.[9]

For the class of 2012, about 40% of Idaho graduates had employment commitments at graduation (before taking the bar examination), and 96.1% were employed in any profession or position within nine months of graduation or pursuing additional graduate degrees.[10] Among those employed, 37% were employed in private practice, 24 percent in judicial clerkships, and 30% percent in government or public interest law. The average starting salary was $51,079.[11]

In 2008, the College of Law was recognized by National Jurist Magazine as one of the top 30 law schools in the country for the percentage of its graduates that entered public interest law after graduation.[12]

The Idaho bar examination passage rate was 85.3 percent for test takers in 2012. The overall bar passage rate, including states like Washington, Oregon, and Utah, was 77.18%.[8]

Tuition and Costs

Tuition and fees for Idaho residents are $16,480 per year for the 2014-15 academic year, while non-resident tuition is $30,010.[13] The criteria for determining residency status, and for acquiring residency status, are established by law and are available on the University of Idaho website. Absence from the state to attend a post-secondary school elsewhere does not, by itself, result in loss of residency status.[14]

The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $122,572 for residents and $176,777 for non-residents.[15]

Academics

Degree programs

The College of Law offers the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree and also takes part in several joint degree programs:

Curriculum

The curriculum is based on traditional law courses and includes pro bono work (law-related public service), several legal clinics, externships with either federal or state courts, internships with private law firms or public organizations, and a semester-in-practice program offered, in addition to the third-year program, in the state capital, Boise. The curriculum is comprehensive; it includes emphases in Natural Resources & Environmental Law and in Native American Law, with developing emphases in Litigation & Dispute Resolution and in Business Law & Entrepreneurism.

Facility

The current law school building (photo) opened in the fall of 1973,[17] and was named in 1984 for former dean Albert R. Menard, Jr. (1918–93).[18] While he was dean (1967–78), enrollment (and faculty) tripled and the new building was conceived and constructed. The college was formerly housed in the south wing of the Administration Building. Menard stepped down as dean in 1978 and taught for six additional years until his retirement.

Alumni

The UI College of Law has over 3,400 living alumni.

References

  1. ↑ Law - Best Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report
  2. ↑ http://www.uidaho.edu/law/academics/boise
  3. ↑ http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/items/03044
  4. ↑ http://www.uidaho.edu/boise/collegeoflawinboise UI Law Boise Program
  5. ↑ http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_45027f58-adf7-11df-8371-001cc4c002e0.html UI Law School Boise Expansion
  6. ↑ Idaho State Board of Education Resolution: To authorize UI to expand its offerings in Boise to a full third-year curriculum and to include a legislative appropriation in the FY 2010 budget for this expansion. The Regents recognize the statewide mission of UI for legal education. UI is instructed to re-visit the issue of funding and support for a full dual location model, including a full three (3) year branch curriculum in Boise, to continue collaboration with the Idaho Supreme Court on the Idaho Law Learning Center with respect to those programs to be delivered in Boise, and to return to the Regents for further discussion.http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov/meetings/minutes/2008/04_17_08/April16-18_2008%20_APPROVED_minutes.pdf
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Employment Statistics".
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/SchoolsABAData/SchoolPage/SchoolPage_PDFs/ABA_LawSchoolData/ABA4843.pdf ABA Law School Profile
  9. ↑ "University of Idaho Profile".
  10. ↑ http://officialguide.lsac.org/SearchResults/SchoolPage_PDFs/ABA_LawSchoolData/ABA4843.pdf
  11. ↑ http://www.princetonreview.com/schools/law/LawCareers.aspx?iid=1035865
  12. ↑ March 2008 Issue, p. 26 "Where Do Public Interest Lawyers Go?" http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/nationaljurist0308/
  13. ↑ "Costs and Fees".
  14. ↑ University of Idaho Registrar's Office http://www.registrar.uidaho.edu/residency/summary.html
  15. ↑ "University of Idaho Profile".
  16. ↑ http://water.uidaho.edu
  17. ↑ "Special Collections: Campus Buildings, Law Building". University of Idaho Library. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  18. ↑ Khan, Nahid (March 12, 1993). "Former UI law dean Menard dies at 74". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. p. 3A.

External links