University of Alabama School of Law

University of Alabama School of Law
Parent school	University of Alabama
Established	1872
School type	Public
Dean	Mark E. Brandon [1]
Location	Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S. 33°12′39″N 87°32′46″W / 33.2109°N 87.5462°W / 33.2109; -87.5462Coordinates: 33°12′39″N 87°32′46″W / 33.2109°N 87.5462°W / 33.2109; -87.5462
Enrollment	520 (approx.)
Faculty	50 full-time; 40 adjunct
USNWR ranking	26 [2]
Bar pass rate	97% (Official ABA Data)
Website	www.law.ua.edu
ABA profile

The University of Alabama School of Law (also known as Alabama Law) located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a nationally ranked top-tier law school (First Tier) ^[3] and the only public law school in the state. In total, it is one of five law schools in the state, and one of three that are ABA accredited. According to Alabama's official 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 75.9% of the Class of 2016 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. An additional 13.8% of the Class of 2016 obtained JD-advantage employment. ^[4]

The diverse student body, of approximately 520, represent 174 undergraduate institutions from 23 states and Canada. Of the incoming class of 2012, approximately 40% were female and 15% were minority students.^[5]

Academics

The School of Law offers the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, as well as an International LL.M., an LL.M. in Taxation, and an LL.M. in Business Transactions. A joint J.D./M.B.A. program is also available. Students may also pursue a number of graduate degrees through established dual enrollment programs for M.A. or Ph.D. in Political Science, M.P.A., Ph.D. in Economics, or LL.M. in Taxation. In addition, a Certificate in Public Interest Law is available through the Public Interest Institute.

Admissions have become increasingly selective with the 50th percentile LSAT and undergrad GPAs of the 2016 incoming class reaching 163 and 3.82, respectively. The 75% to 25% range for these metrics was from 165-157 and 3.92 to 3.45.^[6]

Law clinics

Students are guaranteed an opportunity to participate in at least one of the school's seven law clinics.^[7]

• Capital Defense Clinic provide assistance to counsel in capital cases.
• Civil Law Clinic handles over 200 cases a year.
• Community Development Clinic helps community organizations with everything from tax exemption to licensing requirements.
• Criminal Defense Clinic defends over 100 indigent clients a year through the Public Defender's Office.
• Domestic Violence Clinic provides free legal aid in civil matters such as divorce, custody, orders for protection from abuse.
• Elder Law Clinic represents seniors over 60 in a range of matters including Medicare/Medicaid, durable powers of attorney, protection from abuse, etc.
• Mediation Law Clinic trains students to mediate and settle family-related legal disputes.

Publications

In 2007 Jarvis & Coleman ranked the Alabama Law Review (ALR) 36th "on the basis of the prominence of their lead article authors."^[8] This represents an incredible 63 position improvement from the rankings of ten years prior. For the 2015-2016, ExpressO, UC Berkeley's manuscript submission service, ranked the ALR at 10th in terms of "number of manuscripts received."^[9] In 2015 Washington and Lee's methods rank ALR at 46th in both the number of citations from other journals and the combined score.^[10] These show an improvement of 10 and 26 positions, respectively, over the preceding 5 years.

• Alabama Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Law Review^[11]
• Alabama Law Review^[12]
• Journal of the Legal Profession^[13]
• Law & Psychology Review^[14]

Approximately 40% of students graduate with journal experience. This is a slightly lower percentage than many of Alabama's peer schools, but nonetheless above the national average.

Employment

According to Alabama's official 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 75.9% of the Class of 2016 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage required employment nine months after graduation.^[4] Alabama's Law School Transparency under-employment score for 2015 is 15.3%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2015 who were unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.^[15]

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Alabama for the 2016-2017 academic year is $29,702 for residents and $47,322 for nonresidents.^[17] 79.4% of students received discounts in 2015-2016; the remaining 20.6% paid full price. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years at full price is $151,016 for residents and $213,352 for nonresidents.^[18]

Notable alumni

• Harper Lee, successful writer from Alabama who attended the school for several years, but did not complete a degree. (1930-2016)^[19]
• Edward B. Almon, United States Representative from Alabama (1915–1933)^[20]
• James B. Allen, United States Senator from Alabama (1969–1978)^[21]
• Mel Allen, sportscaster best known as the "Voice of the New York Yankees" and first host of This Week in Baseball^[22]
• John W. Abercrombie, United States Congressman from Alabama (1913–1917) and President of the University of Alabama (1902–1911)^[23]
• Spencer Bachus, United States Congressman from Alabama's 6th Congressional District (1993–present)^[24]
• Samuel A. Beatty, Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court (1976-1989)
• Hugo Black, U.S. Senator, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, (1937-1971)^[25]
• Charles J. Cooper (class of 1978), clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist, U.S. Supreme Court, founder of law firm, Cooper & Kirk, in Washington, D.C.
• Emmett Ripley Cox, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit,^[26]
• Catherine Crosby, Miss Alabama 2003
• Morris Dees, Southern Poverty Law Center founder^[27]
• Paul DeMarco, Alabama Representative
• Mark Everett Fuller (J.D., in 1985), Federal Judge.^[28]
• Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity
• Victor Gold, journalist, political consultant, and author^[29]
• Perry O. Hooper, Sr., 27th chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court^[30]
• Frank Minis Johnson, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit^[31]
• Maud McLure Kelly, first woman to practice law in Alabama^[32]
• Claude R. Kirk, Jr., (Class of 1949) former governor of Florida
• Bert Nettles (Class of 1960), Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1969 to 1974 from Mobile; lawyer in Birmingham^[33]
• Shorty Price, perennial candidate for Governor of Alabama
• Bill Baxley, former Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor of Alabama, and noted Civil Rights lawyer^[34]
• Jeff Sessions, 84th United States Attorney General ^[35]
• Steadman S. Shealy, starting quarterback on Alabama's 1978 and 1979 national championship teams^[36]
• Robert Smith Vance, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit^[37]
• David Vann (class of 1951), law clerk to Justice Hugo Black, U.S. Supreme Court, and mayor of Birmingham, Alabama
• George Wallace, former governor of Alabama^[38]
• Judge Junius Foy Guin, Jr., United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama^[39]

References

External links

• Official website