University of Maine School of Law

University of Maine School of Law

Type	Public
Established	1962
Dean	Danielle Conway
Students	254
Location	Portland, Maine, USA
Campus	Urban
Website	http://www.mainelaw.maine.edu

The University of Maine School of Law is located in Portland, Maine and is Maine's only law school. It is a part of the University of Maine System. The law school's current Dean is Danielle Conway, who assumed the post in 2015.^[1]

Many of Maine's judges, legal scholars, politicians and community leaders graduated from the law school, including the Chief Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Leigh Saufley and Daniel Wathen, state Attorney General Janet Mills, former State Senate President Libby Mitchell, U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock, former Governor John McKernan and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine, Thomas E. Delahanty II. According to Maine's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 38.5% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.^[2]

Background

University of Maine School of Law was established in 1962 and is a public institution. The campus is in an urban area in Portland. The primary mission of the law school is to educate students to serve the public and private sectors with distinction; to contribute to the advancement of the law through scholarly and professional research and writing; and to engage in public services aimed at improving the legal system. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Portland area. Portland is the major urban and legal center in the state. Facilities of special interest to law students are the Cumberland County Superior Court, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, and the Federal District Court. Housing for students is available in university dorms, but most students prefer to find housing in and around Portland. All law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.^[3]

Academics

Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; the maximum number of credits varies and must be approved. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in public policy and management), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Business Administration), J.D./M.C.P. (Juris Doctor/Master in Community Planning and Development), and J.D./M.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Science in health policy and management). The School of Law also offers LL.M. and J.S.D. programs, primarily intended for foreign students and practitioners who have earned a law degree outside the United States. Dual and Joint Degree programs are also available with the University of Maine campus in Orono, Maine.

Maine Law offers an Integrated Clinical Education Program to third-year and LLM students and includes civil practice and criminal defense under the auspices of the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic. This clinic includes the General Practice Clinic, Prisoner Assistance Clinic (civil matters), and Criminal Law and Family practicums. Students interested in intellectual property law benefit from a unique Intellectual Property Clinic in which they may prepare and file patent or trademark applications on behalf of local inventors and entrepreneurs.^[4] Maine Law’s IP Clinic is one of only four in the nation certified under the patent portion of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Law School Clinical Certification Pilot, and one of only sixteen schools certified under the Pilot’s trademark division.^[5]

Students can gain academic credit for work at many nonprofit and government agencies through an extensive externship program. Seminars in commercial law, consumer law, constitutional law, intellectual property law, and international law are open to second, third-year and LLM students.

The Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service is held annually, along with the Godfrey Distinguished Visiting Lecturer and the Deans Distinguished Lecture Series.

The Student Bar Association and other student organizations also offer guest lectures.

There is a 1-semester option at Dalhousie Law School in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the University of New Brunswick, Canada; University College, Galway, Ireland; and the University of Buckingham, England.^[6]

Publications

The school is home to the Maine Law Review and the Ocean and Coastal Law Journal.

Campus

Maine Law is home to the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, a free clinic for people of low income in the area, as well as to the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic, Center for Oceans and Coastal Law, Maine Patent Program and the Center for Law and Innovation.^[7]

Rankings, admission and employment statistics

In 2015, U.S. News ranked the University of Maine School of Law 110th on its list of Best Law Schools.^[8]

According to the law professor blog The Faculty Lounge, 42.5% of the Class of 2012 was employed in full-time, long-term positions requiring bar admission, ranking 164th out of 197 law schools.^[9]

According to the 2014 statistics from U.S. News, 34.5% of students are employed at graduation; graduates' median starting salary is $56,000.^[10] In 2012, Business Insider ranked the University of Maine School of Law 6th on its list of 11 Law Schools With The Worst Employment Rates, with only 42% of its graduates able to find a job requiring bar admission.^[11] According to Law School Numbers -The University of Maine School of Law class of 2012 had an employment rate of 72%, with only 36% of graduates finding law firm employment.^[12]

In 2009, Maine Law was ranked in the Top 100 Law Schools in the nation in U.S. News & World Report.

Applications were up 62% for the class of 2013.^[13] The overall increase in applications nationwide was 7.4%.

Approximately 37% of applicants are admitted, with 60% coming from Maine. The median LSAT score is 156, and the average GPA is 3.4. Roughly 52% of students are female, and 48% are male. Approximately 7% of this year's first year class are members of a racial minority group.^[14]

The University of Maine School of Law currently has a student/faculty ratio of 15.3:1.

The school emphasizes hands-on training through internships, externships, and varied clinical programs such as the Juvenile Justice Clinic, the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic, and the Intellectual Property Law Clinic.

20% of 2014 grads received jobs. Only 51.6% were employed in jobs requiring a J.D.^[15]

Employment

According to Maine's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 38.5% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.^[16] Maine's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 35.4%, 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.^[17]

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Maine for the 2013-2014 academic year is $39,350 for residents and $50,320 for non-residents.^[18] The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $147,813 for residents and $189,176 for nonresidents.^[19]

Notable alumni

Administration

References

External links

• Official webpage

Coordinates: 43°39′40″N 70°16′44″W / 43.6611°N 70.2789°W / 43.6611; -70.2789