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The '''Valparaiso University School of Law''' (known colloquially as "Valpo Law") is a [[law school]] located on the campus of [[Valparaiso University]] in [[Valparaiso, Indiana]]. After a failed attempt to transfer the law school to Middle Tennessee State University, Valparaiso University School of Law announced that it will permanently close in 2020. ==History== In the late 1870s, local attorney and Colonel [[Mark L. DeMotte]], a resident of [[Valparaiso, Indiana]] who was a Union officer in the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] (and was highly regarded as an attorney in Northwest Indiana), decided that the importance of formalized legal education deserved a new department for the study of law at the local college (the Northern Indiana Normal School, to be subsequently rechristened as [[Valparaiso University]]). Convincing college president [[Henry Baker Brown]] that such training was crucial to the quality of legal representation throughout the country, Colonel DeMotte founded a program for legal study that, in [[1879]], would become the Northern Indiana Law School. The law school opened for classes in fall [[1879]] with nine students and three faculty members, including Col. DeMotte, who became the school's first dean. During his appointment, Col. DeMotte developed a core of coursework that remains the foundation of legal education today. Tuition was set at $10 per term. The School of Law was among the first dozen in the nation to admit both men and women, and had two women among its first nine students. At the start of the 20th century, 21 years after its founding, the Northern Indiana Law School had an enrollment of 150 students and was reportedly the largest law school in [[Indiana]]. An academic term at the school was originally 50 weeks, then was shortened to 40 weeks, although the only holiday was [[Christmas Day]]. In [[1905]], the law school became part of [[Valparaiso University]] and was thus officially renamed to '''Valparaiso University School of Law'''. Valpo Law received its [[American Bar Association]] accreditation in [[1929]] and was admitted into membership in the [[Association of American Law Schools]] in [[1930]]. Valpo Law is the thirty-eighth oldest accredited law school in the [[United States ]]. Valpo Law got a new home in Wesemann Hall upon the building's completion in [[1986]]. Interestingly, the building is adjacent to [[Heritage Hall (Valparaiso University)|Heritage Hall]], the oldest building on Valparaiso University's campus, which is listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]] and houses Valpo's Law Clinic, where students provide free legal service for deserving members of the local community. In the [[2003]]-[[2004]] academic year, Valpo Law celebrated its 125th anniversary with a series of lectures, public speakers, and on- and off-campus events, culminating with a dinner celebration in May 2004 at The [[Field Museum of Natural History]] in [[Chicago]] which featured former U.S. president [[George H.W. Bush]] as its keynote speaker. ==Academics== The School of Law offers the traditional three-year full-time program, an accelerated two-and-a-half year program, and a five-year part-time program toward the [[Juris Doctor]] degree, a [[Master of Laws]] degree program, and the following dual degree programs: JD/MBA, JD/MALS, JD/MA ([[psychology]]), JD/MS International Commerce & Policy, and JD/MS Sports Administration. Law students perform 7,600 hours of clinic and 3,000 hours of [[pro bono]] service annually, and over eighty percent of Valpo law alumni pass the Indiana bar on the first attempt. The law school has a 87.8% job placement rate for graduates within nine months of graduation. The school currently has 523 enrolled students. ==Notable alumni== There are over 4,500 graduates of the Valparaiso University School of Law.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Some notable graduates include: * [[Steve Buyer]], [[U.S. Congressman]] from [[Indiana's 4th congressional district|Indiana's 4th district]] * The late novelist [[Erle Stanley Gardner]], who gained international acclaim for his depiction of the legal profession through the persona of defense attorney [[Perry Mason]], received his only formal legal education at Valparaiso University. He attended Valpo's School of Law for approximately a month, was suspended from school when his interest in boxing became a demonstration, then settled in [[California]] where he became a self-taught attorney and passed the state bar exam. * Valpo Law graduate [[Green Hackworth]] was the first American appointed to the [[International Court of Justice]]. * [[Richard G. Hatcher]], the first African-American mayor of [[Gary, Indiana]] and one of the first black mayors elected in a major Northern industrial city, is a 1959 graduate of Valparaiso University School of Law. * [[George William Norris]], [[U.S. Senator]] from [[Nebraska]] * [[Frances Tilton Weaver]], a 1925 graduate, became the first woman attorney in [[Porter County, Indiana]], and the youngest woman to be admitted to practice before the [[Indiana Supreme Court]] and the [[Illinois Supreme Court]]. * Graduates of the School of Law include five former [[United States]] senators ([[Nebraska]], [[New Mexico]], [[Illinois]] and [[Wisconsin]]), four past governors ([[Kentucky]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Indiana]] and [[Illinois]]), current and former members of the [[U.S. House of Representatives]], numerous [[appellate court]] judges and more than a dozen state supreme court justices, including [[Robert D. Rucker]], who currently is a justice on the [[Indiana Supreme Court]] of Indiana.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} ==Trivia== * Faculty and students of the School of Law team to stage an annual musical that raises funds for the school's Law Clinic. ==External links== * [http://www.valpo.edu/law/ Valparaiso University School of Law Official Website] [[Category:Law Schools]]