Editing Drake University Law School

{{Infobox Law School
|class_canceled=Yes
|temp_pass_fail_grading=Yes
|pass_fail_grading_notes=Credit/No Credit
|pass_fail_grading_url=https://www.reddit.com/r/LawSchool/comments/fjp4kt/complete_list_of_grading_changes_corona_spring/flm60kg/
|established=1865
|parent=Drake University
|dean=Allan Vestal
|street_address=2507 University Ave
|city=Des Moines
|state=IA
|country=US
|geocode_fail=No
|full_time_students=400
|website=www.law.drake.edu
|nickname=Drake
}}
'''Drake University Law School''' is a fully accredited law school of Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school has over 400 full-time students. The school is presently led by Dean Allan Vestal.<ref name=DrakeU>{{cite web
| url=http://www.law.drake.edu
| title=Official web site
| accessdate=2007-10-05
| publisher=[[Drake University]]
}}</ref><ref name=StateIa>
{{cite web
| url=http://www.law.drake.edu/students/?pageID=diversity
| title=Commitment to Diversity
| publisher=[[Drake University]]
| accessdate=2007-10-05
}}</ref><ref name=HistoricDesMoines>
{{cite web
| url=http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/du-hdm&CISOPTR=69&REC=4
| title=Drake University, Cole Hall
| publisher=[[Historic Des Moines]]
}}</ref> The most recent edition of US News and World Report's ''Best Law Schools'' ranked Drake in the third tier out of four among ABA accredited law schools and second in the state of Iowa. <ref>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/law/search/state+IA retrieved 3/22/2009</ref>

==History==
Established in 1865 by [[Chester C.Cole]], a justice of the of [[Iowa Supreme Court]], Drake Law is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country and the second law school founded west of the Mississippi River after Saint Louis University. Justice Cole felt that having a law school located in the state capital would be advantageous. That notion proved to be correct. In time, Drake Law alumni would fill the ranks of all branches of Iowa local and state government. This alumni base, combined with the school's physical location, permit a large portion of the student body to participate in long-term governmental internships.

==Programs==
In addition to the full-scale, three-year, [[Juris Doctor]] program, the law school features the following special programs:
* Drake Law Review
* Drake Journal of Agricultural Law
* 5 Research Centers
* Certificate programs in several fields
* Civil and Criminal Clinical Programs
* Multiple Moot Court and Mock Trial teams
* Summer in France Program
* Summer Institute in Constitutional Law (for entering 1L's)

==Opperman Lecture Series==

The [[Dwight D. Opperman]] Lecture series, endowed by the former CEO of West Publishing and Drake Alumnus, is an annual event of national importance in constitutional law. Several [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court Justices]] have visited campus to deliver lectures on American jurisprudence. Numerous current and former United States Supreme Court Justices have delivered the Opperman Lecture, including Chief Justice [[John G. Roberts|John Roberts]], Justice [[Clarence Thomas]], Justice [[Antonin Scalia]], Justice [[Samuel Alito]], Justice [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]], Justice [[Stephen Breyer]], Justice [[Sandra Day O'Connor]], Justice [[Anthony M. Kennedy]], and late Justices [[Harry A. Blackmun]], [[Lewis F. Powell]] and [[William H. Rehnquist]].

==Success of ''Drake Law Review''==
As of September 2011, the ''Drake Law Review'' is ranked among the top 40 law reviews nationally for the number of times courts have cited its articles, is ranked #235 in "Impact Factor, is ranked #124 in the number of times cited by other journals, and is rated #199 in "Currency Factor."

The rankings, compiled by John Doyle of the [[Washington and Lee Law School]] Library, show the ''Drake Law Review'' had 60 citations, according to the 2008 data. Drake is in the top group of more than 1,400 journals in the rankings, which are available at http://lawlib.wlu.edu/LJ/.

The ''Drake Law Review'' is published quarterly by Drake law students.  In the past few years, the ''Drake Law Review'' has published articles by a number of distinguished legal scholars and judges, including:  [[Erwin Chemerinsky]], [[Cass Sunstein]], [[Randy Barnett]], Cheryl Harris, [[Paul Brest]], Stephen Carter, Michael Gerhardt, Chief Justice [[John G. Roberts]] Jr., and [[Stephen Rapp]] (Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone).

==Notable alumni==
Drake Law has graduated numerous significant lawyers, including several state/federal judges and politicians, including:
* [[Marsha K. Ternus]], former Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
* [[James E. Gritzner]], current federal judge for the Southern District of Iowa
* [[Mark W. Bennett]], current federal judge for the Northern District of Iowa
* Dwight D. Opperman, former CEO of [[West Publishing Company]]
* [[Terry E. Branstad]], current and longest-serving Governor of Iowa
* [[Robert D. Ray]], former Governor of Iowa
* [[Louis A. Lavorato]], former Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
* [[C. Edwin Moore]], former Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court

==References==
<references/>