University of Alabama School of Law
| University of Alabama School of Law | |
| Established | 1872 |
|---|---|
| School type | Public |
| Dean | William S. Brewbaker III |
| Location | Tuscaloosa, AL, US |
| Enrollment | |
| Faculty | (See List) |
| USNWR ranking | 36 |
| Annual tuition | |
| Outlines | 0 (See List) |
University of Alabama School of Law is located in Tuscaloosa, AL
University of Alabama School of Law is a law school located in Tuscaloosa, AL, University of Alabama School of Law is one of four law schools in the state, one of two to be ABA accredited, and of these, it is the only public school. In 2003-2005, there were 541 (536 J.D., 5 International LL.M.) students enrolled, and in 2006-2007, the first year student body had a median 163 LSAT, and 3.49 GPA. Of these students, approximately 40% were female and 12% were minority students. The 2006-2007 academic year also saw the opening of a $15 million dollar addition to the law school with more room for the clinical program and mock trial teams, study and meeting rooms, new offices, a cafe, and additional classrooms.
The majority of students come from Alabama, although 130 undergraduate schools from 26 states are represented altogether. The average age for incoming students was 25, but many students did not come straight out of undergraduate school. A number of students have worked or earned masters and doctoral level degrees in other fields prior to coming to law school. In recent years, Alabama's students have gone on to jobs with major law firms in Birmingham, Atlanta, Nashville, Washington, DC, among many other cities. The job placement rate of graduates within 9 months of graduation is 97.8%. Alabama's student body is medium-sized for a law school, with about 170 students in the entering class. Students have the opportunity to study in joint programs, like the MBA, masters or PhD in economics, political science, or history.
Students participate in a variety of activities, including intramural and inter-school moot court, and extensive trial practice. Student organizations span the spectrum from the Christian Legal Society, Federalist Society, American Constitution Society, and Dorbin Society, to Out/Law (a group for those interested in gay rights).
Approximately 40% of students graduate with journal experience. The school's main journal is the Alabama Law Review, which has been published since the 1940s. It has published such leading figures as Justices William O. Douglas and Hugo Black (also an alumnus of the University of Alabama Law School) and Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Recently it was ranked as the 98th most-cited law journal in the country. The other journals are the Journal of the Legal Profession and the Law and Psychology Law Review.
The faculty include nationally recognized scholars in areas like tax (Norman Stein, Susan Hamil, James Bryce), criminal law (Pamela Bucy and Joseph Colquitt), corporate law (Kenneth Rosen and George Geis), intellectual property (Alan Durham), and environmental law (Robert Kuehn). In recent years the law school has expanded its faculty dramatically, adding such emerging scholars as Kimberly Bart, Paul Horwitz, Meredith Render, and Debra Lynn Bassett.
Notable alumni include Justice Hugo Black, Judge Frank Johnson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Judge R. Cox of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, Professor Daniel J. Meador of the University of Virginia, lawyer Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and novelist Harper Lee.
