Belmont University College of Law

Last updated
Belmont University College of Law
Belmont Law Logo.png
Parent school Belmont University
Established2011
School type Private
Dean Alberto Gonzales
Location Nashville, Tennessee, US
Enrollment276
USNWR ranking105th (2024) [1]
Bar pass rate94.29% (who sat for a bar examination within two years of their date of graduation)
Website www.belmont.edu/law
ABA profile Belmont Law

Belmont University College of Law is a private law school in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2011, the College of Law was accredited by the American Bar Association in 2013. [2]

Contents

History

Belmont University announced plans for the College of Law in 2009, with the first class beginning in 2011. [3] Belmont Law was accredited by the American Bar Association in 2013, making it the first new accredited law program in Tennessee in more than 50 years [2] and the first new law school in Middle Tennessee in nearly 100 years. [3] Belmont Law achieved American Bar Association accreditation in the earliest possible time allowed by accreditation guidelines. [2]

Curriculum

The college's curriculum includes the Juris Doctor (J.D.) with specialized certificate programs available in Criminal Law, Health Law, and Entertainment Law. [4] The College of Law curriculum focuses on creating practice-ready attorneys with a practicum requirement in each semester to help students become proficient in the “practice” of law. [5] These practicums give instruction in all aspects of the practice of law, such as legal writing, legal research, client interviewing, document drafting, litigation, negotiation, and more. [5]

In 2017, a dual JD/MBA program was launched, allowing students to take classes for both degrees concurrently and complete requirements for both degrees within three years. [6]

Facilities

Belmont Law Baskin Center Belmont Law Baskin Center.jpg
Belmont Law Baskin Center

The law school is located in the Randall and Sadie Baskin Center building, a 75,000-square-foot LEED Gold building atop a five-level underground garage. [7] The Randall and Sadie Baskin Center houses more than a dozen large classrooms, a trial courtroom, an appellate court room, faculty offices, student commons, and a two-story law library. [8]

Organizations and publications

Students can participate in local and national competitions through the Board of Advocates program, which includes mock-trial, moot-court, and transactional teams. [5]

The College of Law publishes four academic journals, the Belmont Law Review, [9] Criminal Law Journal, [10] Entertainment Law Journal, and Health Law Journal. [11]

Employment

Statistics for the class of 2018 indicate 96% of students are employed in some capacity, with 95% employed in bar-passage-required or J.D.–advantage positions. [12] Most graduates remain in state, with 89% employed in Tennessee. [13] Of those employed, 63% work at a law firm, 14.5% work in business or industry, 18.5% work in government or judicial clerkships, and 4% work in public interest. [13]

Belmont Law's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 6.4%, which reflects the percentage of the Class of 2018 that is unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a nonprofessional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation. [14]

Bar passage

On the July 2019 bar exam, 97.18% of Belmont Law's first-time test takers and 94.52% of its total takers passed, [15] the highest of any law school in Tennessee and 23.62% higher than Tennessee's 70.90% pass rate. [16] In 2018, 94.52% of Belmont Law's first-time test takers and 90.79% of its total takers passed the bar exam, [17] ranking 12th in the nation and 2nd in the state of Tennessee for bar passage. [18]

In 2022, the bar passage rate for first time test-takers was 82.5%, ranking 3rd out of 5 ranked programs in Tennessee. [19]

Costs

Tuition for the 2022-2023 school year is $48,660, [20] with 49% of students receiving scholarships. [21] Belmont Law ranks #104 in terms of highest tuition among full-time law students based on 283 tuition rates from 194 law schools, with in-state tuition counting separately. [22]

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References

  1. ↑ "Belmont University College of Law". usnews.com. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Belmont law program receives accreditation". Nashville Business Journal. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  3. 1 2 "Belmont University announces College of Law". The National Jurist. 2009-10-19. Archived from the original on 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  4. ↑ "School Detail Information". Law School Admission Council. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  5. 1 2 3 "Legal Insight 2017". Newsweek. 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-04-12. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  6. ↑ "Belmont launching joint JD/MBA". Nashville Post. 2017-04-10. Archived from the original on 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  7. ↑ "Belmont law building earns LEED Gold". Nashville Post. 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  8. ↑ "School Detail Information". officialguide.lsac.org. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  9. ↑ "Belmont Law Review". Belmont Law Review. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  10. ↑ "Belmont Criminal Law Journal". www.belmontcriminallaw.com. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  11. ↑ "Belmont Health Law Journal". www.belmonthealthlaw.com. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  12. ↑ "Of Note: 17 May 2019". Nashville Post. 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  13. 1 2 Hefner, April (2019-05-16). "College of Law Announces Record Employment Rate for Class of 2018". Belmont University News & Media. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  14. ↑ "Belmont University". Law School Transparency. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  15. ↑ "July 2019 UBE TN School Statistics" (PDF). Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-10-17.
  16. ↑ "Belmont tops in bar passage". Nashville Post. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  17. ↑ "Notes: Vanderbilt, Belmont top bar exam result". Nashville Post. 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  18. ↑ Zaretsky, Staci (3 October 2019). "The Top 50 Law Schools By First-Time Bar Exam Pass Rates (2018)". Above the Law. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  19. ↑ "What schools have the best first-time bar passage rate?". US News . Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  20. ↑ "Law School Overview". U.S. News & World Report.
  21. ↑ "BELMONT UNIVERSITY - 2018 Standard 509 Information Report" (PDF). American Bar Association Standard Disclosures. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-10-17.
  22. ↑ "Belmont University". Public Legal. Archived from the original on 2020-09-26. Retrieved 2019-09-11.

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