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
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 moot-court team has won numerous competitions, including: National Champions of the 17th Annual Emory Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition,[9] 2017, 2023 Regional Champions of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) National Appellate Advocacy Competition,[10][11] National Champions of the 2018 Emory Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition.[12]
The College of Law publishes two academic journals, the Belmont Law Review[13] and the Belmont Law Journal (Dean Deborah Farringer merged the Criminal Law Journal,[14] Entertainment Law Journal, and Health Law Journal[15] into a single journal in the Summer of 2023.)[16][17][18]
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.[19] Most graduates remain in state, with 89% employed in Tennessee.[20] 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.[20]
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.[21]
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,[22] the highest of any law school in Tennessee and 23.62% higher than Tennessee's 70.90% pass rate.[23] In 2018, 94.52% of Belmont Law's first-time test takers and 90.79% of its total takers passed the bar exam,[24] ranking 12th in the nation and 2nd in the state of Tennessee for bar passage.[25] Belmont's success has been attributed to the bar preparation course created by Jeff Kinsler, Belmont Law's founding Dean.[26]
In 2023, the bar passage rate for first time test-takers was 93.4%, ranking 1st out of 5 programs in Tennessee.[27]
Bar Pass Outcomes Within Two Years of Graduation[34][35]
Graduation Year
Total Pass Rate
2021
95.65%
2020
94.95%
2019
100.00%
2018
100.00%
2017
94.74%
2016
94.29%
2015
96.51%
Costs
Tuition for the 2022-2023 school year is $48,660,[36] with 49% of students receiving scholarships.[37] 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.[38]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
