Drake University Law School

Drake University Law School
Parent school	Drake University
Established	1865
Parent endowment	$538.2 million (2022)
Dean	Roscoe Jones, Jr.
Location	Des Moines, Iowa, US 41°36′08″N93°39′11″W / 41.60216°N 93.65306°W / 41.60216; -93.65306
Enrollment	330
USNWR ranking	84th (tie) (2025) [1]
Website	www.drake.edu/law/

Drake University Law School is the law school affiliated with Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa. Over 330 full-time students attend the institution. Roscoe Jones, Jr. serves as the dean of the Law School. ^[2]

Founded in 1865, Drake Law School is one of the 25 oldest law schools in the United States. It was established by Iowa Supreme Court justices George G. Wright and Chester Cole, who aimed to teach law in proximity to the courts so students could witness the law in action.

History

Founder Justice Chester C. Cole

Established in 1865 by Chester C. Cole, a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, Drake Law School is one of the top 25 oldest law schools in the country and the second law school founded west of the Mississippi River after the University of Iowa, which Justice Cole co-founded with Justice George G. Wright. Justice Cole felt that having a law school located in the state capital would be advantageous. ^{[3] [4]} In time, Drake Law alumni would fill the ranks of all branches of Iowa local and state government.

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: Agricultural Law, Children's Rights, Constitutional Law, Intellectual Property, and Legislative Practice
• 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 1Ls)
• LL.M./M.J. Program in Intellectual Property
• M.J. Program in Health Law
• LL.M./M.J. Program in Individualized Legal Studies (Concentrations in: Business Law, Criminal Law, Estate Planning, Family Counseling and the Law, Human Rights and Global Citizenship, Legislative Practice and Government Relations, Sustainable Development)

Drake Law Review

The Drake Law Review is nationally ranked among the top 40 law journals for the number of times courts have cited its articles. Drake is in the top group of more than 1,640 journals in the rankings. ^[5]

Renovated in 2013, Cartwright Hall houses classrooms and conference spaces, technology, and the faculty and administration of Drake Law.

The Drake Law Review is published quarterly by Drake Law students. In the past few years, the Drake Law Review has published articles by 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:

• Sean Bagniewski, member of the Iowa House of Representatives
• Turner W. Bell, pioneering black criminal defense attorney
• Mark W. Bennett, former federal judge for the Northern District of Iowa
• Robert D. Blue, former governor of Iowa
• Terry Branstad, former and longest-serving governor of Iowa, former U.S. Ambassador to China
• Mark Cady, former chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court ^[6]
• Russell C. Davis, United States Air Force lieutenant general ^[7]
• George Gardner Fagg, United States federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ^[8]
• Adam Gregg, former Iowa lieutenant governor
• James E. Gritzner, federal judge for the Southern District of Iowa since 2002
• John Alfred Jarvey, former federal judge for the Southern District of Iowa from 2007 to 2022
• Daniel Jay, former member of the Iowa House of Representatives ^[9]
• Gary Lambert (politician), former New Hampshire state senator
• Louis A. Lavorato, former chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
• Dustin Manwaring, member of the Idaho House of Representatives ^[10]
• Brian Meyer, member of the Iowa House of Representatives ^[11]
• C. Edwin Moore, former chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
• Jim Nussle, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Director of the Office of Management and Budget
• Dwight D. Opperman, former CEO of West Publishing Company
• James W. Porter, chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court ^[12]
• Robert D. Ray, former governor of Iowa
• Ione Genevieve Shadduck, educator, women's rights activist, and attorney
• Neal Smith, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Marsha Ternus, former chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
• Jack Whitver, current Iowa state senator and Senate Majority Leader
• David Wiggins, former justice of the Iowa Supreme Court ^[13]
• Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President and CEO of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)

Employment

According to Drake's official ABA-required disclosures, 94-95% of the classes of 2022, 2023, and 2024 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage required jobs 10 months after graduation.

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Drake for the 2024-2025 academic year is $68,974. Drake Law School offers both guaranteed and conditional scholarships, that latter of which depend upon the student maintaining a specific grade point average, rather than remaining in good academic standing.

References

1. "Drake University". U.S. News & World Report – Best Law Schools. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
2. "Adjunct Instructor, Complex Litigation - School of Law (240015)". Drake University. March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
3. "Drake University Record". Drake University College of Law. June 1905. p. 2. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
4. "Judicial Branch". judicial.state.ia.us. 2001 Iowa Court Information System. Archived from the original on December 11, 2004. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
5. "Law Journals: Submissions and Ranking". lawlib.wlu.edu. Archived from the original on May 8, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
6. "Iowa Judicial Branch". Archived from the original on October 22, 2014.
7. "LIEUTENANT GENERAL RUSSELL C. DAVIS > Air Force > Biography Display".
8. "Biographical Directory of Federal Judges Fagg, George Gardner". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
9. Iowa Legislative Services Agency. "State Representative Daniel J. Jay" . Retrieved August 19, 2018.
10. "House Membership – Idaho State Legislature".
11. "Newly elected state Rep. Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, takes oath of office today | des Moines Register Staff Blogs". Archived from the original on November 8, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
12. "Justice Porter Is Claimed by Death", The Twin Falls Times-News (December 9, 1959), p. 1, 2.
13. "Justice David Wiggins". Iowa Judicial Branch. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.

External links

• The Drake University Bulletin Volume 7, Issue 1, (Drake University Law School history), Drake University, 1903.