John Giffen Weinmann Hall, Tulane University Law School's main building.
The law school's 160,000-square-foot (15,000m2) building, John Giffen Weinmann Hall, was completed in 1995. Designed to integrate classrooms, a student lounge, a computer lab, faculty offices, and a law library that contains both national and international collections, the building is centrally located on Tulane's Uptown campus. The law school has been on the Uptown campus since 1906, and has been housed in several buildings since then, until the completion of Weinmann Hall. The law school was located in Jones Hall from 1969 until 1995, where scenes for The Pelican Brief were filmed.
Next to Weinmann Hall on the 6200 block of Freret Street is the Law Annex, a light gray cobblestone building that houses the Center for Energy Law and the Center for Environmental Law. The Law Annex was a faculty residence before being converted for its current use.[4] Nearby is the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane's main library; the Lavin-Bernick Center, which houses university dining facilities and the university bookstore; the Reily Student Recreation Center (a gym with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and basketball, squash, and tennis courts); the Freeman School of Business; the Newcomb Art Gallery; and various other buildings.
Jones Hall, where the law school was located from 1969 until 1995 and where scenes for The Pelican Brief were filmed.
To complete the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program, a student must finish six semesters in residence, 88 credit hours, an upper-level writing requirement, and a 50-hour community-service obligation. The first-year curriculum comprises eight required courses. The first-year legal-research-and-writing program is taught by instructors with significant experience as lawyers and writers, each assisted by senior fellows.
After the first year, all courses are electives, except for a required legal-profession course. All first year and many upper-class courses are taught in multiple sections to allow for smaller classes. The upper-class curriculum includes introductory as well as advanced courses in a broad range of subject areas, including international and comparative law, business law, corporate law, environmental law, maritime law, criminal law, intellectual property, taxation, litigation, and civil procedure, among others.
Tulane Law offers six optional concentration programs for J.D. students who wish to receive one certificate of completion in an area. The six are European legal studies, environmental law, international and comparative law, maritime law, sports law, or civil law.
Tulane's Eason Weinmann Center for Comparative Law,[5] its Maritime Law Center,[6] and its Institute on Water Policy & Law,[7] promote scholarship in comparative, maritime, and environmental law.
Tulane conducts an annual summer school in New Orleans and offers summer-study programs abroad. Tulane also offers semester-long exchange programs with select law schools in a number of countries throughout the world.
In addition to the J.D., the school offers two graduate degrees in law: The Master of Laws (LL.M.) the Doctor of Laws (S.J.D.) program. The five specialized LL.M. programs are in: maritime law, energy and environmental law, American business law, American law, and international and comparative law.[8] LL.M. students may also pursue a general LL.M., which does not concentrate in any one area.[8]
Tulane benefits from having a top law school and a top business school located immediately next to one another, both of which consistently rank among the top 50 in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report and the Financial Times[12] (the Finance department in particular has been ranked among the top 10 in the world on several occasions).[13][14] This close proximity has facilitated the growth of Tulane's JD/MBA program. In the '06–'07 school year, Tulane boasted of having 25 joint JD/MBA candidates.[15] In March 2007, Tulane announced that it had hired a new business law professor, whose objectives would include "maximiz[ing]...the growth of the Law School's JD/MBA joint degree," and strengthening ties between the law school and Freeman School of Business.[16] In January 2008, the Tulane JD/MBA Club held a networking event in New York City with the creator of jdmba.com, an interschool JD/MBA networking website.
Recent JD/MBA graduates have gone on to work for law firms, management consulting firms, investment banks, and in-house legal departments in New York, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and other cities. The program does not require highly qualified applicants to have significant full-time work experience.
In March 2009, the university announced the designation of a $1.5 million donation to support in perpetuity a JD/MBA professor of national stature at Tulane.[17]
JD/MHA program
The joint Juris Doctor/Master of Health Administration program with the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (TUSPH&TM) permits students to earn both degrees in 4 years, whereas normally the JD would take 3 years and the MHA, 2 years. Students take 79 units in the law school (rather than the normally-required 88 units) and 46 units in TUSPH&TM.[18] Students are permitted to skip the course Social and Behavioral Aspects of Global Health which is normally required for the Public Health Core.[18] Students take Health Care Law in the law school instead of the TUSPH&TM version of the course, and the course counts for both JD and MHA.
In recent years, the program has enrolled 0–2 students per year and graduating students have gone into health care law practice and health care management in approximately equal numbers.
JD/MA in Latin American Studies
Enriched by Tulane's position of hosting one of the top Latin American Studies programs in the United States, the joint degree in law and Latin American Studies meets the need for "lawyer-statesmen" who know the law and who understand the societies of Latin America. The program employs a multi-disciplinary approach intended to enhance appreciation of the economic, social, political, and other forces in Latin America that influence the development of law and legal institutions. In addition to law school requirements, students pursuing the joint JD/MA in Latin American Studies must complete 24 semester hours of coursework in graduate courses approved by the Roger Thayer Stone Center for Latin American Studies. Demonstrated competence in either Spanish or Portuguese is required, and competence in both is encouraged.
Degrees in international development
The Payson Center for International Development, which became part of the Law School in 2008, confers Master of Science, Joint Juris Doctor and Master of Science, Master of Laws (LLM) in Development, and Doctoral degrees.[19]
Employment statistics
According to Tulane Law School's 2015 ABA-required disclosures, 60% of the Class of 2015 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners, and 4.9% of the class was seeking employment but not employed.[20] According to Tulane Law School's official 2017 ABA-required disclosures, 63.3% of the Class of 2016 was employed in non-school-funded, full-time, long-term, bar passage required jobs nine months after graduation, and 6.5% of the class was seeking employment but not employed.[21]
Career development services
Tulane Law School's Career Development Office has five career counselors, newly recruited.[22] The School also has an office coordinator.
Rankings and reputation
According to the 2023–2024 rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, Tulane University Law School is ranked 78th (tied) amongst 196 law schools fully accredited by the American Bar Association.[23] In March 2018, Law.com ranked Tulane Law 36th among its list of The Top 50 Go-To Law Schools.[24] Tulane Law is ranked 37th in Law School 100's 2018 ranking, which relies on a qualitative assessment.[25] The Leiter Law School ranking, conducted in 2010, put Tulane at 38th, based on student quality.[26] The Hylton law school rankings, conducted in 2006, put Tulane at 39th.[27]
Bar passage
Tulane University Law School graduates had the 2nd highest passing rate, after LSU, on the Louisiana State Bar Exam administered in July 2021, according to results released by the Louisiana Supreme Court Committee. In all, 84.3 percent of Tulane students passed the bar on their first attempt, compared to the state average of 78.4 percent.[28]
Ethnic diversity
In scoring that runs from .14 (least ethnically diverse) to .73 (most diverse), Tulane's diversity index, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report Law School Diversity Index, is .33, with Hispanic students the largest minority at 8% of the student body.[29] By way of comparison, among the top ten of U.S. News & World Report's Best Law Schools, those nearest to Tulane in this category are Duke University, with a score of .42, and University of Virginia, at .37.
More recently, Tulane Law's total student population is 76% White, with Students of Color making up 24% of the student body.[30] Tulane Law Faculty's is composed of only 8 Full-Time Faculty members of Color and 9 more Non-full-Time Faculty of color for a total of 17 or 14% of its total faculty.[30]
Costs
Tuition and fees for a full-time Tulane Law School student for the 2017–2018 academic year are $54,658 ($50,358 tuition and $4,300 in mandatory fees). The total cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books and living expenses) for the 2017–2018 academic year is estimated at $77,334.[31]
Law School Transparency estimated total cost of attendance for three years at $284,440 in 2017,[32] noting that for the 2015–16 academic year, 32.3% of students received scholarships of 50% or more of tuition and fees.[33]
An active moot court program holds trial and appellate competitions within the school and fields teams for a variety of interschool competitions.[34] The Law School has a chapter of the Order of the Coif.[35] The Student Bar Association functions as the student government and recommends students for appointment to faculty committees.[36] Over 40 student organizations are active at Tulane, including Tulane Criminal Law Society, Federal Bar Association, Maritime Law Society, Sports Law Society, Tulane Women In Law, OUTLaw, Black Law Students Association, Latinx Law Student Association (Formally known as La Alianza), Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Energy & Environmental Law Society, and several legal fraternities.[37] The Tulane Public Interest Law Foundation raises funds, matched by the Law School, to support as many as 30 students each summer in public interest fellowships with a variety of organizations.[38]
Journals published or edited at Tulane Law School include:
Lawrence Ponoroff – former professor and dean (was 21st dean from 2001 to 2009); appointed by the Chief Justice to the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules to the United States
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it became a comprehensive public university in the University of Louisiana in 1847. The institution became private under the endowments of Paul Tulane and Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1884 and 1887. The Tulane University Law School and Tulane University Medical School are, respectively, the 12th oldest law school and 15th oldest medical school in the United States.
Columbia Law School (CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City.
Stanford Law School (SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% in 2021, the second-lowest of any law school in the country. George Triantis currently serves as Dean.
The University of Georgia School of Law is the law school of the University of Georgia, a public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it one of the oldest American university law schools in continuous operation. Georgia Law accepted 14.77% of applicants for the class entering in 2023.
A Master of Laws is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In most jurisdictions, the LL.M. is the advanced professional degree for those usually already admitted into legal practice.
Boston College Law School is the law school of Boston College, a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It is situated on a 40-acre (160,000 m2) campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill.
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1816, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States.
The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University in New York City. Founded in 1976 and now located on Fifth Avenue near Union Square in Lower Manhattan, the school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo graduated its first class in 1979. An LL.M. program was established in 1998. Cardozo is nondenominational and has a secular curriculum, in contrast to some of Yeshiva University's undergraduate programs. Around 320 students begin the J.D. program per year, of whom about 57% are women. In addition, there are about 60–70 LL.M. students each year.
The George Washington University Law School is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in the national capital. GW Law has 275 elective courses in business and finance law, environmental law, government procurement law, intellectual property law, international comparative law, litigation and dispute resolution, and national security and U.S. foreign relations law.
The American University Washington College of Law is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of northwest Washington, D.C. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the AALS.
The University of Maine School of Law is a public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Maine System. The school's current dean is Leigh Saufley, who assumed the post in 2020. Until 1972 the School of Law was located at 68 High Street, Portland. In 1972, the School of Law moved to the University of Maine School of Law Building, which is adjacent to the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus. In 2023, the Law School moved to 300 Fore Street, on the waterfront of downtown Portland.
The University of Miami School of Law is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida.
Vanderbilt University Law School is the law school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law enrolls approximately 640 students, with each entering Juris Doctor class consisting of approximately 175 students.
The Washington University School of Law (WashULaw) is the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1867, the law school was originally located in downtown St. Louis, and relocated in 1904 to the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.
The Gonzaga University School of Law is the professional school for the study of law at Gonzaga University. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accredited by the American Bar Association since 1951, and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test takers passed the bar exam, placing the law schools' graduates as fifth-best at passing the New York bar exam among New York's 15 law schools.
The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1909.
The A. B.Freeman School of Business is the business school of Tulane University, located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The school offers undergraduate programs, a full-time MBA program and other master's programs, a doctoral program, and executive education. It was a charter member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916. The school was named in honor of A. B. Freeman, a former chairman of the Louisiana Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and a prominent New Orleans philanthropist. The school is known in the finance community as the publisher of Burkenroad Reports.
The University of Missouri School of Law is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The school was founded in 1872 by the Curators of the University of Missouri. Its alumni include governors, legislators, judges, attorneys general, and law professors across the country. According to Mizzou Law's 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 82 percent of the 2016 class obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is the law school of Indiana University Bloomington, a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. Established in 1842, the school is named after alumnus Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapolis businessman who donated $35 million to the school in 2008.
↑ "Dunbar, Charles E". A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography (lahistory.org). Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
↑ "Bio". Jonathan Turley. 2010-12-07. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
↑ Revista general de legislación y jurisprudencia (in Spanish). 91. Puerto Rico: Editorial Reus: 26. 1960.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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