The University of Tulsa College of Law | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Established | 1923 |
School type | Private |
Dean | Lyn Entzeroth |
Location | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States |
Enrollment | 280 |
Faculty | 28 (full-time) |
USNWR ranking | 111th (2024) [1] |
Website | law |
The University of Tulsa College of Law is the law school of the private University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Tulsa College of Law at No. 111 among all law schools in the United States. It is the only law school in the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and northeastern Oklahoma.
The University of Tulsa College of Law was founded by local attorneys in 1923, during one of Tulsa's oil booms. The law school was originally known simply as the Tulsa Law School and was independent of the University of Tulsa. Initially, classes took place in the Central High School building in downtown Tulsa, while the law library was in the Tulsa County courthouse, a few blocks away. The faculty initially consisted of practicing Tulsa attorneys who taught classes at night. [2]
Tulsa Law was formally absorbed by the University of Tulsa in 1943. A pioneering Tulsa attorney named John Rogers is credited with making this association. [3] In 1949, the school moved into a downtown office building. In 1953, the school was accredited by the American Bar Association. During the 1950s and 60s, the library, classrooms and administrative offices were consolidated at a single location in downtown Tulsa and full-time tenured and tenure-track research faculty were hired. The school became a member of the Association of American Law Schools in 1966. The name of the school was formally changed to the University of Tulsa College of Law.
In the late 1970s, Tulsa Law became increasingly prominent in the field of energy law and policy; during this period, the Energy Law Journal and the National Energy and Law Policy Institute were established at the law school (NELPI). [4] The National Energy Law and Policy Institute was initially led by Kent Frizzell, who had served as Assistant Attorney General of the United States from 1972 to 1973 and Undersecretary of the Department of the Interior from 1975 to 1977. [5] During this time, Frizzell also taught at Tulsa Law.
In the 1990s, Tulsa Law developed a reputation for strength in legal history, hiring legal historian Bernard Schwartz (formerly of New York University Law School) and, later, Paul Finkelman. [6]
Tulsa Law moved from downtown Tulsa to its present location on the University of Tulsa's main campus in 1973, where it was housed in what was then named John Rogers Hall. [2] The building was formally dedicated with a speech by U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. [7]
In May 2016, the university decided to remove the name of John Rogers from the law school's building, in response to increased controversy about Rogers' role in the founding of the Ku Klux Klan in Tulsa in the 1920s. [8]
TU College of Law offers Juris Doctor programs for full-time and part-time students. TU Law also grants the degree of Master of Laws, or LLM, in the areas of Native American Law, Natural Resources and Energy Law, and International Law for foreign students. Additionally, the College of Law offers two online Master of Jurisprudence (MJ) degrees in Indian law and energy law. Students have the ability to obtain joint JD/MA degrees in a variety of fields including, history, English, psychology, as well as a joint JD/MBA, joint JD/Masters in Taxation, and joint JD/MS in geosciences, biological sciences, and finance. TU Law offers certificate programs in sustainable energy and resources law, Native American law, and health law.
The college also hosts a number of endowed lecture series which bring renowned scholars and jurists to campus:
The College of Law also has study abroad arrangements allowing students to study in Dublin or London.[ citation needed ]
The University of Tulsa College of Law is a national leader in teaching, scholarship and research in energy, environmental, and natural resources law and policy and Native American law.[ citation needed ]
The on-campus Boesche Legal Clinic offers students real-world experience under the supervision of clinical professors while providing pro bono legal services to disadvantaged populations. Clinics include the Immigrant Rights Project and the Lobeck Taylor Family Advocacy Clinic. Previous projects have centered on among the aged, American Indians, inter alia.
In 2016, Tulsa Law launched the Solo Practice Clinic to help its students develop the skills necessary to operate their own legal practices, which is particularly common for attorneys serving rural, small business and low-income clients, among others. [9]
According to TU Law's 2021 ABA-required disclosures, 91.6% of the Class of 2016 obtained full-time, long-term positions for which bar passage was required (75%) or for which a J.D. was an advantage (16.6%) nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners and clerkships, [10] putting TU in the middle of regional peers like Baylor Law School, [11] the University of Oklahoma College of Law, [12] and SMU Dedman School of Law. [13] The most popular destinations for TU Law graduates are Oklahoma and Texas.
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at TU Law for the 2015–2016 academic year is $58,496 (full-time). [14] 100% of TU Law students received scholarships and/or tuition benefits in 2015.
The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $201,183 (however this figure does not account for merit- or need-based aid). [15]
The notable current and former faculty of TU Law include:
Alumni | Class | Occupation | Distinction |
---|---|---|---|
Robert D. Bell | 1992 | Lawyer/Appellate Judge | Justice on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals |
Daniel J. Boudreau | 1976 | Lawyer/Appellate Judge | Justice on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals |
Samuel H. Cassidy | 1975 | Politician/Lawyer | Lieutenant Governor of Colorado 1994–1995, Professor at University of Denver |
Hugh Emerson Coleman | 1994 | Politician/Lawyer | Denton County Texas, Commissioner Precinct #1 2009-2020; Assistant County Attorney, El Paso County, Texas; Assistant Criminal District Attorney, Denton County, Texas; City Attorney for Sanger, Texas. |
John E. Dowdell | 1981 | Federal Judge/Lawyer | United States District Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. |
Angelique EagleWoman | 2004 (LLM) | Scholar/Lawyer/Law School Dean | Dean of Canada's Bora Laskin Faculty of Law; Scholar of Native American Law |
Drew Edmondson | 1979 | Lawyer/Politician | 16th Attorney General of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2011. |
Allison Garrett | 1987 | Attorney/Educator | Chancellor of Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (2021–present); former President of Emporia State University (2016–2021); former Walmart Vice President/Legal Counsel. [18] |
Ross Goodman | 1995 | Lawyer | High-profile criminal defense lawyer in Las Vegas |
Brian Jack Goree | 1989 | Attorney | Judge, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals (2012–present) |
David Hall [lower-alpha 1] | 1959 | Politician | Governor of Oklahoma (1971–1975) |
John F. Heil III | 1994 | Federal Judge | Formerly shareholder of Hall Estill; now a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. |
Stacie L. Hixon | 2002 | Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals | Appointed to state Civil Appeals court in March 2020; previously worked for private law practices in Tulsa. |
Fern Holland [lower-alpha 1] | 1996 | Human Rights Lawyer | Human rights advocate and investigator known for her work with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq |
Dana Kuehn | 1996 | Judge | Oklahoma Supreme Court Formerly Court of Criminal Appeals’ presiding judge; appointed to Oklahoma Supreme Court July 2001. |
Brian Kuester | 2000 | Lawyer | United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma |
Bill LaFortune | 1983 | Politician/Lawyer | Mayor of Tulsa |
Orville Edwin Langley [lower-alpha 1] | 1940 | Federal Judge and US Attorney | United States District Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma from 1961 to 1965 |
Robert E. Lavender [lower-alpha 1] | 1953 | Appellate Judge | Justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court (1965 - 2007) |
Stacy Leeds | 1997 | Scholar/Judge/Law School Dean | Dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law; scholar of Native American Law; Supreme Court Justice for Cherokee Nation |
Mark McCullough | 1998 | Politician | Oklahoma State Representative (2007–2017) |
Michael Mulligan | 1987 | Attorney/Prosecutor | Lead prosecutor in the courts-martial of Hasan Akbar and of Nidal Malik Hasan, the sole accused in the November 2009 Fort Hood shooting. |
John M. O'Connor | 1980 | Lawyer/Politician | 19th Attorney General of Oklahoma (2021–present). |
Charles L. Owens [lower-alpha 1] | 1960 | Judge | First African-American judge in Oklahoma [19] and Supreme Court lawyer [20] |
Elizabeth Crewson Paris | 1987 | Federal Judge | Judge of the United States Tax Court and adjunct instructor at Georgetown University Law Center |
Layn R. Phillips | 1977 | Federal Judge and attorney | Former United States District Judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma from 1984 to 1987, and former partner at Irell & Manella. |
Scott Pruitt | 1993 | Politician/Lawyer | Attorney General of Oklahoma (2011–2017); former Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
Rodger Randle | 1979 | Politician/Academic | Mayor of Tulsa (1988–1992); President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate; President of predecessor to Rogers State University |
Keith Rapp | 1984 | Appellate Judge | |
John F. Reif | 1977 | Judge (Retired - 2019) | Justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court (2007 - 2019) |
Clinton Riggs [lower-alpha 1] | 1954 | Law Enforcement educator and inventor | Law Enforcement educator and innovator, inventor of the first Yield sign |
Scott J. Silverman | 1981 | Judge | Dade County Court judge (1991–1998); circuit court judge 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida (1998–2012) |
Robert D. Simms [lower-alpha 1] | 1950 | Attorney/ Judge | Justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court (1985 - 1999) |
Chad "Corntassel" Smith | 1980 | Politician | Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation (1999–2011) |
Clancy Smith | 1980 | Retired judge | Justice of Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (2010–2017) |
Jerry L. Smith [lower-alpha 1] | 1970 | Politician | Oklahoma State Representative (1973–1981) and Senator (1981–2004) |
Burt Solomons | 1978 | Real estate and construction attorney | Texas State Representative from 1995 to 2013 from Denton County |
Geoffrey Standing Bear | 1980 | Politician | Principal Chief of Osage Nation (2014–Present) |
Leigh H. Taylor | 1966 | Law professor, law school dean, and civil rights attorney | Former Dean of Southwestern Law School and Dean of Claude W. Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University |
Stratton Taylor | 1982 | Politician | Oklahoma State Representative (1979–1981) and Senator (1981–2007) |
P. Thomas Thornbrugh | 1974 | Lawyer and judge | Judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals |
Mike Turpen | 1974 | Lawyer and politician | Attorney General of Oklahoma (1983–1987), chair of Oklahoma Democratic Party |
Jane Wiseman | 1973 | Appellate Judge | Judge on Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals |
Harry M. Wyatt III | 1980 | Military | Director, Air National Guard, the Pentagon, Washington, DC (2009–2013) |
Columbia Law School (CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. It was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The university was known for its legal scholarship dating back to the 18th century. Graduates of the university's colonial predecessor, King's College, include such notable early-American legal figures as John Jay, the first chief justice of the United States, and Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, who were co-authors of The Federalist Papers.
Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United States. Its yield rate of 87% is also consistently the highest of any law school in the United States.
Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) is a private law and public policy graduate school in South Royalton, Vermont, and is the only ABA-accredited law school in the state. It offers several degrees, including Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law, Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP), Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy (MFALP), Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL), and dual degrees with a diverse range of institutions. According to the school's 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 61.5% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL), Juris Doctor (JD), and Doctor of the Science of Law (SJD) degree programs.
The Boston University School of Law is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Approximately 630 students are enrolled in the full-time J.D. degree program and about 350 in the school's five LLM degree programs. BU Law was one of the first law schools in the country to admit students to study law regardless of race or gender.
The University at Buffalo School of Law is the law school of the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1887, and affiliated with Niagara University until 1891, it is the State University of New York (SUNY) system's only law school.
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.
Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of the Illinois Institute of Technology, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois.
The Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL) is the law school of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman, Oklahoma. The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Board of Regents.
Paul Finkelman is an American legal historian. He is the author or editor of more than 50 books on American legal and constitutional history, slavery, general American history and baseball. In addition, he has authored more than 200 scholarly articles on these and many other subjects. From 2017 - 2022, Finkelman served as the President and Chancellor of Gratz College, Melrose Park, Pennsylvania.
SMU Dedman School of Law, commonly referred to as SMU Law School or Dedman School of Law, is a law school located in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in February 1925. SMU Law School is located on the campus of its parent institution, Southern Methodist University.
The University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor or Master of Studies in Law. The Wolf Law Building is located in Boulder, Colorado, and is sited on the south side of the University of Colorado at Boulder campus. The law school houses the William A. Wise Law Library, which is a regional archive for federal government materials and is open to the public. United States Supreme Court Justice Wiley Blount Rutledge graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in 1922.
The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law is the law school at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is located in the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's downtown Phoenix campus. Created in 1965 as the Arizona State University College of Law upon recommendation of the Arizona Board of Regents, with the first classes held in the fall of 1967. The school has held American Bar Association accreditation since 1969 and is a member of the Order of the Coif. The school is also a member of the Association of American Law Schools. In 2006, the law school was renamed in honor of Phoenix resident, Stanford graduate, and retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Oklahoma City University School of Law, also known as OCU Law, is the law school of Oklahoma City University. OCU Law is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was founded in 1907. OCU Law was located in the Sarkeys Law Center on the southwest side of the Oklahoma City University campus until spring 2015, when it moved to a new campus near downtown Oklahoma City.
The Sturm College of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Denver. It is one of two law schools in the state of Colorado. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law was one of the first in America's Mountain West. The college is located on the University of Denver's campus, about seven miles south of downtown Denver. According to Denver Law's 2017 ABA-required disclosures, 67.9% of the Class of 2017 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners.
William & Mary Law School, formally the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, is the law school of the College of William & Mary, a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. It is the oldest extant law school in the United States, having been founded in 1779 at the urging of alumnus Thomas Jefferson. As of 2023, it has an enrollment of 606 full-time students seeking a Juris Doctor (J.D.) or a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in the American Legal System, a two or three semester program for lawyers trained outside the United States.
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.
Wake Forest University School of Law is the law school of Wake Forest University, a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Established in 1894, Wake Forest University School of Law is an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). The current dean is Andrew R. Klein.