Southern Illinois University School of Law

Last updated
Southern Illinois University
School of Law
SIU School of Law 08-04.JPG
Lesar Law Building
Established1972
School type Public
Dean Camille Davidson
Location Carbondale, Illinois, USA
Enrollment237 (2020)
Faculty30 (full time)
USNWR ranking147–193 (2022)
Bar pass rate82.69 (2018)
Website law.siu.edu

Southern Illinois University School of Law (SIU Law) is one of four public law schools in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, it is the only law school in the southern region of Illinois.

Contents

History

The Southern Illinois University School of Law's history began in 1972, when it was established by the Illinois state legislature. Its first class entered in August 1973. The school is housed in the Lesar Law Building, named for its first dean Hiram H. Lesar. The School of Law offers the Juris Doctor degree through a full-time program.

On February 5, 2024, SIU announced the School of Law had received a $10 million gift from John and Jayne Simmons, and would be renamed Simmons Law School, pending Board of Trustees approval. [1]

Programs

The School of Law offers specializations in Business and Transactional Law, Health Law, Intellectual Property, International and Comparative Law, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, and Public Interest Law.

In addition, joint degree programs include: J.D./Doctor of Medicine, J.D./Doctor of Political Science, J.D./Master of Accountancy, J.D./Master of Business Administration, J.D./Master of Science in Education, J.D./Master of Electrical and Computer Engineering, J.D./Master of Public Administration, and J.D./Master of Social Work.

Employment

According to SIU Law's official 2020 ABA-required disclosures, 59.40% of the Class of 2020 obtained employment as of March 15, 2020. [2]

Costs

The tuition at SIU Law for the 2020-21 academic year (15 hours each semester) is $21,870 for Illinois residents and out-of-state students (with a tuition offset covering the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition rates). [3]

SIU Law was ranked 21 out of 193 law schools for average debt incurred at graduation by US News in their 2022 Best Law Schools rankings. [4]

Student organizations

The School of Law offers its students the opportunity to join over 20 student organizations including:

Journal

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

The Southern Illinois University Law Journal is a student-edited journal that publishes articles designed to assist the legal community and to stimulate critical discussion of current legal, policy, and social issues. The Journal publishes three issues per year.

Clinics and Externships

Civil Practice/Elderly Clinic

The Civil Practice/Elderly Clinic provides a full range of civil legal services to those 60 and over in 13 counties in southern Illinois. These services include the drafting of simple wills and powers of attorney, assistance with securing public benefits and entitlements including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Veteran's benefits. In addition, the clinic handles family law (divorce, etc.) matters, consumer problems, and public utilities problems. [5]

Domestic Violence Clinic

The Domestic Violence Clinic provides legal representation to victims of domestic violence in Jackson, Williamson and Union counties. In an average order of protection case, students will interview the client, prepare the client for a hearing, appear before the court in a contested or uncontested hearing, prepare an order for the court, and follow through with the necessary steps to make the order enforceable. [6]

Juvenile Justice Clinic

Students enrolled in the Juvenile Justice Clinic work with an experienced clinic attorney and perform legal services and duties to minors for whom the clinic attorney has been appointed guardian ad litem. [7]

The Veterans' Legal Assistance Program provides free legal assistance to veterans in southern Illinois who cannot afford or do not have access to legal representation in the appeals of claims for compensation for service-connected disabilities, pension benefits, survivor benefits, and education benefits. [8]

Judicial Externship

The Judicial Externship offers an opportunity for law students to learn about the legal system by working for a sitting judge.

Public Interest Externship

The Public Interest Externship offers hands-on experience working in a publicly funded law office providing public-service legal assistance. Placements include state's attorney offices, public defender offices, legal service offices, and non-profit organizations and governmental agencies.

Alumni

Since the first class graduated in 1976, the number of SIU School of Law graduates has grown to more than 4,573. Alumni practice law in 47 of the 50 states and internationally in more than 12 countries, with more than 144 hold or have held federal and state judgeships. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Georgia School of Law</span> Public law school in Athens, Georgia, US

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 among the oldest American university law schools in continuous operation. Georgia Law accepted 14.77% of applicants for the class entering in 2023.

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 City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland Law in the Baltimore-Washington legal and business community. Founded in 1816, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quinnipiac University School of Law</span> Law school in Connecticut, U.S.

Quinnipiac University School of Law is located in North Haven, Connecticut. It is one of Quinnipiac University's graduate schools. Quinnipiac Law is the newest law school in Connecticut, having received full accreditation from the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1992. It is a member of the Association of American Law Schools, and is currently ranked 147-192 by U.S. News & World Report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Maine School of Law</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago-Kent College of Law</span> Law school of the Illinois Institute of Technology

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Illinois Chicago School of Law</span> Public law school in Chicago

University of Illinois Chicago School of Law is the law school of the University of Illinois Chicago, a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1899, it became affiliated with the university in 2019. The school offers programs for both part-time and full-time students, with both day and night classes available, and offers January enrollment.

DePaul University College of Law is the professional graduate law school of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 125 full- and part-time faculty members and enrolls more than 500 students in its Juris Doctor program. The school is recognized for its health law and intellectual property law programs, its experiential learning opportunities, and for its multiple joint degree programs offered in conjunction with other DePaul University colleges and schools.

Western New England University School of Law is a private, ABA-accredited law school in Springfield, Massachusetts. Established in 1919, Western New England Law offers both full-time and part-time programs. It is a college within Western New England University. In 2023, US News ranked the school's full-time program between 180 and 196 of the 196 schools ranked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William H. Bowen School of Law</span>

The UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law is a public law school, part of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The school is both American Bar Association (ABA) accredited and a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).

The Valparaiso University Law School was the law school of Valparaiso University, a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. Founded in 1879, the school was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1929 and admitted to the Association of American Law Schools in 1930. In October 2016, the ABA censured the school for admitting applicants who did not appear capable of satisfactorily completing the school's program of legal education and being admitted to the bar. One year later, the school suspended admissions and shut down after the last class graduated in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emory University School of Law</span> Private law school in Atlanta, Georgia, US

Emory University School of Law is the law school of Emory University and is part of the university's main campus in Druid Hills, Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1916 and was the first law school in Georgia to be granted membership in the American Association of Law Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gonzaga University School of Law</span> Law school in Washington, U.S.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Louis University School of Law</span> Law school in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

Saint Louis University School of Law, also known as SLU Law, is the law school affiliated with Saint Louis University, a private Jesuit research university in Saint Louis, Missouri. The school has been American Bar Association approved since 1924 and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne State University Law School</span> Public law school in Detroit, Michigan, US

Wayne State University Law School is the law school of Wayne State University in Detroit. Wayne Law is located in Midtown, Detroit's Cultural Center. Founded in 1927, the law school offers juris doctor (J.D.), master of laws (LL.M.), online master of studies in law, and minors in law degree programs. Wayne Law's more than 12,000 alumni include judges, justices, law firm partners and government officials working in every major market in the United States and at least 17 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pepperdine University School of Law</span> Law school in Malibu, California, US

The Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law is the law school of Pepperdine University, a private research university in Los Angeles County, California. The school offers the Juris Doctor (JD), and various Masters of Laws (LLM) options in Dispute Resolution, International Commercial Arbitration, United States Law, and Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law. The school also offers joint degrees with its JD and Master of Dispute Resolution (MDR) in partnership with other Pepperdine University graduate schools. The school now offers an online Master of Legal Studies program and an online Master of Dispute Resolution program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William & Mary Law School</span> Public law school in Williamsburg, Virginia, US

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Missouri School of Law</span> Public law school in Columbia, Missouri, US

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake Forest University School of Law</span> Private law school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn State Law</span> Law school in University Park, Pennsylvania, US

Penn State Law, located in University Park, Pennsylvania, is one of two separately accredited law schools of the Pennsylvania State University. Penn State Law offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees. The school also offers a joint J.D./M.B.A. with the Smeal College of Business, a joint J.D./M.I.A. degree with the School of International Affairs, which is also located in the Lewis Katz Building, as well as joint degrees with other graduate programs at Penn State.

References

  1. ↑ "John and Jayne Simmons make $10M gift to SIU's law school | SIU Foundation Blog". blog.siuf.org. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  2. ↑ "ABA Required Disclosures | School of Law | SIU". law.siu.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  3. ↑ "Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Tuition & Fees". tuition.siuc.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  4. ↑ "U.S. News & World Report 2022 Best Law Schools". May 12, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Southern Illinois University School of Law". Archived from the original on 2011-09-22. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  6. ↑ "Southern Illinois University School of Law". Archived from the original on 2011-09-22. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  7. ↑ "Southern Illinois University School of Law". Archived from the original on 2011-09-22. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  8. ↑ "Veterans' Legal Assistance Program Clinic | School of Law | SIU". law.siu.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  9. ↑ "Alumni | School of Law | SIU". law.siu.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-12.

37°42′49.2″N89°13′48.6″W / 37.713667°N 89.230167°W / 37.713667; -89.230167

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.