Boston College Law School

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Boston College Law School
Boston College Seal.svg
Motto Αἰέν ἀριστεύειν
Established 1926
School type Private Jesuit
Dean Vincent Rougeau
Location Newton, Massachusetts, US
Enrollment 794[1]
Faculty 103 (Fall)
110 (Spring)[1]
USNWR ranking 27[2]
Bar pass rate 94.0%[1]
Website www.bc.edu/schools/law

Boston College Law School (BC Law) is one of the six professional graduate schools at Boston College. Located approximately 1.5 miles from the main Boston College campus in Chestnut Hill, Boston College Law School is situated on a 40-acre (160,000 m2) wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts.

With approximately 800 students and 125 faculty members, the Law School is one of the largest of BC's seven graduate and professional schools.[3] Admission to BC Law is among the most selective law schools in the country, with 18% of applicants being accepted in 2010.[4] 29% of the students are AHANA.[citation needed] Reflecting its Jesuit heritage, BC Law has established programs in human rights, social justice and public interest law. Its faculty played a part in arguing for the repeal of the Solomon Amendment, presenting oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court in Rumsfeld v. FAIR. The median private sector starting salary is $160,000, and the median public sector starting salary is $57,000, although these numbers are based on self-reporting statistics. Estimated cost of attendance is $60,908.[5]

Over the past several years BC Law graduates have received post-graduate fellowships in the public interest field, including the Skadden Fellowship, the Soros Justice Fellowship, and the NAPIL Equal Justice Works Fellowship.[citation needed] The Law School was listed by NAPIL as among the top 25 law schools for commitment to loan repayment assistance and easing student debt.[citation needed] BC Law currently provides over $260,000 each year in loan repayment assistance to graduates pursuing public interest careers, an increase of over 50% from prior years.[citation needed] BC Law has also consistently been ranked in the top five by US News in Most Collegial Law Schools. In 2007, the National Law Journal ranked BC Law in the top 15 schools based on law schools with the highest percentage of graduates hired by the top American law firms.[6]

Contents

History [edit]

Although provisions for a law school were included in the original charter for Boston College, ratified by the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1863, Boston College Law School was formally organized in the 1920s and opened its doors on September 26, 1929. It was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1932 and the Association of American Law Schools in 1937. Originally located in the Lawyer's Building opposite the Massachusetts State House in central Boston, it moved to the main Boston College campus in 1954 and to its present 40-acre (160,000 m2) campus, the home of the former Newton College of the Sacred Heart, in 1975.

Nicknames [edit]

Stemming from the nickname of Boston College athletics teams, the term "Legal Eagle" is sometimes used to refer to students and alumni of Boston College Law School. The term Triple Eagle, which technically designates a recipient of any three degrees from Boston College, is usually used to refer to graduates of Boston College High School, Boston College, and BC Law.

Academics [edit]

Curriculum [edit]

In addition to J.D., M.A. and Ph.D. programs, Boston College Law School offers joint degrees with BC's Carroll School of Management (J.D./M.B.A.), Graduate School of Social Work (J.D./M.S.W.) and Lynch School of Education (J.D./M.Ed.). Joint degrees in the humanities, fine arts, natural sciences and social sciences are offered with BC's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

BC Law offers several programs abroad including the Semester in London Program and the Semester in The Hague Program with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The law school also has exchange programs with Bucerius Law School, the Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, and numerous other law faculties throughout the world.[7]

Speakers also frequently attend the law school. Past speakers have included supreme court justices, federal appellate court judges and famous scholars of law.[citation needed]

Ranking [edit]

Due to Boston College student placement in the top law firms in the country, the 2010 Princeton Review rankings place Boston College in the number 7 position for "Best Career Prospects". Boston College is also ranked number 5 for "Professors Rock (Legally Speaking)."[8]

The U.S. News & World Report 2012 Law School Rankings placed Boston College Law School 29th (tied with William & Mary Law School and University of Iowa) in the country.[9] In 2011, BC Law's legal writing program ranked 9th in the nation[10] and its tax program 23rd.[11]

Regarding recruiting at the top law firms in the country, in 2007 the National Law Journal ranked BC Law in the top 15 law schools because of the large number of graduates the school places in the top American law firms. Harvard was the only other Boston school that placed in the top 20 for recruiting.[6]

Law Review publications [edit]

Boston College Law School maintains six student-run publications. The Boston College Law Review is the oldest scholarly publication at the law school. The Boston College International and Comparative Law Review is one of approximately 30 law reviews in the United States that focus on international legal issues. The Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review is the nation's second oldest law review dedicated solely to environmental law. The Third World Law Journal is a unique legal periodical that fills the need for a progressive, alternative legal perspective on issues both within the United States and in the developing world.

The Uniform Commercial Code Reporter-Digest is the only student-written publication at Boston College Law School published by a private corporation.[12]

Boston College is also the first law school to implement a completely online publication, the Intellectual Property and Technology Forum, providing research articles on issues of copyright, trademark and patent law.[13]

Libraries [edit]

In a new building opened in 1996, the Law Library is located on the Boston College Law School campus in Newton, and contains approximately 500,000 volumes covering all major areas of American law and primary legal materials from the federal government, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, and the European Union. The library also features a substantial treatise and periodical collection and a growing collection of international and comparative law material. The library's Coquillette Rare Book Room houses works from the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries, including works by and about Saint Thomas More.

Research centers & institutes [edit]

Boston College Newton Campus
  • Center for Human Rights and International Justice
  • Business Institute, Boston College
  • Center for Asset Management
  • Center for Corporate Citizenship (CCC)
  • Center for East Europe, Russia and Asia
  • Center for Ignatian Spirituality
  • Center for International Higher Education
  • Center For Investment Research And Management
  • Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture (ISPRC)
  • International Study Center
  • Irish Institute
  • Jesuit Institute
  • Small Business Development Center
  • Urban Ecology Institute
  • Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics
  • Women's Resource Center

Student life [edit]

The total enrollment for BC Law is 794 students. 20% of the student population are students of color and 2% of the population are international students. 68% of the law students receive grant assistance to pay for their education.[citation needed]

The 2011 entering class was composed of 268 students (from 5,685 applicants) - it had a median LSAT score of 166 and a median GPA of 3.66. There were 18 students with graduate degrees.[citation needed]

Notable alumni [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c Boston College Official ABA Data
  2. ^ Law - Best Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report
  3. ^ Schools and Colleges - Boston College
  4. ^ BC Law At-a-Glance
  5. ^ "Financial Aid Award Letter Information". Boston College. Retrieved 18 June 2012. 
  6. ^ a b The go-to schools
  7. ^ BC Law International
  8. ^ Princeton Review List
  9. ^ USNews Rankings
  10. ^ US News Legal Writing Rankings
  11. ^ US News Best Grad Schools
  12. ^ U.C.C. Reporter Digest
  13. ^ The Intellectual Property and Technology Forum
  14. ^ http://www.tei.org/news/articles/Pages/Communicating-with-the-Board-of-Directors-on-Taxes.aspx

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Boston College
  • "Disambiguation." Voosen, Paul. 2005-12-07. Accessed on 2006-12-26. - An article in the Boston College Magazine about the Wikipedia article for Boston College.
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