Loyola Law School

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Loyola Law School
The university seal
Motto Ad maiorem Dei gloriam - Tua Luce Dirige
(For the greater glory of God - direct us by thy light)
Parent school Loyola Marymount University
Established 1920[1] (1865)
School type Private, Roman Catholic
Parent endowment $378.8 million (as of 2007)
Dean Victor J. Gold[2]
Location Los Angeles, CA, US
Enrollment 1,297[3]
Faculty 135[3]
USNWR ranking 54[1]
Bar pass rate 83% (ABA profile)
Annual tuition $41,840 full-time
$28,035 part-time[4] (2010-11)
Website www.lls.edu
ABA profile Loyola Marymount University

Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions, in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Like Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law (separate and unaffiliated institutions), it is named in honor of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. The Frank Gehry-designed campus,[5] is located in the Westlake neighborhood just west of downtown Los Angeles, and is separate from the Westchester main university campus.

Contents

[edit] Academics

U.S. News & World Report ranked Loyola Law School 54th[1] in its "America's Best Graduate Schools 2012" feature, which ranked the school fifth for trial advocacy, ninth for diversity and 10th for tax law. It was ranked 8th[6] in average graduate indebtedness ($132,267).

Loyola ranks higher on alternative guides such as The Princeton Review in addition to the Cooley rankings (also known as the Brennan rankings).[7] The Cooley Rankings ranked Loyola Law School 26th in the nation in 2010.[7]

For speciality rankings:

  • According to The Princeton Review's 2010 "Best 172 Law Schools", Loyola is ranked:
    • 3rd in the nation for "Best Classroom Experience"[8]
    • 6th for "Best Environment for Minority Students"[9]
    • 7th for "Best Professors"[10]
  • Loyola's part-time evening program is ranked 30th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report[1]
  • Loyola is ranked 10th in the nation for Tax Law, and its fairly new[citation needed] Taxation LL.M. program ranks 8th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report[1]
  • Loyola's trial advocacy program is ranked 5th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report[11]
  • Lawdragon, which ranks and evaluates lawyers and judges, named Loyola #17 in its list of the 25 Leading Law Schools[12]
  • Listed as an "A" (#8) in the January 2011 "Best Public Interest Law Schools" ratings by The National Jurist: The Magazine for Law Students.[13]
  • Listed as an "A-" in the March 2011 "Diversity Honor Roll" by The National Jurist: The Magazine for Law Students[14]

Distinct from most law schools, which typically reside in one or two centralized buildings, Loyola has a separate law school campus. The campus, sitting on a full city block just west of downtown Los Angeles, is made up of an open central plaza surrounded by several contemporary buildings designed by Frank Gehry.[15] Its recently renovated library is one of the largest private law libraries in the western U.S., with a collection of nearly 560,000 volumes.[16]

Including its day and evening J.D. programs, Loyola has the largest and most diverse student enrollment of any California law school, and it prides itself in its civic duties. It was the first California law school with a pro bono graduation requirement,[17] under which students perform 40 hours of pro bono work.[18] After Hurricane Katrina, Loyola was also one of a handful of schools to open its doors to students of law schools in New Orleans who were forced to relocate for a period of time after the hurricane.[19]

Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (JD/MBA); Masters of Law in Taxation (LLM); Masters of Law in American Law & International Legal Practice (International LLM)[20]

It has been an American Bar Association (ABA) approved law school since 1935.[21] It is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).[22]

Loyola is a member of the Order of the Coif, a national law school honorary society founded for the purposes of encouraging legal scholarship and advancing the ethical standards of the legal profession.[23]

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[edit] 2010 adoption of B curve grading system

Before 2004, Loyola used a unique "numeric grading system" where GPAs ranged from 70 to 100. In 2004, Loyola adopted the more familiar 4.0 "letter grading scale" used by other law schools, applying a low 2.667 forced median GPA. However, all other Los Angeles area law schools applied a median GPA between 3.0 and 3.3.[citation needed] In May 2010, Loyola corrected this imbalance by raising their median GPA one-third of a point to 3.0 - retroactive to all classes taken since 2004. Loyola claimed the controversial move as necessary to enable its students to be competitive with those from UCLA, USC, and Pepperdine law schools.

The change in grading policy attracted national attention. In June 2010, Loyola's plan to retroactively change grades was the subject of a New York Times article.[24] Comedian Stephen Colbert also mocked Loyola's change in grading policy on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report."[25]

[edit] Treatment of students who apply to transfer

In 2008, Loyola students revealed to the legal tabloid Above the Law that Loyola had recently adopted a policy of excluding any student from participating in the school's on-campus interviewing (OCI) program if he had applied to transfer to other law schools.[26] The exclusion applied even if a student's transfer application was still pending during OCI and even if the student had already paid tuition to Loyola for the next semester.[27] In response to the Above the Law article, Loyola Dean Victor Gold wrote in a campus-wide e-mail that Above the Law "misrepresents our policy, omits some key facts, and gets others wrong."[27] The purpose of the policy, Gold wrote, was to prevent transferring students from "double-dipping" by interviewing both at Loyola and at their new school.[27] Furthermore, any student whose transfer application was rejected could apply for reinstatement in the OCI program.[27] However, Above the Law noted that Gold did not dispute that Loyola banned tuition-paying students whose applications were still pending from participating in OCI.[27]

[edit] Bar passage rates

Based on a 2001-2007 6 year average, 72.4% of Loyola Law graduates passed the California State Bar. The first-time pass rate for Loyola Law School graduates on the July 2010 California Bar Examination was 84%, nine percentage points above the 75% pass rate for first-time takers from all ABA-accredited schools in California. And Loyola Law School graduates represented the largest group of successful first-time takers with 297 alumni passing.[28]

[edit] Post-graduation employment

Based on a 2001-2007 6 year average, 96.7% of Loyola Law graduates were employed 9 months after graduation.[28][dubious – discuss]

[edit] Media coverage

In 2009, Loyola reported that 95.1% of its students were employed within 9 months after graduation.[29] However, Loyola does not disclose what percentage of its graduates work part-time or on a temporary basis. In 2009, Loyola reported to U.S. News & World Report that 66.6% of Loyola students were employed at graduation. In 2010, Loyola refused to release "employed upon graduation" statistics to U.S. News & World Report.[citation needed]

[edit] "Loyola 2L" Controversy

In 2007, an anonymous Loyola student, Loyola 2L, began an online campaign to draw attention to what he believed was false advertising by the school. Loyola 2L's campaign drew the attention of major newspapers. The fortunes of Loyola graduates became the subject of articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other national publications.

[edit] Programs and clinics

[edit] Alarcón Advocacy Center

In 2011, Loyola launched the Alarcón Advocacy Center. One of its programs, the Project for the Innocent, made headlines in fall 2011 when it helped secure the release of Obie Anthony, who had spent 17 years in jail for a murder he did not commit. [30] Students in the project conducted witness interviews, drafted the petition for habeas corpus and appeared at evidentiary hearings to question witnesses. Their work ultimately paid off when a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kelvin D. Filer ordered Anthony's release on Sept. 30, 2011, citing prosecutorial misconduct.


  • Center for Conflict Resolution, which provides mediation, conciliation, and facilitation services, as well as conflict resolution training[31]
  • Center for Juvenile Law and Policy, which serves as a holistic law firm representing youths in juvenile court; a small group of students each year are selected as participants in a year-long clinic run by the Center, receiving trial advocacy and procedure training from the Center's staff of seasoned attorneys and social workers[32]
  • Civil Justice Program, which convenes periodic conferences, seminars and presentations, promotes and publishes scholarly research, and initiates cross disciplinary projects[33]
  • Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC), (formerly the Western Law Center for Disability Rights), one of Southern California's most active public interest centers specializing in Americans with Disabilities Act litigation;[34] DRLC is run by a mix of Loyola professors, law student externs, and lawyers, and its centers and programs include the following:
• Cancer Legal Resource Center[35]
• Civil Rights Litigation Project[36]
• Education Advocacy Project[37]
• Disability Mediation Center[38]
• Community Outreach Program[39]
• Inland Empire Program[40]
• Options Counseling and Lawyer Referral Service[41]
• Pro Bono Attorney Program[42]
  • Entertainment Law Practicum, which provides students with hands-on experience in the entertainment industry while earning units toward their degree[43]
  • Journalist Law School, providing fellowships to journalists for an intensive legal study practicum [40]
  • Program for Law & Technology, a collaboration with the California Institute of Technology[41]
  • Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF), which is a student-run organization focused on getting students involved in public interest causes as well as raising money for public interest grants; PILF is the largest and most active public interest club of its kind of all the law schools in Southern California[44]
  • Sports Law Institute, which provides a sports law-related curriculum and annual symposia[45]

[edit] Law reviews

Loyola currently has three student-run and edited law reviews:

  • Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review[46] is a publication devoted to the advancement of legal scholarship. Publishing articles on all legal topics, the Review seeks to identify and advance new legal research by scholars, practitioners, and students. Recent issues of the Law Review have included articles on parent-child privilege, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Eighth Circuit reversal rates, and noneconomic damages.
  • Loyola of Los Angeles International & Comparative Law Review[47] is dedicated to the advancement of legal scholarship and seeks to publish scholarly, professional articles of high caliber, based on accurate and in-depth research, which advance legal scholarship in the field of international law, aid in the resolution of contemporary international legal problems, and contribute to the continuing education of the legal community. In April 2008, ILR held a symposium entitled Transformation in Iraq: From Ending a Modern War to Creating a Modern Peace.[42] Using Iraq as a test case, the symposium sought to assess the legitimacy and viability of modern occupation law against both changed contemporary realities and recent developments in moral and political thought. Speakers included Harvard Professor Noah Feldman, Yale Professor Jules L. Coleman, University College London Professor Ralph Wilde, and Ambassador Feisal Amin Rasoul al-Istrabadi.[48]
  • Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review[49] publishes scholarly articles which frequently cover topics in constitutional law, sports law, intellectual property rights, communications regulation, antitrust law, employment law, contract law, corporate law, as well as the emerging fields of computer and Internet law. ELR has also featured symposia on such topics as independent filmmaking, international rights of publicity and the use of law and identity to script cultural production.

[edit] Trial advocacy and moot court

Loyola's trial advocacy and moot court competition programs have traditionally been regarded as always the best in the nation:

  • Byrne Trial Advocacy Program,[50] which is currently ranked 5th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report,[11] and has also won numerous regional and national competitions.
  • Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition[51]
  • National Moot Court Competition,[51] sponsored by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and American College of Trial Lawyers[52]
  • Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition[53]
  • Scott Moot Court Competition, Loyola's student-run moot court competition[54]
  • Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot[55] *Environmental Moot Court

[edit] Study-abroad programs

Loyola offers study-abroad programs for J.D. students in Beijing, China, Cyprus, Greece, and Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica. It also offers an International LL.M. program based in Bologna, Italy.

[edit] Noted people

[edit] Dean and faculty

[edit] Notable faculty

[edit] Alumni

[edit] Lawyers and activists

[edit] Non-legal

\====Political====

[edit] Judicial

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes and references

 Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (February 2011)
  1. ^ a b c d e "U.S. News & World Report, "Best Law Schools: Loyola Maymount University"". http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/loyola-law-school-los-angeles-03009. Retrieved April 14, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b [1]
  3. ^ a b Loyola Marymount University Official ABA Data
  4. ^ Summer 2010 - Spring 2011 Tuition and Fees
  5. ^ "Former LMU President Donald Merrifield, S.J. Dies at 81". Loyola Marymount University. http://newsroom.lmu.edu/newsroompressreleases/Former_LMU_President_Donald_Merrifield__S_J__Dies_at_81.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-10. 
  6. ^ [2]
  7. ^ a b [3]
  8. ^ [4]
  9. ^ [5]
  10. ^ [6]
  11. ^ a b [7]
  12. ^ [8]
  13. ^ Weyenberg, Michelle (January 2011), "Best Law Schools for Public Interest", The National Jurist (San Diego, California: Cypress Magazines) 20 (4): 24–28, http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/nationaljurist0111/index.php#/24 
  14. ^ Larsen, Rebecca (March 2011), "Most Diverse Law Schools (Diversity Honor Roll)", The National Jurist (San Diego, California: Cypress Magazines) 20 (6): 30–37, http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/nationaljurist0311/#/32 
  15. ^ [9]
  16. ^ [10]
  17. ^ [11]
  18. ^ [12]
  19. ^ [13]
  20. ^ 2006-2007 Fact Sheet
  21. ^ "ABA-Approved Law Schools by Year". ABA website. http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/aba_approved_law_schools/by_year_approved.html. Retrieved April 20, 2011. 
  22. ^ AALS Member Schools
  23. ^ Order of the Coif member schools
  24. ^ In Law Schools, Grades Go Up, Just Like That
  25. ^ I's on Edjukashun - Loyola, Texas Textbooks & Wal-Mart
  26. ^ Elie Mystal (March 19, 2009) Loyola OCI Follow-Up Above the Law.com. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
  27. ^ a b c d e ibid.
  28. ^ a b "Internet Legal Research Group: Loyola Law School, 2009 profile". http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/51. Retrieved April 13, 2011. 
  29. ^ LSAC Official Guide
  30. ^ <cite news| url=http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/10/05/29261/obie-anthony-released-after-murder-conviction-over%7C work=KPCC| title=Obie Anthony released after 1995 murder conviction overturned | first=Frank| last=Stoltze| date=Oct. 5, 2011}}
  31. ^ [14]
  32. ^ [15]
  33. ^ [16]
  34. ^ [17]
  35. ^ [18]
  36. ^ [19]
  37. ^ [20]
  38. ^ [21]
  39. ^ [22]
  40. ^ [23]
  41. ^ [24]
  42. ^ [25]
  43. ^ [26]
  44. ^ [27]
  45. ^ [28]
  46. ^ "About the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review". llr.lls.edu. http://llr.lls.edu/about.html. 
  47. ^ "About the Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review". ilr.lls.edu. http://ilr.lls.edu/about.html. 
  48. ^ "Transformation in Iraq: From Ending a Modern War to Creating a Modern Peace". ilr.lls.edu/2008Symposium.htm. http://ilr.lls.edu/2008Symposium.htm. 
  49. ^ "About the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review". elr.lls.edu. http://elr.lls.edu/about.html. 
  50. ^ [29]
  51. ^ a b [30]
  52. ^ [31]
  53. ^ [32]
  54. ^ [33]
  55. ^ [34]
  56. ^ [35]
  57. ^ [36]
  58. ^ [37]
  59. ^ [38]
  60. ^ [39]
  61. ^ . http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-judge8may08,0,626864.story?. [dead link]

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