Michigan State University College of Law

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Michigan State University campus
The College of Law's location on campus.
MSU College of Law Building
Use Law school
Style Postmodernist
Erected 1893 (in Detroit)
1997 (in East Lansing)
Demolished 1997 (Detroit campus)
Location Business area
Namesake None
Architect SSOE, Inc.
Former name Detroit College of Law
Website MSU Law

The Michigan State University College of Law, established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, was the first law school in the Detroit, Michigan area and the second in the state of Michigan.

The Law College Building.

The college opened in 1891 with 69 students and was incorporated in 1893. It is the oldest continuously operating independent law school in the United States.

The college's first home was in the Detroit College of Medicine building from 1892-1913. From 1913-1924 it was housed in the YMCA building. In 1935 the college broke ground for a new building at 130 E. Elizabeth St.

Among the first class of 69 students to graduate were a future circuit judge, a Supreme Court justice and an ambassador. A woman in the first class and an African American in the second were precursors of the Law College’s commitment to excellent educational opportunity for all sectors of the population.

The college became affiliated with Michigan State University in 1995 to take advantage of enhanced facilities and association with a Big Ten institution. It relocated to East Lansing, Michigan in 1997, when the original building was demolished to make way for Comerica Park. The association between the two schools has led to a comprehensive interdisciplinary legal education program at the law college. Today, the college remains one of only two private law schools to be affiliated with a research university.

The Law College Building from the northwest, along North Shaw Lane.

In April 2004, the school changed its name to the MSU College of Law. Although it operates as a constituent college of the university, the college of law remains financially independent and receives no state or university funding. Although the school's ranking amongst certain publications has been marginal, it is expected to increase dramatically with its close connection to a Big Ten institution. A strong indicator of this predicted leap in ranking is the law school's increased recommended LSAT for admissions, which has jumped from an average of 150 to nearly 160 over the course of two years.[citation needed]

MSU College of Law strengthened its affiliation with Michigan State University in 2004, becoming more closely aligned academically.

The MSU College of Law excels considerably in the areas of intellectual property and communications law, for which it was ranked among the top 20 schools by U.S. News and World Report for 2007.

Law journals at the law school include the following law journals, Michigan State Law Review (the flagship journal), Michigan State Journal of International Law, Journal of Medicine and Law, Journal of Business and Securities Law, Journal of Animal Law, Journal of Gender & Law, and Journal of Trial Practice and Advocacy.[1] Of the Law College's journals, Michigan State Law Review, Journal of International Law, Journal of Medicine and Law, Journal of Business and Securities Law, and Journal of Animal Law are nationally ranked.[2] Additionally, the school also publishes Amicus, the law college's tri-annual magazine. [3]

Contents

[edit] Recent Developments

[edit] Academic Journals and Publications [4]

[edit] Clubs & School Organizations [5]

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Michigan State University (Images)
Academics
Athletics
Campus
Colleges
History
People
Student Life
v • d • e
Big Ten Law Schools

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_State_University_College_of_Law"
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