University of Maine School of Law
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| University of Maine School of Law | |
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| Established: | 1962 |
| Type: | Public |
| Dean: | Peter Pitegoff |
| Students: | 254 |
| Location: | Portland, Maine, USA |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Website: | http://www.mainelaw.maine.edu |
The University of Maine School of Law is located in Portland, Maine and is Maine's only law school. It is a freestanding institution within the University of Maine System. In practice, it is administered as a unit of the University of Southern Maine, which provides the law school's support staff and physical plant needs. However, the school is officially not a part of the University of Southern Maine, as its mission extends to the entire state of Maine, not simply the Southern region. The law school's current Dean is Peter Pitegoff, who assumed the post in 2005.
Many of Maine's judges, legal scholars, politicians and community leaders graduated from the law school, including the current Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, the Hon. Leigh Ingalls Saufley, former state Attorney General Steven Rowe, State Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock, former Governor John McKernan and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine, Paula D. Silsby.
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[edit] Background
Currently, the University of Maine School of Law is ranked among the top 100 in the U.S. News & World Report annual ranking of U.S. law schools.University of Maine School of Law was established in 1962 and is a public institution. The campus is in an urban area in Portland. The primary mission of the law school is to educate students to serve the public and private sectors with distinction; to contribute to the advancement of the law through scholarly and professional research and writing; and to engage in public services aimed at improving the legal system. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Portland area. Portland is the major urban and legal center in the state. Facilities of special interest to law students are the Cumberland County Superior Court, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, and the Federal District Court. Housing for students is available in university dorms, but most students prefer to find housing in and around Portland. All law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled. [1]
[edit] Academics
Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; the maximum number of credits varies and must be approved. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in public policy and management), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Business Administration), J.D./M.C.P. (Juris Doctor/Master in Community Planning and Development), and J.D./M.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Science in health policy and management).
Maine Law offers an Integrated Clinical Education Program to third-year students and includes civil practice and criminal defense under the auspices of the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic. This clinic includes the General Practice Clinic, Prisoner Assistance Clinic (civil matters), and Criminal Law and Family practicum’s. A transactional Intellectual Property Clinic is available. All clinics are open to third-year students and range from 3 to 6 credits. Students can also gain academic credit for work at many nonprofit and government agencies through an extensive externship program. Seminars in commercial law, consumer law, constitutional law, intellectual property law, and international law are open to second- and third-year students. The Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service is held annually, along with the Godfrey Distinguished Visiting Lecturer and the Deans Distinguished Lecture Series. The Student Bar Association and other student organizations also offer guest lectures. There is a 1-semester option at Dalhousie Law School in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the University of New Brunswick, Canada; University College, Galway, Ireland; and the University of Buckingham, England.[2]
[edit] Admission & Employment Statistics
The University of Maine School of Law (UMSL)currently has a student/faculty ratio of 15.3:1. Acceptance to UMSL is rather generous, standing at about 47%, with 78% coming from Maine. The media LSAT score is 157, and the average GPA is 3.38. Roughly 54% of students are female, and 46% are male.[3]
On average, 85.7% of student pass the bar on their first attempt. Nine months after graduation, 91.8% of USML graduates are employed. With nearly 3/4 of the student body coming from Maine, it is also the state in which a majority take their bar examination. Graduates of USML can expect to make, on average, $60,000 a year in the private sector immediately following their graduation.[4]
[edit] Publications
The school is home to the Maine Law Review, the Ocean and Coastal Law Journal.
[edit] Campus
UMSL is home to the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, a free clinic for people of low income in the area, as well as to the Marine Law Institute and the Center for Law and Innovation.[5]
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
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