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I returned this page to its proper format: it now highlights the information most important to prospective law students, and employers of law students.
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|image_name = neslseal.png
|image_name = neslseal.png
|image_size = 100px
|image_size = 100px
|caption = [[Seal]] of New England School of Law
|caption = New England School of Law seal
|latin_name =
|latin_name =
|motto = Jus Et Auctoritas
|motto =
|mottoeng = Equitable Authority
|mottoeng =
|established = 1908
|established = 1908
|closed =
|closed =
|type = [[Private university|Private]]
|type = [[Private university|Private]]
|affiliation =
|affiliation =
|endowment =
|endowment = 40.5 Million [[USD]]<ref>[http://lawschoolalmanac.blogspot.com/2008/01/law-school-endowments-2008.html Law School Almanac - 2008 Endowments] retrieved on 6-6-2009.</ref>
|officer_in_charge =
|officer_in_charge =
|chairman =
|chairman =
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|head_label =
|head_label =
|head =
|head =
|faculty =
|faculty = 157<ref>[http://www.nesl.edu/engaged/adjunct_faculty.cfm Adjunct Faculty] retrieved on 6-6-2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.nesl.edu/engaged/faculty_bios.cfm Faculty Bios] retrieved on 6-6-2009.</ref>
|staff =
|staff =
|students =
|students = 1,077<ref>[http://www.princetonreview.com/NewEnglandSchoolofLawLawProgram.aspx Princeton Review Student Body] retrieved on 6-6-2009.</ref>
|city = [[Boston]]
|city = [[Boston]]
|state = [[Massachusetts]]
|state = [[Massachusetts]]
|country = [[United States|US]]
|country = [[United States]]
|coor =
|coor =
|campus = [[Urban area|Urban]]
|campus = [[Urban area|Urban]]
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|colors =
|colors =
|website = [http://www.nesl.edu www.nesl.edu]
|website = [http://www.nesl.edu www.nesl.edu]
|logo = [[Image:nesllogo.png|center|240px]]
|logo = [[Image:nesllogo.png|center|200px]]
|footnotes =
|footnotes =
}}
}}


[[Image:NESLBoston.JPG|thumb|250px|New England Law]]
'''New England School of Law''', commonly referred to as '''NESL''' or '''New England Law''', is a private [[law school]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]]. It was founded in 1908 as a law school for women. New England Law is the fifth oldest law school in [[New England]] and the fourth oldest in [[Massachusetts]].


'''The New England School of Law''' (also known as '''New England Law''' or '''NESL''' or '''New England Law Boston''' or '''NELB''') is a professional [[graduate school]] located in [[Boston, Massachusetts]]. In 2008, the school's 100th anniversary, the school adopted the name New England Law | Boston. The academic program emphasizes extensive preparation in practical skills, including instruction in legal writing and clinical work.
New England Law is a medium sized law school with approximately 1,100 students, with a majority of its students in the full-time program.<ref>[http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/items/03075 US News overview] retrieved on 6-7-2009.</ref> New England Law also has three specializations in [[environmental law]], [[international law]], and [[tax law]].<ref>[http://www.princetonreview.com/NewEnglandSchoolofLawLawProgram.aspx?RDN=1 Princeton Review overview] retrieved on 6-7-2009.</ref> In addition to offering a [[JD]] NESL also offers an [[LL.M.]] in advanced legal studies.<ref>[http://www.nesl.edu/admissions/apply.cfm NESL Programs] retrieved on 6-7-2009.</ref>


Founded in 1908 as ''Portia Law School'', the only law school established exclusively for the [[education of women]]. New England Law has been [[coeducational]] since 1938, being renamed to New England School of Law in 1969 and New England Law, Boston in 2008.
==History==
[[Image:NESLBoston.JPG|thumb|left|225px|Main academic building on Stuart Street]]
In 1908, two women from Boston decided to sit for the [[Massachusetts]] [[bar examination]]. A lawyer named Arthur Winfield MacLean agreed to tutor them, and other students followed over the next few years. MacLean's wife called the school Portia Law School after the heroine of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]''. From 1908 to 1938, Portia Law School was the sister school to the then all male, [[Suffolk University Law School]]. This partnership fostered because MacLean was a law partner with Suffolk founder, [[Gleason Archer, Sr.]] MacLean also served as the school's first Dean from 1908-1943.<ref>Michael Rustad, "Book Reviews," ''Contemporary Sociology'', January 1986, Vol. 15, Number 1, page 102. accessed through [[JSTOR]]</ref>


John O'Brien has been the Dean of New England Law since 1988.
[[File:1983-75th-anniversaryNESL.jpg|right|thumb|225px|President Bush honoring the 75th Anniversary of NESL.]]
Beginning in 1920, Portia graduates received the [[LL.B.]] degree.<ref name="NESL History 1908-1942">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1908/|title=NESL History 1908|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> In 1922, the school moved into its first permanent building in Boston's [[Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts|Beacon Hill]] neighborhood, when enrollment had reached 228.<ref name="NESL History 1908-1942">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1908/|title=NESL History 1908|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> In 1926, Portia was awarded the authority to award [[LL.M.]] degrees to both men and women.<ref name="NESL History 1908-1942">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1908/|title=NESL History 1908|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> A few years later, in 1938, Portia Law School became a fully integrated [[coeducational]] institution. As the school entered the 1950s it saw its student body shift from a student body that had a majority female population to a predominately male student body.<ref name="NESL History 1943-1968">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1943/|title=NESL History 1943|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> 1963 saw Portia Law School begin the process of applying for [[American Bar Association]] accreditation,<ref name="NESL History 1943-1968">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1943/|title=NESL History 1943|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> and some of the steps the school took included restructuring its [[board of governors]] and launching the schools first [[law review|law review]].<ref name="NESL History 1943-1968">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1943/|title=NESL History 1943|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> In 1969, the school changed its name to New England School of Law to coincide with its accreditation granted by the ABA.<ref>http://www.abanet.org/legaled/approvedlawschools/alpha.html</ref>
{| class="wikitable" border="0" align="left"
!Dean
!Tenure
|-
|Arthur W. MacLean||1908&ndash;1943
|-
|W. Chesley York||1943&ndash;1952
|-
|Margaret H. Bauer||1952&ndash;1962
|-
|Guy V. Slade||1962&ndash;1966
|-
|Walter J. Kozuch, Jr.||1966&ndash;1971
|-
|Robert E. O’Toole||1971&ndash;1974
|-
|Colin W. Gillis||1974&ndash;1978
|-
|Thomas C. Fischer||1978&ndash;1983
|-
|Timothy J. Cronin||1983&ndash;1988
|-
|John F. O’Brien||1988&ndash;Present
|}
As New England Law neared its 75th anniversary new programs were started, the first was the creation of [[Law Day]] in 1970 and then the opening of its clinical law services office in 1971.<ref name="NESL History 1969-1987">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1969/|title=NESL History 1969|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> The clinical law services program is performed by the law students to those who did not have the economic means to seek paid legal assistance.<ref name="NESL History 1969-1987">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1969/|title=NESL History 1969|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref>
In 1980, New England moved into its current location; which is located in the [[Boston Common]] neighborhood.<ref name="NESL History 1969-1987">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1969/|title=NESL History 1969|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> To honor the 75th anniversary of New England Law the [[41st President of the United States|41st President]], [[George H. W. Bush]], was the keynote speaker for the celebration.<ref name="NESL History 1969-1987">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1969/|title=NESL History 1969|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref>


New England Law is ABA ([[American Bar Association]]) accredited and is a member of the [[Association of American Law Schools]]. With four other independent law schools, NESL is also a founding member of the Consortium for Innovative Legal Education.
As New England Law entered the 1980s it saw growth in its opportunities internationally. The school set up a program which allowed students to study abroad and work with former [[Soviet Bloc]] nations develop their own legal systems.<ref name="NESL History 1988-Present">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1988/|title=NESL History 1988|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> New England Law also became a co-founder of the Consortium for Innovative Legal Education; which allows students to study aboard at countries throughout the world and learn about foreign law and put their current education to work through externships.<ref name="NESL History 1988-Present">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1988/|title=NESL History 1988|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> In 1996, New England Law students worked with Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals by providing legal research and analysis for war crimes in [[Rwanda]] and the former nation of [[Yugoslavia]].<ref name="NESL History 1988-Present">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1988/|title=NESL History 1988|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref>

New England Law received membership from the [[Association of American Law Schools]] in 1998.<ref>http://www.aals.org/about_memberschools.php#n-q</ref> In 2002, New England Law expanded its campus by buying adjacent buildings around the schools current location.<ref name="NESL History 1988-Present">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1988/|title=NESL History 1988|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> Also, in 2008, New England School of Law began a new campaign to rebrand itself as New England Law|Boston, with the purpose to put an emphasis on its location in New England.<ref name="NESL History 1988-Present">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1988/|title=NESL History 1988|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref>
==Ranking==
According to U.S. News and World Report, which complies annual rankings of the nation's "Best Law Schools," New England School of Law ranks in the "Fourth Tier" of law schools in the United States.<ref>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/page+7</ref>

==Cost of attendance==
Tuition for the 2009–2010 academic year is $38,500 for full-time students and $28,880 for part-time students.<ref>http://www.nesl.edu/admissions/tuition_fees.cfm</ref>

==Student body profile==
The Fall 2008 NESL/NELB admitted class was 55% female and had a 10% representation of minorities, down 4% from 2004. NESL/NELB reports that 3,167 individuals applied for admission, of which 384 were enrolled for admission, representing 37 states and 8 countries. The median LSAT score of admitted students was 152 for the full-time program and 150 for the part-time program. The student faculty ratio was 23:1.<ref>http://www.nesl.edu/engaged/ataglance.cfm</ref>

==Career statistics==
Based on employment statistics from 1997-2007, NESL/NELB reports that 84% of its 2007 graduating class had secured positions within nine months of graduation.<ref>http://www.nesl.edu/engaged/ataglance.cfm</ref> It was also reported that, of the 84% of graduates who had secured employment, 43.3% were characterized as being employed in Private Practice, 24.1% in Business/Corporations, 15.2% in Government, 12.5% in Judicial Clerkships, and 4.9% in Public Interest.

The 2009 Raw Data Law School Rankings compiled by the Internet Legal Research Group reported that 30.5% of New England School of Law students had secured employed at graduation, while 76.1% has secured employment within nine months of graduation.<ref>http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/58</ref>. This reported statistic ranked New England at 178 out of the 185 law schools that reported such information.<ref>http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/index.php/4/desc/Employ9Mos</ref>

The bar exam passage rate for New England graduates was reported as 80% by ILRG, six percentage points below the state average.<ref>http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/58</ref>. This reported statistic ranked New England at 139 out of 185 law schools for overall bar passage rate,<ref>http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/index.php/3/desc/Bar</ref> and 171 out of 185 for school vs. state average. <ref>http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/index.php/3/desc/Bar</ref>.

The median full-time starting salaries for New England graduates who had secured employment was $50,000 in the private sector, and $47,000 in the public sector.<ref>http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/58</ref> That rate of pay is approximately 14% less than the average rate of pay for an entry level attorney in Massachusetts.<ref>http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Entry-Level_Attorney/Salary/by_State</ref>

==Location and resources==
The law school's five-story main building is located at 154 Stuart Street in [[Boston|Boston's]] theater district, within walking distance of courthouses, federal and state offices, and the Transportation Building. Clinic, administrative, and Law Review/Journal offices are in a nearby building in the Bay Village at 46 Church Street. NESL is easily accessible on the [[MBTA]] [[Green Line (MBTA)|Green line]] via either the Arlington station or [[Boylston (MBTA station)|Boylston]] station, as well as the [[Orange Line (MBTA)|Orange line]] via the New England Medical Center station or the Chinatown station, and the [[Silver Line (MBTA)|Silver line]] via New England Medical Center, Chinatown, and Boylston.

The facility includes lecture halls, several of which are hardwired for Internet access and feature presentation technology; seminar rooms; faculty offices; a student lounge; a [[moot courtroom]]; and the law library, which was recently renovated in the summer of 2006. Wireless technology throughout the law school allows Internet access from anywhere in the building.

The library collection contains approximately 335,000 volumes and volume equivalents, an audio and video collection, microform materials, CD-ROM titles with multiple legal databases, and several online research services. Collaboration Room Seating is available for 364 students in carrels and study areas, some of which are private collaboration rooms suitable for student meetings and cooperative learning. More than 120 computer work stations and laptops are available for student use.

Offices for the school's administrative departments, clinical law office, and student publications are located in a two-story building in a residential neighborhood, about three blocks from the main building. The law school recently acquired an additional building adjacent to the main facility for future expansion.

==Faculty==
NESL faculty members have published more than 70 books and articles over the past five years, the international [[moot court]] team won the Richard R. Baxter Award for best brief in the 2001 [[Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition|Jessup moot court]] competition. NESL's 18 clinics in areas such as domestic violence, environmental law, family law, federal courts, health and hospital law, [[immigration law]], and mediation offer opportunities for practical legal experience in varied fields, and each clinic has a required classroom component.

NESL's full-time faculty members are top graduates of law schools in the [[United States]] and abroad. Many hold advanced degrees either in law or other fields, in addition to their [[juris doctor]] degrees. Most have practiced law in the fields in which they now teach, and many have served as judicial clerks (including four as Federal Court of Appeals clerks) before beginning their teaching careers. The full-time faculty of 36 includes two African Americans, one Asian American, and 12 women. NESL also attracts excellent adjunct faculty members from the judiciary, law practice, and government to teach advanced courses in their areas of expertise. Adjunct faculty bring to the classroom their first-hand knowledge of how the law is being applied in the world of practice.

==History==
In 1908, two [[Boston]] women decided to sit for the [[Massachusetts]] [[bar examination]]. A lawyer named Arthur Winfield MacLean agreed to tutor them, and other students followed over the next few years. From that beginning, a school was established; MacLean's wife dubbed it Portia Law School, after the heroine of [[Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] "[[The Merchant of Venice]]." From 1908 to 1938, Portia Law School was the sister school to the all male, [[Suffolk University Law School]], and MacLean was a law partner to Suffolk founder, [[Gleason Archer, Sr.]]. MacLean served as the school's first Dean.<ref>Michael Rustad, "Book Reviews," ''Contemporary Sociology'', January 1986, Vol. 15, Number 1, page 102. accessed through [[JSTOR]]</ref>.


Enrollment grew, and the first [[commencement]] was held in 1911. Beginning in 1920, Portia graduates received the [[LL.B.]] degree. During the school's early years, most women who passed the [[Massachusetts]] [[bar examination]] were Portia alumnae. In 1922, when the school moved into its first permanent building in [[Boston]]'s [[Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts|Beacon Hill]] neighborhood, enrollment had reached 228, and the results from the December 1921 bar exam showed that all the women who had passed were graduates of the school.


The only law school in the nation founded exclusively for the education of women, Portia Law School became [[coeducational]] in 1938, one year after Suffolk Law School began admitting women. In 1969, the school's name was changed to New England Law and accreditation was granted by the [[American Bar Association]]. The 1980s began with the school's move to its current location in [[Boston|Boston's]] Park Square area. In January 1998, the law school was elected to membership in the [[Association of American Law Schools]].
==Campus==
The law school's main campus consists of five buildings throughout the Boston Common neighborhood.<ref name="NESL Campus">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/admissions/directions.cfm|title=NESL Campus|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> The main academic building is a five-story building on Stuart Street in [[Boston|Boston's]] theater district, which includes classrooms, faculty offices, and the schools library.<ref name="NESL Campus">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/admissions/directions.cfm|title=NESL Campus|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> Clinic, administrative, and law review offices are in a nearby building in the Bay Village on Church Street.<ref>[http://www.nesl.edu/HistoryProject/1988/1993.html#y1993 Bay Village NESL] retrieved 6-6-2009.</ref> Offices for the school's admissions office, administrative departments, clinical law office, and student publications are located in a two-story building two blocks from the main academic building.<ref name="NESL Campus">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/admissions/directions.cfm|title=NESL Campus|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> New England Law also shares its bookstore facilities with [[Tufts University]].<ref name="NESL Campus">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/admissions/directions.cfm|title=NESL Campus|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref>


NESL has produced alumni who have made significant contributions to the legal communities of [[Boston]] and the Northeast region. Early alumnae broke barriers that had impeded the entry of women into the profession, and in doing so, they have paved the way for future generations of women lawyers.
==Academics and rankings==
New England Law offers full-time time and part-time (both day and evening) divisions and the student-to-faculty ratio is 23:1.<ref name="glance">http://www.nesl.edu/admissions/ataglance.cfm</ref> New England Law is [[American Bar Association]] (ABA) accredited and is a member of the [[Association of American Law Schools]].<ref>http://www.aals.org/about_memberschools.php#n-q</ref> It is also a founding member of the Consortium for Innovative Legal Education.<ref>[http://www.cile.edu]</ref> According to [[U.S. News and World Report]], New England Law ranks in the "Fourth Tier" of law schools in the United States.<ref>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/page+7</ref>


==Programs==
==Visitors==
NESL has played host to many notable visitors, including Dr. [[Hans Blix]], Chief Weapons Inspector to the [[UN]]; [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]] Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall; Prince Zeid Raad al Hussein, Ambassador of [[Jordan]] to the [[United Nations]]; U.S. [[Attorney General]] [[Janet Reno]]; former United States Congresswoman and vice-presidential candidate [[Geraldine Ferraro]]; [[U.S. Senator]] [[John F. Kerry]]; [[Fox News]] commentator Bill O'Reilly; Judge [[Kenneth W. Starr]], [[Harvard Law|Harvard law]] professor [[Alan Dershowitz]]; and Supreme Court Justices [[Sandra Day O'Connor]], [[Harry Blackmun]], [[Clarence Thomas]], and [[Anthony Kennedy]]. In 2006, Justice [[Antonin Scalia]] was the keynote speaker at NESL's annual barrister's ball.
===Center for Law and Social Responsibility===
The Center for Law and Social Responsibility, CLSR, works mostly pro bono and public service activities.<ref name="NESL CLSR">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/centers/clsr.cfm|title=NESL CLSR|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> It is run and supported by students, faculty and alumni.<ref name="NESL CLSR">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/centers/clsr.cfm|title=NESL CLSR|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> The CLSR serves as a socially responsible organization that works with numerous projects that are representative of its members, as well as issues that public service lawyers are currently working with.<ref name="NESL CLSR">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/centers/clsr.cfm|title=NESL CLSR|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref> The CLSR also works to support classroom projects, scholarship,and other activities that convey current social problems.<ref name="NESL CLSR">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/centers/clsr.cfm|title=NESL CLSR|accessdate=2009-06-07}}</ref>


==Law Review==
===Center for International Law & Policy===
The [[New England Law Review]] was established in 1965 as the Portia Law Journal. When Portia Law School changed its name to the New England Law in 1969, the Law Review became the New England Law Review.
The Center for Law and International Polic, CILP, is utilized by both students and faculty for research, analysis and produce resource material on numerous topics.<ref name="CILP">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/centers/cilp.cfm|title=CILP|author=NESL|accessdate=2009-06-08}}</ref> Some of the topics include CIA renditions in Europe, intergovernmental peacekeeper accountability and hate speech.<ref name="CILP">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/centers/cilp.cfm|title=CILP|author=NESL|accessdate=2009-06-08}}</ref> Students also have the chance to practice international law in overseas externships. Most students work assist in prosecutions related to war crimes, because of the schools relationships with international criminal courts and tribunals.<ref name="CILP">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/centers/cilp.cfm|title=CILP|author=NESL|accessdate=2009-06-08}}</ref>


==NESL in the News==
CILP also hosts the annual international law conference, by creating more awareness in global legal work, for issues such as Chinese reunification and Taiwanese independence, competition laws, responses to rogue regimes, the Rwandan genocide, and the development of new countries out of the former Yugoslavia.<ref name="CILP">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesl.edu/centers/cilp.cfm|title=CILP|author=NESL|accessdate=2009-06-08}}</ref>
A Massachusetts federal judge recently ruled that Americans with Disabilities Act and related claims against New England Law | Boston can move forward in a lawsuit against the school for expelling a student with learning disabilities who failed two courses. <ref>http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202430442315</ref>


At the 2009 commencement, a 100-year-old Quincy woman received an honorary degree from New England Law for her role as a pioneer for women in the world of law. <ref>http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2009_05_23_Law_pioneer_still_feisty_at_100/</ref>
===Center for Business Law===
===Consortium for Innovative Legal Education===
===Clincal Law Services===


==Notable alumni==
==Notable alumni==
*[[Joseph R. Driscoll|Joseph R. Driscoll, Jr.]], ([[Juris Doctor|JD]]), Norfolk representative to the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives|Massachusetts General Court]] (2003–present)
Notable alumni include [[Joseph R. Driscoll]], Norfolk representative to the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]], [[Andrew Vachss]], children's lawyer and author of the [[Burke (character)|Burke]] series of novels, and [[Leonard P. Zakim]], religious and civil rights leader in Boston.
*Barry Feinstein ([[Juris Doctor|JD]], 1977), personal injury attorney, television personality.
*[[Andrew Vachss|Andrew H. Vachss]], ([[Juris Doctor|JD]] [[Magna cum laude|''magna cum laude,'']] 1975), children's lawyer, author of the [[Burke (character)|Burke]] series of novels.
*[[Leonard P. Zakim|Leonard P. "Lenny" Zakim]], ([[Juris Doctor|JD]], 1978), religious and civil rights leader in Boston.
*[[Joseph A. Curtatone]], ([[Juris Doctor|JD]], 1994), mayor of [[Somerville, MA]] from November 2003-present.


{{reflist}}
==Notes and references==
{{reflist|2}}


==External links==
==External links and references==
* [http://www.nesl.edu Official website]
* [http://www.nesl.edu Official website]


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{{Law schools in Massachusetts}}
{{Law schools in Massachusetts}}
{{Law schools of new england}}
{{Law schools of new england}}
* [http://www.nesl.edu/students/fed-soc.cfm New England Law chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies]


{{Coord missing|Massachusetts|date=June 2009}}
{{coord missing|Massachusetts}}


[[Category:Law schools in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Law schools in Massachusetts]]

Revision as of 02:18, 9 June 2009

New England School of Law
File:Neslseal.png
New England School of Law seal
Former names
Portia Law School (1908-1969)
TypePrivate
Established1908
DeanJohn O'Brien
Location
Boston
,
Massachusetts
,
United States
CampusUrban
Websitewww.nesl.edu
File:Nesllogo.png
New England Law

The New England School of Law (also known as New England Law or NESL or New England Law Boston or NELB) is a professional graduate school located in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2008, the school's 100th anniversary, the school adopted the name New England Law | Boston. The academic program emphasizes extensive preparation in practical skills, including instruction in legal writing and clinical work.

Founded in 1908 as Portia Law School, the only law school established exclusively for the education of women. New England Law has been coeducational since 1938, being renamed to New England School of Law in 1969 and New England Law, Boston in 2008.

John O'Brien has been the Dean of New England Law since 1988.

New England Law is ABA (American Bar Association) accredited and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. With four other independent law schools, NESL is also a founding member of the Consortium for Innovative Legal Education.

Ranking

According to U.S. News and World Report, which complies annual rankings of the nation's "Best Law Schools," New England School of Law ranks in the "Fourth Tier" of law schools in the United States.[1]

Cost of attendance

Tuition for the 2009–2010 academic year is $38,500 for full-time students and $28,880 for part-time students.[2]

Student body profile

The Fall 2008 NESL/NELB admitted class was 55% female and had a 10% representation of minorities, down 4% from 2004. NESL/NELB reports that 3,167 individuals applied for admission, of which 384 were enrolled for admission, representing 37 states and 8 countries. The median LSAT score of admitted students was 152 for the full-time program and 150 for the part-time program. The student faculty ratio was 23:1.[3]

Career statistics

Based on employment statistics from 1997-2007, NESL/NELB reports that 84% of its 2007 graduating class had secured positions within nine months of graduation.[4] It was also reported that, of the 84% of graduates who had secured employment, 43.3% were characterized as being employed in Private Practice, 24.1% in Business/Corporations, 15.2% in Government, 12.5% in Judicial Clerkships, and 4.9% in Public Interest.

The 2009 Raw Data Law School Rankings compiled by the Internet Legal Research Group reported that 30.5% of New England School of Law students had secured employed at graduation, while 76.1% has secured employment within nine months of graduation.[5]. This reported statistic ranked New England at 178 out of the 185 law schools that reported such information.[6]

The bar exam passage rate for New England graduates was reported as 80% by ILRG, six percentage points below the state average.[7]. This reported statistic ranked New England at 139 out of 185 law schools for overall bar passage rate,[8] and 171 out of 185 for school vs. state average. [9].

The median full-time starting salaries for New England graduates who had secured employment was $50,000 in the private sector, and $47,000 in the public sector.[10] That rate of pay is approximately 14% less than the average rate of pay for an entry level attorney in Massachusetts.[11]

Location and resources

The law school's five-story main building is located at 154 Stuart Street in Boston's theater district, within walking distance of courthouses, federal and state offices, and the Transportation Building. Clinic, administrative, and Law Review/Journal offices are in a nearby building in the Bay Village at 46 Church Street. NESL is easily accessible on the MBTA Green line via either the Arlington station or Boylston station, as well as the Orange line via the New England Medical Center station or the Chinatown station, and the Silver line via New England Medical Center, Chinatown, and Boylston.

The facility includes lecture halls, several of which are hardwired for Internet access and feature presentation technology; seminar rooms; faculty offices; a student lounge; a moot courtroom; and the law library, which was recently renovated in the summer of 2006. Wireless technology throughout the law school allows Internet access from anywhere in the building.

The library collection contains approximately 335,000 volumes and volume equivalents, an audio and video collection, microform materials, CD-ROM titles with multiple legal databases, and several online research services. Collaboration Room Seating is available for 364 students in carrels and study areas, some of which are private collaboration rooms suitable for student meetings and cooperative learning. More than 120 computer work stations and laptops are available for student use.

Offices for the school's administrative departments, clinical law office, and student publications are located in a two-story building in a residential neighborhood, about three blocks from the main building. The law school recently acquired an additional building adjacent to the main facility for future expansion.

Faculty

NESL faculty members have published more than 70 books and articles over the past five years, the international moot court team won the Richard R. Baxter Award for best brief in the 2001 Jessup moot court competition. NESL's 18 clinics in areas such as domestic violence, environmental law, family law, federal courts, health and hospital law, immigration law, and mediation offer opportunities for practical legal experience in varied fields, and each clinic has a required classroom component.

NESL's full-time faculty members are top graduates of law schools in the United States and abroad. Many hold advanced degrees either in law or other fields, in addition to their juris doctor degrees. Most have practiced law in the fields in which they now teach, and many have served as judicial clerks (including four as Federal Court of Appeals clerks) before beginning their teaching careers. The full-time faculty of 36 includes two African Americans, one Asian American, and 12 women. NESL also attracts excellent adjunct faculty members from the judiciary, law practice, and government to teach advanced courses in their areas of expertise. Adjunct faculty bring to the classroom their first-hand knowledge of how the law is being applied in the world of practice.

History

In 1908, two Boston women decided to sit for the Massachusetts bar examination. A lawyer named Arthur Winfield MacLean agreed to tutor them, and other students followed over the next few years. From that beginning, a school was established; MacLean's wife dubbed it Portia Law School, after the heroine of Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." From 1908 to 1938, Portia Law School was the sister school to the all male, Suffolk University Law School, and MacLean was a law partner to Suffolk founder, Gleason Archer, Sr.. MacLean served as the school's first Dean.[12].

Enrollment grew, and the first commencement was held in 1911. Beginning in 1920, Portia graduates received the LL.B. degree. During the school's early years, most women who passed the Massachusetts bar examination were Portia alumnae. In 1922, when the school moved into its first permanent building in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, enrollment had reached 228, and the results from the December 1921 bar exam showed that all the women who had passed were graduates of the school.

The only law school in the nation founded exclusively for the education of women, Portia Law School became coeducational in 1938, one year after Suffolk Law School began admitting women. In 1969, the school's name was changed to New England Law and accreditation was granted by the American Bar Association. The 1980s began with the school's move to its current location in Boston's Park Square area. In January 1998, the law school was elected to membership in the Association of American Law Schools.

NESL has produced alumni who have made significant contributions to the legal communities of Boston and the Northeast region. Early alumnae broke barriers that had impeded the entry of women into the profession, and in doing so, they have paved the way for future generations of women lawyers.

Visitors

NESL has played host to many notable visitors, including Dr. Hans Blix, Chief Weapons Inspector to the UN; Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall; Prince Zeid Raad al Hussein, Ambassador of Jordan to the United Nations; U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno; former United States Congresswoman and vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro; U.S. Senator John F. Kerry; Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly; Judge Kenneth W. Starr, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz; and Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Harry Blackmun, Clarence Thomas, and Anthony Kennedy. In 2006, Justice Antonin Scalia was the keynote speaker at NESL's annual barrister's ball.

Law Review

The New England Law Review was established in 1965 as the Portia Law Journal. When Portia Law School changed its name to the New England Law in 1969, the Law Review became the New England Law Review.

NESL in the News

A Massachusetts federal judge recently ruled that Americans with Disabilities Act and related claims against New England Law | Boston can move forward in a lawsuit against the school for expelling a student with learning disabilities who failed two courses. [13]

At the 2009 commencement, a 100-year-old Quincy woman received an honorary degree from New England Law for her role as a pioneer for women in the world of law. [14]

Notable alumni

  1. ^ http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/page+7
  2. ^ http://www.nesl.edu/admissions/tuition_fees.cfm
  3. ^ http://www.nesl.edu/engaged/ataglance.cfm
  4. ^ http://www.nesl.edu/engaged/ataglance.cfm
  5. ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/58
  6. ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/index.php/4/desc/Employ9Mos
  7. ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/58
  8. ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/index.php/3/desc/Bar
  9. ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/index.php/3/desc/Bar
  10. ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/58
  11. ^ http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Entry-Level_Attorney/Salary/by_State
  12. ^ Michael Rustad, "Book Reviews," Contemporary Sociology, January 1986, Vol. 15, Number 1, page 102. accessed through JSTOR
  13. ^ http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202430442315
  14. ^ http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2009_05_23_Law_pioneer_still_feisty_at_100/

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