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University of Pittsburgh School of Law

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University of Pittsburgh School of Law
File:University of Pittsburgh logo.png
TypePublic
Established1895
DeanMary A. Crossley
Academic staff
43
Postgraduates~600
Location
Pittsburgh
,
Pennsylvania
,
USA
CampusOakland (Main)
File:University of Pittsburgh School of Law logo.png
Barco Law Building, current home of the Law School

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law ("Pitt Law") was founded in 1895, and became a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools in 1900. One of 17 schools constituting the University of Pittsburgh, the School of Law has roots as far back as 1843 when a law department at the university was founded despite the fact that the chief method of legal education in America was apprenticeship.[1][2] The first four law degrees were conferred in 1847.[3]

Classes were held in a stone building at Third Street until the building was destroyed in the fire of 1845 and were then held in the university's building on Duquesne Way until that building was burned in 1849. Classes were continued after the second fire in the basement of the Third Presbyterian Church until the universities first law professor, Walter H. Lowrie, was elected to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1851 and forced him to abandon his teaching at the school.[3] This, along with the fires that destroyed many of the university's facilities and resources, disrupted the development of the School of Law.

Although various attempts were made to reestablish law instruction beginning in 1862, a permanent law school was not established until 1895. The university at that time was named the Western University of Pennsylvania, but despite this, the law school was originally named the Pittsburgh Law School, a name it held until 1918.[4]

The first classes in the permanently established school were conducted in the orphans' court rooms in the old Allegheny County courthouse. In 1897, the school moved into the old university building at Ross and Diamond streets that had been sold to the county in 1882. The school moved again in 1919-20 to the tenth floor of the Chamber of Commerce building.[5] In 1936 the School of Law moved in its entirety to the 14-16 floors of the Cathedral of Learning on the main campus of the university located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh.[6] The School of Law moved into their own dedicated facility, the Barco Law Building, upon its opening on the university's main campus in 1976.[7]

Today, Pitt's Law School faculty has been ranked 21st in the nation based on a standard objective measure of scholarly impact.[2] Pitt Law is currently ranked 71st out of 184 in U.S. News & World Report's rankings of America's top law schools[8] and is listed among the "Best Law Schools" by The Princeton Review.[9] Pitt Law is also one of 80 law schools with membership in the Order of the Coif.

Academics

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law offers four degrees. The J.D. (Juris Doctor) is the required degree to practice law in most of the United States, thus J.D. students make up most of the school's student body. The following degrees are offered by Pitt Law:

In addition, the School of Law offers joint degrees with several other programs within the university, and the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education.

Academic programs

  • The John P. Gismondi Civil Litigation Certificate Program
  • Environmental Law, Science and Policy
  • Health Law
  • Intellectual Property and Technology Law
  • International and Comparative Law
  • Disability Studies
  • Law and Entrepreneurship
  • Washington, D.C. Externship Program

Pitt Law offers area studies in the following international legal systems:

  • Asian Studies
  • Global Studies
  • Latin American Studies
  • Russia and Eastern European Studies
  • Western European Studies

These area studies serve to supplement the study of International Law, in addition to providing Pitt Law students with the opportunity to pursue careers abroad.

Admissions

Admissions to the University of Pittsburgh School of Law are selective, with slightly less than 30% acceptance rate. The median LSAT range for the class of 2011 was 158-161, and a median GPA range of 3.2-3.65.

Admissions are conducted on a rolling basis.

Rankings and Honors

William V. Luneburg, professor of law at Pitt Law, participating in a Rappaport Center roundtable on "Managing the Bailout."
  • Pitt Law is ranked 69th out of 184 law schools by U.S. News & World Report
  • Pitt Law is ranked 63rd by the Law School 100
  • Pitt's Health Law program is ranked 13th by USN&WR
  • Pitt's Intellectual Property program is ranked 28th by USN&WR
  • Pitt's faculty is ranked 21st in terms of scholarly impact by the Princeton Review
  • One of only 80 law schools to be a member of Order of the Coif

Life after Pitt Law

Pitt Law boasts a strong nationwide alumni network, affording strong career prospects for its graduates. 98% of Pitt law grads are employed within 9 months of graduation, with an average private sector salary of $95,000.

Pitt law grads find employment in numerous fields:

  • 55% in private practice (12% in NLJ250 Firms)
  • 11% in judicial clerkships
  • 4% in academia
  • 17% in business
  • 8% in government
  • 5% in public interest

Clinical programs

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law has several clinical programs, which allow law students to gain practical experience as lawyers before graduating from law school. The following clinics are currently offered by the School of Law:

  • Tax Clinic
  • Family Law Clinic
  • Environmental Law Clinic
  • Community and Economic Development Clinic
  • Health Law Clinic
  • Elder Law Clinic
  • Immigration Law Clinic

Journals

Pitt Law is home to several student-edited legal journals, including the Pittsburgh Law Review, which is one of the 40 most-cited law reviews in the country, according to Chicago-Kent Law Review's 1996 Faculty Scholarship Survey [3]. The following journals are all publications of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

JURIST

JURIST is the world's only law school-based comprehensive legal news and research service. Its professionally-trained staff of law faculty and law students report and research the latest legal developments in real time for members of the legal community and the public at large. JURIST covers legal news stories based on their substantive importance rather than on their mass-market or commercial appeal.

Student organizations

Facilities

Cathedral of Learning
  • Barco Law Library - The Law Library is housed on the third, fourth, and fifth floors of the Barco Law Building. The library was renovated in 2004 [4], and the current collection numbers some 450,000 volumes and volume equivalents and has a seating capacity, in both the individual carrels and in private reading areas, of over 400. In addition, located within several blocks of the Law Building are Hillman Library, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and several special libraries of the University, including the business, medical, and public and international affairs libraries.
  • Teplitz Memorial Moot Courtroom - Located on the ground floor, the moot courtroom, named for the late Benjamin H. Teplitz, includes a seven-seat judges' bench, jury and press boxes, counselors' tables, judges' chambers, and a jury room. It is used primarily by trial tactics classes and by the growing number of moot court programs. It is equipped to handle special sessions of the Commonwealth and Federal Appellate Courts and hearings before various administrative tribunals.
  • Cathedral of Learning – The tallest academic building in the United States, and the second tallest in the world, the Cathedral of Learning is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh. Before the construction of the Barco Law Building, the law school was located in the Cathedral. Inside the neo-Gothic structure is a large foyer conducive to study, and several stories of office buildings and classrooms. It is also home to the Nationality Rooms which celebrates the world's cultures by designing classrooms based on architecture of various regions and cultures around the globe.
  • Other design features of the Law Building include a pedestrian bridge connecting the School of Law with Litchfield Towers dormitories, Lawrence Hall, and Wesley W. Posvar Hall.

Notable alumni

Deans of the Law School

  • John Douglass Shafer, 1895–1920
  • Alexander Marshall Thompson, 1920–1940
  • Eugene Allen Gilmore, 1940–1942
  • Judson Adams Crane, 1942–1949
  • Charles Bernard Nutting, 1949–1951
  • Judson Adams Crane (Acting Dean), 1951–1952
  • Brainerd Currie, 1952–1953
  • Arthur Larson (on leave of absence 1954-56), 1953–1956
  • Charles Wilson Taintor II (Acting Dean), 1954–1957
  • Thomas McIntyre Cooley II, 1957–1965
  • William Edward Sell, Chairman, Administrative Committee, 1965–1966; Dean, 1966–1977
  • John E. Murray, Jr., 1977–1984
  • Richard J. Pierce, Jr., 1984–1985
  • Mark A. Nordenberg, 1985-1993 (Currently University Chancellor)
  • Richard H. Seeburger (Interim Dean), 1993–1994
  • Peter M. Shane, 1994–1998
  • David J. Herring, 1998–2005
  • Mary A. Crossley, 2005-

Notes

  1. ^ George Thornton Fleming, History of Pittsburgh and Environs, from Prehistoric Days to the Beginning, 1922, American Historical Society, New York, pg 364
  2. ^ Agnes Lynch Starrett, Through one hundred and fifty years: the University of Pittsburgh, 1937, University of Pittsburgh Press, pg. 335-36, accessdate=2009-04-05
  3. ^ a b Agnes Lynch Starrett, Through one hundred and fifty years: the University of Pittsburgh, 1937, University of Pittsburgh Press, pg. 336-38, accessdate=2009-04-05
  4. ^ Agnes Lynch Starrett, Through one hundred and fifty years: the University of Pittsburgh, 1937, University of Pittsburgh Press, pg. 339-343, accessdate=2009-04-05
  5. ^ Agnes Lynch Starrett, Through one hundred and fifty years: the University of Pittsburgh, 1937, University of Pittsburgh Press, pg. 347, accessdate=2009-04-05
  6. ^ Agnes Lynch Starrett, Through one hundred and fifty years: the University of Pittsburgh, 1937, University of Pittsburgh Press, pg. 352, accessdate=2009-04-05
  7. ^ Robert C. Alberts, Pitt :the story of the University of Pittsburgh, 1787-1987, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1986, page 406, accessdate=2009-04-05
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ "The Princeton Review: University of Pittsburgh School of Law". The Princeton Review. Retrieved 2009-08-21.

40°26′31″N 79°57′21″W / 40.441885°N 79.955707°W / 40.441885; -79.955707

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