Cumberland School of Law

Samford University, Cumberland School of Law History

Samford University Cumberland School of Law was established in 1847 and is a private institution. The 300-acre campus is in a suburban area 6 miles from downtown Birmingham. The primary mission of the law school is to educate students to be responsible lawyers, trained to exercise their professional skills competently with sensitivity to the needs and concerns of their clients, and to act in strict accord with the highest ethical standards. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Birmingham area. Facilities of special interest to law students include an $8.4 million, 61,000-square-foot freestanding library connected to the Law School building by a covered breezeway on the second floor, easily accessible to physically disabled students. Housing for students is available off campus in any number of nearby neighborhoods. Assistance in obtaining apartment rental information is provided by an apartment locator service. About 95% of the law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.

Samford University, Cumberland School of Law Academics

In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the M.C.L. Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 12 credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.Acc. (Juris Doctor/Master of Accounting), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration), J.D./M.Div. (Juris Doctor/Master of Divinity), J.D./M.P.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration), J.D./M.P.H. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Health), J.D./M.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Science in environmental management), and J.D./M.T.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Theological Studies).

The Cumberland School of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international law, juvenile law, labor law, litigation, securities law, tax law, torts and insurance, and trial advocacy. The Center for Advocacy and Clinical Education offers upper-level students externships for 3 credit hours. Seminars are offered for 2 credit hours. Research programs are directed by individual professors and are aimed at upper-level students. Field work placement is available with government agencies, federal judges, litigation placements, and corporations. Special lecture series include the Cordell Hull Speakers Forum, the Ray Rushton Distinguished Lecturer Series; the Thurgood Marshall Speakers’ Forum, the Faculty Colloquium, and the Work in Progress Program. Study-abroad programs include international and comparative law at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, England, and at the Federal University of Ceasa, Fortaleza, Brazil. A writing laboratory is available for students who need additional coaching in this critical skill. The Black Law Students Association sponsors a tutorial program, a mentor program, a speakers forum, and special recognition events. Special interest group programs include Women in Law, Community Service Organization, Trial Advocacy Board, and Henry Upson Sims Moot Court Board. The most widely taken electives are Mediation, Basic Skills in Trial Advocacy, and Law Office Practice and Management.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 90 total credits, of which 47 are for required courses. They must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Civil Procedure I and II, Contracts I and II, Criminal Law, Evidence, Lawyering and Legal Reasoning I and II, Real Property, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of Business Organizations, Constitutional Law I and II, Payment Systems or Secured Transactions, Professional Responsibility, and Wills, Trusts and Estates. The required orientation program for first-year students is designed to introduce new students to the school, the faculty, and the curriculum. Entering students begin the required Lawyering and Legal Reasoning course and receive instruction on the briefing of cases and demonstration of law school teaching methods. This 6-credit hour, 2 semester course provides students with intensive hands-on experience in practical lawyering skills.

In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement.

Samford University, Cumberland School of Law Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 200,254 hard-copy volumes and 101,586 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 750 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as Legal-Trac, LEXIS, LOIS, NEXIS, WESTLAW, and HeinOnline are available to law students for research. Special library collections include Constitutional Law, Ethics, Legal History, and Trial Practice. Recently, the library added additional electronic databases. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 6905 to 1 and to students is 405 to 1. The ratio of seats in the library to students is 1 to 1.

Special Consideration

The law school recruits minority and disadvantaged students by means of recruiting at historically black colleges and universities. The Black Law Students Association is active in on-campus recruiting. Also, alumni actively assist with student recruitment. Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must have one year of credit, have a minimum GPA of 3, have attended an ABA-approved law school, and have attended an AALS-and ABA-approved school, and have a letter of good standing from the dean of the former law school.

Samford University, Cumberland School of Law Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 1243 applied, 499 were accepted, and 159 enrolled. Twenty-one transfers enrolled. The median LSAT percentile of the most recent first-year class was 72; the median GPA was 3.27 on a scale of 4.0.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and take the LSAT. The most important admission factors include LSAT results, GPA, and academic achievement. No specific undergraduate courses are required. Candidates are not interviewed.

The application deadline for fall entry is February 28. Applicants should submit an application form, a personal statement, a nonrefundable application fee of $50, 2 letters of recommendation, LSAT results and transcripts. Letters of recommendation must come from LSDAS. Notification of the admissions decision is on a rolling basis. The latest acceptable LSAT test date for fall entry is February. The law school uses the LSDAS.

Samford University, Cumberland School of Law Financial Aid

About 87% of current law students receive some form of aid. The average annual amount of aid from loans is $35,692; from scholarships, $15,397. Awards are based on need and merit. Required financial statement is the FAFSA. The aid application deadline for fall entry is March 1. Special funds for minority or disadvantaged students include full or partial tuition scholarships. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application at time of acceptance.

Samford University, Cumberland School of Law Students

About 46% of the student body are women; 11%, minorities; 7%, African American; 1%, Asian American; 1%, Hispanic; and 1%, Native American. The majority of students come from Alabama (47%). The average age of entering students is 24; age range is 21 to 58. About 82% of students enter directly from undergraduate school and 18% have a graduate degree. About 2% drop out after the first year for academic or personal reasons; 91% remain to receive a law degree.

Students edit the Cumberland Law Review, the American Journal of Trial Advocacy, and the newspaper Pro Confesso. Moot court competitions include the Justice Janie Shores Moot Court, Gordon T. Saad, and the Robert Donworth Freshman. Other competitions include Mock Trial, Herbert W. Peterson Senior, Judge James O. Haley Federal Court, Parham H. Williams Freshman Mock Trial, Albert P. Brewer Client Counseling, Negotiation, and Representation in Mediation Competition. Student organizations include the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, ABA-Student Division, and Federalist Society. Local chapters of national organizations include Phi Alpha Delta and Phi Delta Phi. Other organizations include the State Student Bar Associations of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and other southern states.

The law school operates on a traditional semester basis. Courses for full-time students are offered days only and must be completed within 4 years. For part-time students, courses are offered days only and must be completed within 5 years. New full- and part-time students are admitted in the fall. There is no summer session. Transferable summer courses are offered.