School of Law

Loyola University Chicago, School of Law History

Loyola University Chicago School of Law was established in 1908 and is a private institution. The campus is in an urban area in Chicago. The primary mission of the law school is to encourage the development of a sense of professional responsibility and respect for the judicial process and an understanding of the social, moral, and ethical values inherent in the practice of law. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Chicago area. Facilities of special interest to law students consist of the Water Tower campus, housing a cafeteria, coffee shop, and bookstore. Loyola also has a campus in Rome, Italy. The law school is in the heart of Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue shopping/tourist district, within blocks of Lake Michigan and cultural attractions including the Museum of Contemporary Art. Housing for students is available in a residence hall across from the law school, in apartments within walking distance of the law school, and in various Chicago neighborhoods. All law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.

Loyola University Chicago, School of Law Academics

In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M., S.J.D., and M.J. Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 9 credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.A. (Juris Doctor/ Master of Arts in political science), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/ Master of Business Administration), and J.D./M.S.W. (Juris Doctor/ Master of Social Work).

The School of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, family law, international law, juvenile law, labor law, litigation, tax law, health law, and public interest law. With the exceptions of health law, tax law, and child law, none of the concentrations are formalized. In addition, clinical legal experience is gained through the Loyola University Community Law Center, the Federal Tax Clinic, the Child Law Clinic, the Business Law Clinic, and the Elder Law Clinic. Seminars, of which there are a variety, are offered for 2 to 3 credit hours. Second- and third-year law students receive 3 hours credit for teaching a course called Street Law in Chicago-area high schools. Externships are available every semester; supervised experience is offered in judicial, criminal, corporate, health law, child law, and government for 2 or 3 credit hours. Individualized research projects, under the supervision of a faculty member, are available every semester for 1 to 2 hours of credit. Special lecture series include the Philip H. Corboy Lecture, the Wing-Tat Lee Lecture on international and comparative law, the Christopher T. Hurley Lecture, and the Law and Literature Lecture. Study-abroad programs include the Rome Program and the Beijing Program. Rome and Beijing are each 4- to 5-week summer programs offering 4 or 5 elective courses for 2 credits each. There is a 2-week London Advocacy Program and a Chile immersion program. Loyola’s Academic Enhancement Program is conducted during the spring semester. The voluntary program provides extensive tutoring and faculty mentors to students who fall within the lower 20% of the first-year class. The Child Advocacy Program utilizes interdisciplinary instruction and field experience to train students to become child advocates. The Public Interest Law Program provides law students with opportunities to explore public interest law through the legal clinic. The most widely taken electives are Evidence, Sales, and Secured Transactions.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 86 total credits, of which 30 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, Constitutional Law I, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Research, Legal Writing I and II, Perspective elective, Property I, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of Advocacy, Constitutional Law II, and Professional Responsibility. The orientation program for first-year students is mandatory.

To graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0 and 86 hours that fulfill all required courses.

Loyola University Chicago, School of Law Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 401,282 hard-copy volumes and 224,438 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 4516 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, CIS Universe, Legal-Trac, LEXIS, LOIS, NEXIS, OCLC First Search, WESTLAW, Wilsonline Indexes, CCH, BNA, HeinOnline, Pegasus, WorldCat, LLMC Digital, CIAO, AudioCaseFiles, Constitutions of the U.S. (National and State), and SmartBooks are available to law students for research. Special library collections include a G.P.O. depository, an Illinois depository, and a collection on medical jurisprudence, papers of justice, Mary Ann McMorrow, and Law and Popular Culture. Wireless access is now available throughout the library. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 8917 to 1 and to students is 464 to 1. The ratio of seats in the library to students is 1 to 2.

Special Consideration

The law school recruits minority and disadvantaged students through national law forums and university-sponsored law days. Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must have one year of credit, have a minimum GPA of 3.0, and have attended an ABA-approved law school; typically, students in the top 25% of their class are considered.

Loyola University Chicago, School of Law Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 4162 applied, 1152 were accepted, and 276 enrolled. Twenty-five transfers enrolled. The median LSAT percentile of the most recent first-year class was 85; the median GPA was 3.58 on a scale of 4.0. The lowest LSAT percentile accepted was 43; the highest was 97.

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

The application deadline for fall entry is April 1. Applicants should submit an application form, LSAT results, transcripts, a personal statement, a nonrefundable application fee of $50, and 2 academic letters of recommendation. Notification of the admissions decision is within 4 weeks of receipt of a completed application. The latest acceptable LSAT test date for fall entry is February. The law school uses the LSDAS.

Loyola University Chicago, School of Law Financial Aid

About 94% of current law students receive some form of aid. The average annual amount of aid from all sources combined, including scholarships, loans, and work contracts, is $32,557; maximum, $53,000. 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 a variety of merit-based scholarships. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application 2 to 3 weeks after the law school receives results of the FAFSA.

Loyola University Chicago, School of Law Students

About 52% of the student body are women; 24%, minorities; 6%, African American; 7%, Asian American; 5%, Hispanic; and 1%, Native American. The majority of students come from Illinois (46%). The average age of entering students is 25; age range is 21 to 59. About 28% of students enter directly from undergraduate school and 9% have a graduate degree. About 3% drop out after the first year for academic or personal reasons; 90% remain to receive a law degree.

Student-edited publications include the Loyola Law Journal, Loyola Consumer Law Review, Annals of Health Law, Public Interest Law Reporter, Children’s Legal Rights Journal, and the International Forum. A biweekly newsletter, The Bulletin, is published by the law school administration with student assistance. Moot Court competitions include the National Moot Court, Jessup Competition, and Wagner (labor law). Other competitions include the National Mock Trial Competition and the Client Counseling Competition and Negotiations Competition, both sponsored by the ABA. Loyola also participates annually in the Intra-school Moot Court Competition, Chicago Bar, Illinois Bar, Niagara, Sutherland Rich (intellectual property), National Juvenile Law, National Health Law, ABA, Hispanic Bar, Frederick Douglass, Willem Vis, and Thomas Tang. Law student organizations, local chapters of national associations, and campus organizations include the Student Bar Association, Decalogue Society, National Lawyers Guild, Black Law Students Association, American Society of International Law, Latin American Law Students Association, Health Law Society, Child Law Society, Outlaw Society, and Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity.

The law school operates on a traditional semester basis. Courses for full-time students are offered both day and evening and must be completed within 4 years. For part-time students, courses are offered both day and evening and must be completed within 6 years. New full- and part-time students are admitted in the fall. There is 1 2-week and 2 4-week summer sessions. Transferable summer courses are offered.