Notre Dame Law School

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Law School History

Notre Dame Law School was established in 1869 and is a private institution. The 1250-acre campus is in a small town just north of South Bend. The primary mission of the law school is to educate a different kind of lawyer through the integration of faith and reason. The law school’s goal is that the “Notre Dame Lawyer” should exemplify the legal profession at it’s best. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Notre Dame area. Students also have access to the courts and legal aid clinics of South Bend, Chicago and Michigan. On-campus apartments for single and married students are available. Townhouses also are available for graduate and law students. The University assists in finding off-campus housing.

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Law School Academics

In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. and S.J.D. 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.B./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration), J.D./M.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in English and law and peace studies), and J.D./M.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Science in engineering). Other joint degrees are available with permission of the law school.

Clinical training is available through Legal Aid, Appellate Advocacy, Criminal Practice, Public Interest Practice, and Trial Advocacy programs. Special seminars are offered in a variety of areas. Internships are available through the Public Defender and Prosecutor’s offices. The Law School as well as other academic departments offer an array of programs. A study-abroad program allows students to take their second year or a summer session at the Law School’s London campus. Tutorial programs are tailored to meet the needs of individual students. Diversity groups are actively involved in the Law School and at the regional and national levels. The most widely taken electives are International Law, Trial Advocacy, and Cyberlaw.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 90 total credits, of which 42 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, Constitutional Law, Contracts I and II, Criminal Law, Ethics I, Legal Research I and II-Moot Court, Legal Writing, Property, and Torts I and II. Required upper-level courses consist of Business Associations, Ethics II, Federal Income Taxation, and Jurisprudence. The required orientation program for first-year students is 2 days in length.

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

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Law School Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 650,225 hard-copy volumes and 1,716,107 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 6489 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, CIS Universe, Infotrac, Legal-Trac, LEXIS, LOIS, Mathew Bender, NEXIS, OCLC First Search, RLIN, WESTLAW, and Wilsonline Indexes are available to law students for research. The law school is a member of the Federal Depository Library System. The law school has several archival sets of personal papers, and a collection of approximately 800 rare book volumes. Recently, the library implemented an electronic resources management system. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 11,822 to 1 and to students is 1153 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 through admissions representatives attendance at LSAC forums and university law days across the country. Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must have one year of credit and have attended an ABA-approved law school.

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Law School Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 3499 applied, 651 were accepted, and 176 enrolled. Nine transfers enrolled. The median GPA of the most recent first-year class was 3.66.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and take the LSAT. The most important admissions factors include a personal statement, grade trends, and service. No specific undergraduate courses are required. Candidates are not interviewed.

The application deadline for fall entry is March 1. Applicants should submit an application form, LSAT results, transcripts, a personal statement, a nonrefundable application fee of $60, and 2 letters of recommendation. 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.

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Law School Financial Aid

Awards are based on need and merit. Required financial statement is the FAFSA. The aid application deadline for fall entry is February 15. Special funds for minority or disadvantaged students include special grants. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application as soon as possible after acceptance and after financial documents are received.

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Law School Students

About 42% of the student body are women; 22%, minorities; 4%, African American; 7%, Asian American; 9%, Hispanic; and 1%, Native American. The average age of entering students is 23; age range is 21 to 35. About 1% drop out after the first year for academic or personal reasons; 99% remain to receive a law degree.

Students edit the Notre Dame Law Review, published 5 times a year. Other publications include Journal of Legislation, Journal of College and University Law, and the Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy. Moot court competitions include the National, Regional, and Seventh Circuit Moot Court Competitions and the Jessup Moot Court Competition. Other competitions include the National Trial Competition and Client Counseling. Law student organizations, local chapters of national associations, and campus organizations include Phi Alpha Delta, Business Law Forum, Environmental Law Society, Black Law Students of Notre Dame, Hispanic Law Students Association, Asian Law Students Association, Native American Law Students Association, Federalist Society, Public Interest Law Forum, and Women’s Law Forum.

The law school operates on a traditional semester basis. Courses for full-time students are offered both day and evening. Most courses are offered during the day and must be completed within 5 years. There is no part-time program. New students are admitted in the fall. There is a 6- week summer session in London. Transferable summer courses are offered.