Law School

Boston College, Law School History

Boston College Law School was established in 1929 and is a private institution. The 40-acre campus is in a suburban area 6 miles west of downtown Boston. The primary mission of the law school is to provide a quality legal education in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition to a highly qualified and diverse group of men and women to prepare them to serve their communities and serve as leaders in the profession. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Newton area. Facilities of special interest to law students include a $16 million library, a $13 million classroom building with state-of-the-art audiovisual and computing capabilities, and a Career Resources Center. Housing for students is extensive; there is ample rental housing in Newton and the surrounding communities. All law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.

Boston College, Law School Academics

In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. 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.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in education), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration), J.D./M.Ed. (Juris Doctor/Master of Education), and J.D./M.S.W. (Juris Doctor/Master of Social Work).

The Law School offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international law, juvenile law, litigation, securities law, tax law, torts and insurance, and clinical programs. Clinics include the Civil Litigation Clinic, Women and the Law Clinic, the Criminal Justice Clinic, Housing Clinic, and Community Enterprise Clinic, each worth 7 credits. Internships include the Semester in Practice and the Attorney General’s Program. Special lecture series include the Legal History Roundtable, Criminal Law Roundtable, and faculty workshops. A London program is offered to second- and third-year students for 13 credits. The International Criminal Tribunals (ICT) offers a unique opportunity to work on-site at the criminal tribunal established by the UN Security Council. Tutorial programs are available to students who require them. Programming for minority students is sponsored by student groups. Minority students are actively recruited. The most widely taken electives are Taxation, Corporations, and Evidence.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 85 total credits, of which 36 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, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Research and Writing, Property, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of Constitutional Law II and Professional Responsibility. The required orientation program for first-year students is a day followed by 2 sessions on subsequent days. Orientation covers introduction to the law school, perspectives on differences, and legal ethics orientation.

To graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0.

Boston College, Law School Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 467,825 hard-copy volumes and 224,796 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 3386 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, CIS Universe, DIALOG, Infotrac, Legal-Trac, LEXIS, LOIS, Mathew Bender, NEXIS, OCLC First Search, RLIN, WESTLAW, Wilsonline Indexes, Access UN, HeinOnline, CCH Internet, Research Network, Congressional Quarterly, Environment and Safety Library, and others are available to law students for research. Special library collections include Daniel R. Coquillette Rare Book collection and the U.S. Government Documents Depository. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 8506 to 1 and to students is 597 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 a program of active outreach by the Admissions Committee and minority student organizations. 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; applicants are considered on a space-available basis.

Boston College, Law School Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 6670 applied, 1347 were accepted, and 270 enrolled. Twenty-four transfers enrolled. The median LSAT percentile of the most recent first-year class was 90; the median GPA was 3.6 on a scale of 4.0.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and take the LSAT. Minimum acceptable GPA is 2.0 on a scale of 4.0. The most important admission factors include academic achievement, character, personality, and undergraduate curriculum. 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, a nonrefundable application fee of $75, 2 letters of recommendation, and the LSDAS report. 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.

Boston College, Law School Financial Aid

About 85% 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 $44,103; maximum, $54,980. Awards are based on need and merit. Required financial statements are the FAFSA and the Need Access on-line application. The aid application deadline for fall entry is March 15. Special funds for minority or disadvantaged students include additional tuition remission. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application at the beginning of February on a rolling basis as files are completed.

Boston College, Law School Students

About 45% of the student body are women; 23%, minorities; 5%, African American; 11%, Asian American; 7%, Hispanic; and 2%, foreign national. The majority of students come from Massachusetts (33%). The average age of entering students is 24; age range is 20 to 43. About 40% of students enter directly from undergraduate school, 14% have a graduate degree, and 60% have worked full-time prior to entering law school. About 2% drop out after the first year for academic or personal reasons; 98% remain to receive a law degree.

Students edit the Boston College Law Review, Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, Boston College International and Comparative Law Review, Boston College Third World Law Journal, Uniform Commercial Code Reporter Digest, and the on-line newsletter The Counselor. Moot court competitions include the Wendell F. Grimes Moot Court, Jessup International Moot Court, and National Moot Court competitions. Other competitions include the Mock Trial, Negotiations, Client Counseling, Administrative Law Moot Court, Braxton Craven Moot Court, Bankruptcy Moot Court, European Union Law Moot Court, and Frederick Douglass Moot Court. Law student organizations include International Law Society, Public Interest Law Foundation, and Environmental Law Society. Local chapters of national associations include the ABA-Law Student Division, National Lawyers Guild, and Phi Alpha Delta. Campus clubs and other organizations include the Black Law Students Association, Lambda, Latino Law Students Association, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, South Asian Law Student Association, and Jewish Law Students Association.

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. There is no part-time program. New students are admitted in the fall. There is no summer session. Transferable summer courses are not offered.