School of Law

North Carolina Central University, School of Law History

North Carolina Central University School of Law was established in 1939 and is a public institution. The 135-acre campus is in an urban area 20 miles from Raleigh, 5 miles from Research Triangle Park, N.C. The primary mission of the law school is to provide a challenging and broad-based educational program designed to stimulate intellectual inquiry, and foster in each student a sense of community service, professional responsibility, and personal integrity. The law school student body is diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, economic, and experiential backgrounds. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Durham area adjacent to corporate and legal employers in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Facilities of special interest to law students a modern law library, computer laboratory, academic support programs, individual offices for student organizations, Wi-Fi access throughout the building, and Smart-Board technology in each classroom. Some on-campus housing is available for single students, but married students must live off campus. About 95% of the law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.

North Carolina Central University, School of Law Academics

Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 6 hours credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration) and J.D./M.L.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Library and Information Services).

The School of Law offers specialty certificates in Dispute Resolution and Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Law. In addition, the Clinical Experience Program consists of preliminary courses in the pre-trial process, local rules, mock client interview, and practice with mock trials and oral arguments in Civil Litigation or Criminal Litigation. For field placements, students work with in-house attorneys in various specialty areas or extern with government officials, legal services agencies, and attorneys in North Carolina. Clinics may be taken by third-year students who receive 2 to 4 credit hours for their work. The Pro Bono Clinic offers many opportunities for second- and third-year students to volunteer in local special interest agencies and organizations. The law school offers approximately 15 seminar classes where the attendance is capped at 20 students. The seminars require 3 writing assignments in such classes as employment discrimination, critical race theory, and sexuality and the law. A number of internships with companies, judges, and practitioners are available. The law school is a member of an inter-institutional enrollment program that includes Duke University School of Law and University of North Carolina School of Law. The law school offers a General Externship Program for students to extern in specialty areas of the law. Placements must be approved by the Clinic Director and are available to second- and third-year students. There are also field components to the Domestic Violence, Criminal, and Civil clinics. An academic support program is available to students for assistance with specific academic needs, problems, and adjustment expectations. Tutorials in each first-year substantive course and selected upper-level courses are open to all interested students. In addition, the law school offers a noncredit writing laboratory for 1 hour every week in the fall and spring semesters. There are active student organizations for the Innocence Project, Sports and Entertainment Law, Public Interest Law, Intellectual Property, and many other areas. The most widely taken electives are the Clinical Program, Criminal Procedure, and Trial Practice.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 88 total credits, of which 59 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, Civil Procedure II, Contracts I, Contracts II, Criminal Law, Legal Reasoning and Analysis, Legal Research and Persuasion, Property I, Property II, and Torts I. Required upper-level courses consist of Advanced Legal Writing I and II (Senior Writing Evening Program, Business Associations (Corporations Evening Program), Constitutional Law I, Decedents’ Estates, Evidence, Legal Letters (Day), N.C. Distinctions, Professional Responsibility, Sales and Secured Transactions, Senior Writing (Evening), and Taxation. Although not required, students are encouraged to enroll in the clinical program. There is a model law office that houses clinical facilities.The required orientation program for first-year students lasts 2 days and includes preenrollment seminars.

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

North Carolina Central University, School of Law Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 365,452 hard-copy volumes and 1,048,643 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 4250 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, CIS Universe, Infotrac, LEXIS, LOIS, OCLC First Search, and WESTLAW are available to law students for research. Special library collections include a depository for state and federal documents. Recently, the library built 2 new offices and a faculty research room. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 9877 to 1 and to students is 605 to 1.

Special Consideration

The law school recruits minority and disadvantaged students by means of the Performance-Based Admissions Program, which is designed to identify applicants who have the potential to succeed in law school but whose undergraduate transcripts and LSAT scores do not meet traditional standards. Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 have attended an ABA-approved law school, have 1 year of residence at the School of Law, and be in good standing with the previous law school.

North Carolina Central University, School of Law Admissions

One transfer enrolled. The median GPA of the most recent first-year class was 3.13.

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

The application deadline for fall entry is March 31. Applicants should submit an application form, LSAT results, transcripts, a nonrefundable application fee of $40, and 2 letters of recommendation. Accepted students who intend to enroll must submit a non-refundable $100 tuition deposit, which is applied to the student’s first tuition payment. 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.

North Carolina Central University, School of Law Financial Aid

About 88% 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 $17,822; maximum, $37,092. Awards are based on need and merit. Required financial statement is the FAFSA. The aid application deadline for fall entry is as soon as possible, but no later than June 30. Special funds for minority or disadvantaged students include Title III grants and scholarships. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application at time of acceptance.

North Carolina Central University, School of Law Students

About 59% of the student body are women; 49%, minorities; 42%, African American; 3%, Asian American; 3%, Hispanic; 1%, Native American; and 5%, Foreign National and unreported. The majority of students come from North Carolina (73%). The average age of entering students is 27; age range is 20 to 54. About 12% of students enter directly from undergraduate school and 13% have a graduate degree.

Students edit The North Carolina Central Law Journal and the Journal of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Law. Moot court competitions include the J. Braxton Craven, Jr. Memorial Moot Court Competition; Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition; and the Ernest B. Fullwood Moot Court Competition. Other competitions include the Trial Advocacy Competition, National Trial Competition, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) Trial Competition. Law student organizations include the Student Bar Association, Black Law Students Association, and the Public Interest Law Association. There are local chapters of Phi Alpha Delta and Phi Delta Phi. Other organizations include Women’s Caucus, Sports and Entertainment Law Association, and Outlaw Alliance.

The law school operates on a traditional semester basis. Courses for full-time students are offered days only and (some special elective classes may meet in the evening and must be completed within 3 years. For part-time students, courses are offered evenings only and must be completed within 4 years. New full- and part-time students are admitted in the fall. There are 2 5<1/2>-week summer sessions. Transferable summer courses are offered.