School of Law

University of New Mexico-Main Campus, School of Law History

University of New Mexico School of Law was established in 1947 and is a public institution. The 600-acre campus is in an urban area in the city of Albuquerque. The primary mission of the law school is to offer a legal education that combines training in legal doctrine, theory, and policy with the development of practical lawyering skills. Emphasis is placed on student-faculty interaction. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Albuquerque area. A facilities of special interest to law students is Bratton Hall, which, in addition to housing the classrooms, seminar rooms, and faculty, staff, and student organization offices, is home to the Utton Transboundary Resources Center, the American Indian Law Center, and the Law Practice Clinic. Housing for students consists of off-campus rental homes and apartments, where most students live, and 200 student family apartments. The university helps with finding housing. All law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.

University of New Mexico-Main Campus, School of Law Academics

Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 6 to 9 credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Water Resources), J.D./M.A., M.S., or Ph.D (all degrees are available in various academic fields), J.D./M.A.L.A.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Latin American Studies), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration), and J.D./M.P.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration).

The School of Law offers concentrations in Indian law and natural resources, and environmental law certificate programs are offered. In addition, UNM’s Clinical Law Program is a requirement for the J.D. degree. Students, supervised by faculty members, may counsel and advise clients and appear in state, federal, and tribal courts in New Mexico. Judicial and law office externships are available. Individual research, worth from 1 to 3 credits, is available under faculty direction. There is also an Advanced Legal Research elective. Summer-abroad programs are available through the Guanajuato Summer Law Institute. Exchange programs are offered with schools in Mexico, Canada, and Australia. Students may visit at ABA-approval programs throughout the world. Tutorials are available for each substantive course to first-year students.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 86 total credits, of which 41 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: Advocacy, Civil Procedure I, Constitutional Law, Contracts I, Criminal Law, Historical Introduction to Law, Legal Reasoning, Research, and Writing, Practicum, Property I, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of 6 hours of clinical courses and a course in Professional Responsibility. All students must take clinical courses. The required orientation program for first-year students lasts 2 days.

In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0, have completed the upper-division writing requirement, and have at least 3 full academic years in residence. An ethics course must be taken.

University of New Mexico-Main Campus, School of Law Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 433,064 hard-copy volumes and 39,325 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 3295 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, CIS Universe, Infotrac, Legal-Trac, LEXIS, LOIS, NEXIS, OCLC First Search, WESTLAW, and Wilsonline Indexes, are abailble to law students for research. For a complete list see http://lawschool.unm.edu/lawlib/databases. Special library collections include a selective federal and New Mexico government document depository, an extensive collection of New Mexico appellate briefs and records, American Indian law, Mexican and Latin American law, land-grant law, and Water Policy Collection. Recently, the library installed a wireless network and new chairs throughout the library, new carpeting and circulation desk, new TV/VCR/DVD in the library study rooms, new furniture in student study rooms, more than 30 pieces of art , an elevator, and a library classroom. A special needs computer and adaptive software as well as 9 public PCs are available. A seminar and archival reading room opened. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 11,704 to 1 and to students is 1248 to 1. The ratio of seats in the library to students is 1 to 1.

Special Consideration

Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must have one year of credit, have attended an ABA-approved law school, and a letter from the dean of the previously attended school. The applicant must be in good academic standing.

University of New Mexico-Main Campus, School of Law Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 1200 applied, 264 were accepted, and 112 enrolled. Six transfers enrolled. The median GPA of the most recent first-year class was 3.36.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and take the LSAT. No specific undergraduate courses are required. Candidates are not interviewed.

The application deadline for fall entry is February 15. Applicants should submit an application form, a personal statement, a nonrefundable application fee of $50, 1 letter of recommendation, LSDAS report, and a r

University of New Mexico-Main Campus, School of Law Financial Aid

Awards are based on need and merit. Required financial statements are the FAFSA and Need Access. The aid application deadline for fall entry is March 1. Special funds for minority or disadvantaged students include graduate fellowships, available through the Office of Graduate Studies. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application after acceptance.

University of New Mexico-Main Campus, School of Law Students

About 51% of the student body are women; 45%, minorities; 3%, African American; 2%, Asian American; 29%, Hispanic; and 10%, Native American. The average age of entering students is 28; age range is 21 to 50.

The primary law review is the New Mexico Law Review, which is published 3 times a year. Students also edit the Natural Resources Journal and Tribal Law Journal. Moot court teams attend the Native American Law Student Association, Hispanic, and National Moot Court competitions. Other competitions include the Jessup Moot Court Competition and Health Law Moot Court Competition. Law student organizations include the Student Bar Association, Environmental Law Society, International Law Students Association, Mexican American Law Students Association, Black Law Students Association, and Native American Law Students Association. There are campus chapters of Phi Alpha Delta, Phi Delta Phi, and Association of Trial Lawyers of America/New Mexico.

The law school operates on a traditional semester basis. Courses for full-time students are offered days only and must be completed within 3 years. There is no part-time program. However, UNM offers a flexible time program, in which students may take fewer credit hours per semester. Courses are offered in the day only and must be completed within 5 years. New full- and part-time students are admitted in the fall. There is a 10 maximum-week summer session. Transferable summer courses are not offered.