Vermont Law School Law School

Vermont Law School, Vermont Law School Law School History

Vermont Law School was established in 1972 and is independent. The 13-acre campus is in a small town 70 miles southeast of Burlington. The primary mission of the law school is to provide a thorough understanding of the nature and function of law in society and to equip graduates to serve their communities in positions of leadership and responsibility. The school believes lawyers should be liberally educated, ethical, competent, and committed to improving the law and its administration. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the South Royalton area. The South Royalton Legal Clinic is located on campus. Facilities of special interest to law students include a modern library constructed in 1991 and a new classroom building constructed in 1998. Nearby Hanover, New Hampshire, home of Dartmouth College, is a source of student cultural and social life. Child care is available on campus. Housing for students is available in private houses, apartments, or rooms in the community or nearby towns. Rental units are plentiful; the law school provides students a listing. About 75% of the law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.

Vermont Law School, Vermont Law School Law School Academics

In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. and M.S.E.L. (Master of Studies in Environmental Law). 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.S.E.L. (Juris Doctor/Master of Studies in Environmental Law).

The Vermont Law School offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, international law, labor law, general practice; alternative dispute resolution; land use and real estate; and traditionally disadvantaged groups. In addition, clinics are open to second- and third-year students, but enrollment is limited. Clinics are Semester in Practice for 13 credits, Legislation Clinic for 6 credits, Environmental Semester in Washington, D.C. for 13 credits, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic for 4 credits, and South Royalton Legal Clinic for 6 or 13 credits. About 20 seminars are offered annually on various topics to second- and third-year students for 2 or 3 credits each. Faculty-supervised internships are open to second- and third-year students. Credit varies and placement can be in a variety of legal settings, including private practice, government, nonprofit agencies, the judiciary, and businesses. Faculty-supervised research programs are open to second- and third-year students and culminate in a major piece of legal writing. Special lecture series include the Waterman Lectures and other lectures arranged by faculty and student organizations. There is an exchange program with McGill University, Faculty of Law in Montreal, University of Paris (France), and University of Trento (Italy). Tutorial programs and the Program for Academic Success are offered. Workshops on topics such as time and stress management, case briefing, and exam taking are held. Minority programs are offered through the Coalition for Diversity, BALSA, APALSA, NLALSA, Native American Law Society, and the Office of the Dean of Student Services and Diversity. Special interest group programs are offered through the Alliance, Animal Law League, Environmental Law Society, and other groups. The most widely taken electives are Environmental Law, Corporations, and Estates.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 87 total credits, of which 44 are for required courses. They must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.20 in the required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Civil Procedure I and II, Constitutional Law I and II, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Reasoning, Writing, and Research, Property, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of 1 perspective elective, 1 skills or clinical elective, advanced writing project, Appellate Advocacy, and Legal Profession. All students must take clinical courses. The required orientation program for first-year students is 5 days of lectures and workshops on the legal process, court systems, and sources of law, and the analysis and briefing of cases. It also includes an orientation to the law library, its resources and support systems, and meetings with faculty advisers.

In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.2, have completed the upper-division writing requirement, and Legal Profession course; 1 perspective elective; 1 skills or clinical elective.

Vermont Law School, Vermont Law School Law School Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 245,105 hard-copy volumes and 116,681 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 1856 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, CIS Universe, DIALOG, Infotrac, Legal-Trac, LEXIS, LOIS, NEXIS, OCLC First Search, WESTLAW, ECONET, and EPIC are available to law students for research. Special library collections include environmental law, historic preservation, and alternative dispute resolution. The library added the 34,000 square-foot Cornell Library in 1991, which includes a computer room, seminar rooms, and faculty study room. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 5571 to 1 and to students is 399 to 1. The ratio of seats in the library to students is 1 to 5.

Special Consideration

The law school recruits minority and disadvantaged students through the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) program, direct mail through the Candidate Referral Service (CRS), and through participation in college minority student events and a diversity scholarship program. Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must be in good academic standing and eligible to return to the school from which they are transferring.

Vermont Law School, Vermont Law School Law School Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 989 applied, 580 were accepted, and 193 enrolled. Six transfers enrolled. The median LSAT percentile of the most recent first-year class was 64; the median GPA was 3.25 on a scale of 4.0. The highest LSAT percentile was 98.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and take the LSAT. The most important admission factors include academic achievement, character, personality, and LSAT results. No specific undergraduate courses are required. Candidates are interviewed.

The application deadline for fall entry is March 1. Applicants should submit an application form, a personal statement, a nonrefundable application fee of $60, 2 letters of recommendation, and 3 personal statements. 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.

Vermont Law School, Vermont Law School Law School Financial Aid

About 90% 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 $34,000; maximum, $63,000. 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 the Debevoise Family Scholarship Fund, which provides grants to qualified diverse applicants from traditionally underrepresented groups with demonstrated financial need. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application as early as possible after acceptance (usually late March) Merit awards are included in packet with acceptance letter.

Vermont Law School, Vermont Law School Law School Students

About 51% of the student body are women; 13%, minorities; 6%, African American; 2%, Asian American; 4%, Hispanic; and 1%, Native American. The majority of students come from the Northeast (50%). The average age of entering students is 25; age range is 22 to 51. About 24% of students enter directly from undergraduate school, 15% have a graduate degree, and 75% have worked full-time prior to entering law school. About 8% drop out after the first year for academic or personal reasons; 92% remain to receive a law degree.

Students edit the Vermont Law Review, the Environmental Law Journal, a literary journal Hearsay, and the newspaper, The Forum. Moot court competitions include the annual Thomas M. Debevoise Moot Court, with finals argued before the Vermont Supreme Court, the annual Douglas M. Costle Environmental Moot Court, and various regional and national moot court competitions. Student organizations include the Jewish Students Group, Guardians ad Litem, and Coalition for Diversity. There are local chapters of Amnesty International, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and Equal Justice Foundation. Campus clubs include the Barrister Bookshop, Law Partners, and Chamber Music Group.

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 an 8-week summer session. Transferable summer courses are offered.