DePaul University College of Law


DePaul University College of Law is a law school located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1897 as the Illinois College of Law, the school became part of DePaul University in 1912 and is one of the academic colleges of DePaul, a Big East Conference university.
For the 2020 ranking, U.S. News & World Report gave DePaul University College of Law a ranking of tied for No.132.
According to DePaul's 2014 ABA-required disclosures, 58% of the Class of 2014 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.

History

DePaul University College of Law was formed in 1912 when the Illinois College of Law affiliated with DePaul University. In 1912, DePaul awarded an LL.D., its first honorary degree, to the founder and then president of the Illinois College of Law, Howard N. Ogden. In 1915, after the death of Ogden, complete ownership of the college transferred to DePaul.
In 1958, the College of Law moved from 64 East Lake Street to its new and current home in the Lewis Center at 25 East Jackson Boulevard. The 18-story Lewis Center, formerly known as the Kimball Building, was given to DePaul in 1955 by the Frank J. Lewis Foundation and was at that time the largest gift to the university.
In 1972, DePaul purchased the Finchley Building, which was renamed the Comeford J. O'Malley Place in 1980, in honor of Comeford O'Malley who served as president and chancellor of DePaul for many years. "O'Malley," as it is known by students, is located at 25 East Jackson Street, adjacent to the Lewis Center, and served to increase downtown campus space by 20 percent. That same year, the College of Law opened its Legal Clinic. A year later, in 1973, the school undertook a $2 million renovation in order to increase space by 50 percent, remodel both its buildings, and double the size of its law library collection.
By 1981, the school had awarded 8,670 J.D.s. That year, DePaul designated the Lewis Center and O'Malley Place as part of its official "Loop Campus." Today, the Loop Campus includes the College of Law and a number of programs and buildings not related to the College, including the DePaul Center, home to DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business.
In 1985, DePaul established a Health Law Institute, the first of its kind in Chicago. The institute offered a master's degree in health law. Then, in 1989, DePaul completed its Lawyer Skills Center, which provided the college with a facility for teaching students trial practice and negotiation skills. A year later, in 1990, the school established its International Human Rights Law Institute, the first center of its kind in the Midwest.
In 1992, the College received a $1 million commitment from alumnus Robert A. Clifford, a prominent personal injury attorney in Chicago. The gift represented the largest gift in the school's history and was used for the establishment of the "Robert A. Clifford Chair in Tort Law and Social Policy."
In 1994, the College began a $6 million renovation to its law library which was completed in 1996 and represented the largest construction project in the College's history.
In 1999, then professor M. Cherif Bassiouni was nominated for the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts behind the establishment of the International Criminal Court. He taught at the College until 2012.

Academics

In addition to offering a Juris Doctor degree, DePaul University College of Law offers joint degree programs with DePaul's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and DePaul's College of Computing and Digital Media, as well as joint degrees in Public Service Management and in International Studies.
Students pursuing a J.D. have the option of earning a certificate in a particular area of law. Such certificates are analogous to an undergraduate academic major, typically requiring the student to complete a given number of courses and maintain a minimum overall GPA in those courses. Certificates are available in the following areas: Criminal Law, Family Law, Health Law, Public Interest Law, International & Comparative Law, Taxation and Intellectual Property Law. Intellectual Property Law certificates are further sub-divided into: Information Technology Law, Arts & Museum Law, Patent Law, and a General Certificate.
The College also offers Master of Laws programs in Intellectual Property Law, Health Law, General Information, and Taxation.
The class entering study at the College in 2018 had a median LSAT score of 153 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.2.
The 2017 edition of the U.S. News & World Report Rankings ranked DePaul University College of Law 111th nationally, and the 2020 Ranking ranked the College tied for 132nd nationally.

Employment

According to DePaul's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 45.4% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. DePaul's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 35.9%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.

Costs

The total cost of attendance for the full-time juris doctorate program at DePaul for the 2014-2015 academic year is $44,960. The total cost of attendance for the part-time program is $29,220. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $250,412.

Journals

The College currently publishes the following primarily student-run journals:
The following is a list of notable DePaul College of Law graduates, with degree conferral dates in parentheses: