Mississippi College School of Law


Mississippi College School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school. MC Law is one of only two law schools is the state of Mississippi, and is the only law school in the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi. The school is a professional school of Mississippi College, founded in 1826. It is also colloquially referred to as MC Law, or MC Law School.

History

The law school was founded in 1930 as the Jackson School of Law. In 1975, the law school was acquired by Mississippi College. In 1980, subsequent to the merger between Mississippi College and the law school, MC Law gained full ABA accreditation. MC Law is one of two law schools in the state of Mississippi, and the only law school in the capital, Jackson. MC Law is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
On May 15, 2020, the council of the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar met remotely and determined this school and nine others had significant noncompliance with Standard 316. This Standard was revised in 2019 to provide that at least 75% of an accredited law school’s graduates who took a bar exam must pass one within two years of graduation. The school has been asked to submit a report by Feb. 1, 2021; and, if the council does not find the report demonstrates compliance, the school will be asked to appear before the council at its May, 2021 meeting.

Campus

The Mississippi College School of Law is located in the heart of the historic sector of downtown Jackson, within walking distance of City Hall, the Mississippi Supreme Court, the Federal District Courts, the Governor’s Mansion, and a number of government and private law firm offices.
In December 2005, MC Law completed a massive construction and renovation project, which more than doubled the size of the original campus. A new classroom building was added along with an auditorium building. The Law Library occupies three floors in the Law School’s West Wing, and contains one of the largest Mississippi collections of legal books, journals and microforms including statutes, court reports, digests, encyclopedias, treatises, loose-leaf services, periodicals and government documents. Beginning in 2013, the Law Library is also the repository of the Mississippi Legislature’s video archive footage. The main campus for Mississippi College is located about 15 miles to the west in Clinton, Mississippi.

Academics

The 2014 entering class had an enrollment of 151, with an LSAT median of 147 and a median GPA of 3.10. The average age at enrollment is 26, though the age range was 20-57. 53 colleges and universities are represented, along with 26 states, and 41 majors.
In addition to offering courses in common law, Mississippi College School of Law also offers a certificate in Louisiana Civil Law, which prepares the recipient for practice in the state of Louisiana by offering courses such as Successions and Donations, Obligations, Louisiana Civil Procedure, and Civil Law Property. MC Law is one of the only law schools to offer Civil Law training in addition to its Common Law curriculum.
MC Law has more than 25 full-time faculty members in all major disciplines of law, with more than 20% of the faculty holding a PhD or equivalent degree, and more than 50% of the faculty with an LL.M. or Masters in a specialized field. The Law School provides a national certificate programs for Civil Law training, and hosts six centers, the Mississippi College Law Review, and a Moot Court program. The Law School also offers an externship program with more than 50 students at any one time placed in externships, and more than 85% of MC Law students completing an externship or working part-time in the legal field prior to graduation. In addition, since 2010, the Law School offers a one-year LL.M. degree in U.S. legal studies for students holding law degrees from foreign law programs. In 2012, MC Law students posted a bar passage statistic in the state of Mississippi of higher than 83% first time passage rate.
In addition, each summer, MC Law offers students study abroad programs in France, Cuba, Germany, Mexico, and South Korea. MC Law was one of the first U.S. law schools to offer a program in Cuba.

Employment

According to MC Law's official 2014 ABA-required disclosures, 72.0% of the Class of 2014 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment within nine months after graduation.

Costs

Fall/Spring
Tuition $32,040
Fees $1,590
Books & Supplies $1,500
Room & Board $12,375
Transportation $3,600
Personal/Misc. $4,050
Total $55,155

2014 entering class