University of Connecticut School of Law


The University of Connecticut School of Law is a public law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. In 2019, the school was ranked 50th overall, and 51st by academic peer reputation, out of the 206 American Bar Association-accredited law schools in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, while the evening program was recently ranked 6th in the country.

Background

Founded in 1921, the Law School is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Its gothic-style buildings, constructed in 1925, housed the Hartford Seminary until 1981, and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. UConn Law has repeatedly been ranked the top public law school in New England by U.S. News and World Report, and the University of Connecticut is also ranked among the top 25 public research universities nationally.

Academics

In addition to the Juris Doctor degree, the law school offers several joint degrees, including the J.D./LL.M., J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.L.S., J.D./M.P.A., J.D./M.P.H., and J.D./M.S.W.. UConn Law offers one of only two LL.M programs in insurance law in the United States. The faculty are known particularly for their strength in insurance law and intellectual property law.
The law school has approximately 374 students and a student:faculty ratio of 4.2:1. Entering first-year students join small discussion-based courses of only 20-30 students. Students may pursue concentrations in Corporate & Regulatory Compliance, Energy and Environmental Law, Human Rights & Social Justice, Intellectual Property and Information Governance, Law and Public Policy Certificate, Tax Studies Certificate, Transactional Practice Certificate, Financial Services Regulation Certificate, Foundational Certificates in U.S. Law.
In addition, UConn Law offers 17 clinics which provide hands-on, practical training to upper-level students who earn up to 10 credits for their work. These clinics include; strong and widely recognized Asylum and Human Rights, Energy and Environmental Law, Children's Advocacy, Criminal, Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Law, Mediation, U.S. Attorney's, and Tax Clinics are available. Seminars in a multitude of different substantive areas are available to upper-level students for about 3 credits. Internships and field work are available to upper-level students. Research positions are open to upper-level students under the direction of a faculty adviser.

Library

The Thomas J. Meskill Law Library contains 590,414 hard-copy volumes, 290,352 microform volume equivalents,12,500 periodicals and subscribes to 70,153 serial publications. The Law Library has access to hundreds of electronic databases, including Westlaw, Lexis and Bloomberg. It is also home to the most comprehensive collection of insurance materials in the country. The facility,, is one of the largest law libraries in the country. It is home to three classrooms, 16 group study rooms, an adaptive technology study room, two student lounges, and 310 study carrels, with total seating for 814. The library is also the new home of a collaborative work space for the law school's student organization and more than of shelving. Collections include federal and state statutes as well as judicial opinions, treatises and other primary sources. There are substantial collections of international legal materials, U.S. government publications, and insurance law materials. The library recently underwent a $21 million renovation, and reopened in June 2009.
The Law Library works closely with the University of Connecticut Libraries, which form the largest public research collection in the state of Connecticut. The main library is the Homer D. Babbidge Library, formerly the Nathan Hale Library, at the Storrs campus, which underwent a $3 million renovation that was completed in 1998, making it then the largest public research library in New England.

Law Journals and Publications

There are four scholarly journals edited on campus: the Connecticut Law Review, the Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal, the Connecticut Insurance Law Journal, and the Connecticut Journal of International Law. The Connecticut Law Review is the oldest, largest, and most active student-run publication at the School of Law. Five times per year, the organization publishes a high quality journal of interest to the general legal community. The journal has a circulation that spans all 50 states as well as 13 foreign countries. Members of Connecticut Law Review are responsible for the entire production process from article selection and editing through the layout of the final copy.

Admission

According to the University of Connecticut's official 2018 ABA-required standard 509 information report, the University offered admission to 38.74% of applicants. For the 2018 First Year Class, the University of Connecticut received 1,239 completed applications and offered admission to 480 applicants, of which 133 enrolled. The age range of the incoming class was 21-56.
LSAT:
Undergraduate GPA:
UConn Law's two-year bar passage rate of 97.82% ranks well above the national average of 88.32%
According to University of Connecticut's official 2017 ABA-required disclosures 90% of the Class of 2017 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners. University of Connecticut's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 11.3%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2016 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 at University of Connecticut School of Law:
Juris Doctorate:
After one year of residency, students are able to apply for in-state tuition to help reduce costs of tuition.
Master of Laws:
Doctor of the Science of Laws:
Tuition costs for Master of Laws programs is for all students.
The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is at maximum $227,991 for out-of-state residents, but there is the opportunity to apply for in-state tuition after one year of residency in Connecticut, so this cost is dramatically reduced to $122,016.

Faculty

13 members of the full-time faculty hold doctoral degrees. Notable faculty members include:
  1. 1921—1933 George Lilliard
  2. 1932—1933 Farrell Knapp
  3. 1933—1934 Thomas A. Larremore
  4. 1934—1942 Edward Graham Biard
  5. 1942—1946 Laurence J. Ackerman
  6. 1946—1966 Bert Earl Hopkins, J.S.D.
  7. 1966—1967 Cornelius J. Scanlon
  8. 1967—1972 Howard R. Sacks
  9. 1972—1974 Francis C. Cady
  10. 1974—1984 Phillip I. Blumberg
  11. 1984—1990 George Schatzki
  12. 1990—2000 Hugh C. MacGill
  13. 2000—2006 Nell Jessup Newton
  14. 2006—2007 Kurt A. Strasser
  15. 2007—2012 Jeremy R. Paul
  16. 2012—2013 Willajeanne F. McLean
  17. 2013— Timothy Fisher

    Gallery