Texas A&M University School of Law

Texas A&M University
School of Law
Type Public
Established 1989
Dean Andrew Morriss
Academic staff
 39
Students 735
Location Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
32°44′54″N 97°19′32″W / 32.748466°N 97.325559°W / 32.748466; -97.325559Coordinates: 32°44′54″N 97°19′32″W / 32.748466°N 97.325559°W / 32.748466; -97.325559
Website law.tamu.edu

Texas A&M University School of Law (previously Texas Wesleyan University School of Law) is a public, ABA-accredited law school located in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. The law school is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and offers the juris doctor degree through its full-time, part-time, and evening programs.

Founded in 1989, the law school began as the DFW School of Law in Irving, Texas, then became the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in 1992. Texas A&M University acquired the law school in 2013.

On June 26, 2012, Texas Wesleyan University and Texas A&M University reached an agreement whereby the university would take over ownership and operational control of the School, to be renamed the Texas A&M University School of Law. The agreement was finalized on August 12, 2013, with Texas A&M purchasing the school and all its physical and licensing assets for $73 million.[1]

Academics

The school confers the Juris Doctor degree upon students who satisfactorily complete a 90-hour course of study, rigorous writing requirement, and a 30-hour pro bono requirement. For July 2015, the school had a Texas Bar Exam pass rate of 73.96%, placing it sixth in the state of Texas behind University of Texas School of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law, Baylor Law School, and the University of Houston Law Center.[2] In 2014, the United States Patent and Trademark Office approved a clinic at the law school after the school had shown a strong intellectual property program.[3] The school has expanded that program, doubling that faculty in 2015.[4]

Programs

The Texas A&M Law Fellowship awards fellowships to deserving students who work in public interest organizations, made possible in part by the Tarrant County Bar Association and the Tarrant County Young Lawyers. The program pairs students with practicing attorneys and provides practical experience in both trial and appellate courts. It is student run.[5]

The law clinic at the law school focuses on family law, children’s issues, social security, and SSI disability. Additionally, the law clinic collaborates with the charities SafeHaven and the Lena Pope Home. Students who are accepted into the clinic are supervised by practicing attorneys and a faculty supervisor.[6]

Ranking

As of 2016, Texas A&M University is ranked 111 in the US News Rankings of Best Law Schools.[7] The school was ranked 31 (of 61) for the school's part-time program.[8]

Employment

According to Texas A&M's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 43.75% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[9] Texas A&M's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 24.1%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2014 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[10]

Controversy

In 2014, Texas A&M Provost Karen Watson invited the alumni to a meeting where she explained that A&M would not issue updated diplomas its alumni and has disbanded the alumni association. The alumni responded with a petition to the school asking it to "do the right thing," but received no response. In August 2015, the alumni filed a class action suit against Texas A&M University to resolve their alumni status.[11] The issue is that A&M has caused problems for the alumni by refusing to provide full alumni status. As an example, it has become difficult to "apply for jobs or take bar exams" because they require that you select your ABA accredited Law school and the new name has replaced the old name in the government and ABA records[12] The lawsuit is in the federal court of the Northern District of Texas.[13]

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Texas A&M for the 2014-2015 academic year is $54,920.[14]

Publications

Notable alumni

Tim Ford, Former District Attorney for Palo Pinto County, Texas. First graduate of the school of law to be elected to office.

References

  1. ↑ Monica S. Nagy, Regent gives $1 million to Texas A&M School of Law, Star-Telegram (Fort Worth), Apr. 2, 2014 (last visited on July 8, 2015); Reeve Hamilton, A&M's Law School Acquisition Differs From Original Plan, Tex. Trib., Aug. 13, 2013 (last visited July 8, 2015).
  2. ↑ July 2015 Examination Statistics, Texas Board of Law Examiners, n.d. (last visited November 13, 2015).
  3. ↑ Student Lawyers Get in on the Intellectual Property Boom, Wall St. J., Aug. 5, 2014 (last visited July 8, 2015).
  4. ↑ Dennis Crouch, Texas A&M University School of Law, PatentlyO.com, Apr. 10, 2015.
  5. ↑ Megan Cooley, Profiles of Service, Tarrant County Bar Ass'n Bull., Feb. 2015, at 14.
  6. ↑ Law Clinic, Texas A&M University, n.d. (last visited July 8, 2015).
  7. ↑ Best Law Schools: Texas A&M University, U.S. News & World Report, n.d. (last visited July 8, 2015).
  8. ↑ Best Law Schools: Texas A&M University.
  9. ↑ Employment Statistics, Texas A&M University, n.d. (last visited July 8, 2015).
  10. ↑ Texas A&M Profile (formerly Texas Wesleyan University): Class of 2014, LSTScoreReprts.com, n.d. (last visited July 8, 2015).
  11. ↑ Benjamin Wermund, Law school graduates sue A&M over alumni status, Houston Chron., Aug. 12, 2015 (last visited Aug. 12, 2015).
  12. ↑ Wermund.
  13. ↑ Lawsuit: "http://norredlaw.com/twu-am/tamu-tamu/the-disavowed-graduates-file-against-twu-and-am-school-of-law"
  14. ↑ Tuition and Expenses, Texas A&M University, n.d. (last visited July 8, 2015).
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