University of Oklahoma College of Law

University of Oklahoma College of Law
Motto Ministri iuris fideles
Established 1909
School type Public
Dean Joseph Harroz, Jr.
Location Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Enrollment 503[1]
Faculty 35 (full-time) [2]
USNWR ranking 60[3]
Bar pass rate 95%[4]
Website www.law.ou.edu

The University of Oklahoma College of Law is an ABA-certified law school located on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Oklahoma. Currently, the College of Law has an enrollment of 527 law students.[5]

The Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Garden located on the north part of the main campus in honor of the first African-American to be admitted to the College of Law in 1948.

The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Board of Regents. It opened at the beginning of the next school year in September 1909.[6] The first dean was Professor Julien C. Monnet of The George Washington University Law School. The College of Law initially shared space in the Science Building before moving to the basement of the Carnegie Building.

In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Sipuel v. Board of Regents of Univ. of Okla. that Oklahoma could not bar African American students from its, at the time, all white law school. This was a landmark case in the early American Civil Rights Movement. A garden, located between Jacobson Hall and Carpenter Hall, now stands in honor of this milestone.

In 2002, the current location of the law school, Andrew M. Coats Hall, was renovated and expanded. It is named after the then-current law school dean, who is an OU Law graduate.

According to OU Law's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 64.1% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners.[7]

History

The College of Law was founded by Julien C. Monnet in 1909. From its humble beginnings of Dean Monnet, two faculty members, and 47 students, the College of Law has grown to become one of the preeminent legal institutions in the South Central United States. In 1914, thanks to the incessant lobbying of state legislators by law students for funding its construction, the college moved into its first permanent home, Monnet Hall. The "47,000-square-foot Law Barn," as it was affectionately known, was home to the college for 62 years. As the home of the College of Law, it was witness to many events in Oklahoma (and American) history, including the admission of then-future OU Regent Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, the first black woman admitted to the College of Law, in 1948. Other notable graduates include former US Senator and current OU President David L. Boren, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, former Oklahoma Governors Frank Keating and Brad Henry and former Oklahoma County District Attorney and current Dean Emeritus Andrew M. Coats.Despite the additional square footage built onto the rear of Monnet Hall, the Law Center, which the College of Law and its associated entities came to be called in 1971, outgrew the building, forcing a relocation to its current home on Timberdell Road in 1976.

Adding the American Indian Law Review to complement the established Oklahoma Law Review, expanding clinical legal education, and generally striving to meet the increasing demands of legal education in the late 20th century caused OU Law to once again outgrow its facilities.In October 1999, ground was broken on a $19 million construction and renovation project which ultimately added 80,000 square feet to the facility, featuring the 58,000 square foot Donald E. Pray Law Library and the 250-seat Dick Bell Courtroom. The new library features the Chapman Reading room, modeled after the reading room in Monnet Hall, with a parquet floor reminiscent of the floors in the Louvre. The Donald E. Pray Law Library, which is open to the public, boasts the largest law collection, public or private, in the state. The Dick Bell Courtroom is one of the largest and most technologically advanced courtrooms in the region, if not the nation, and hosts live trials from the various courts in central Oklahoma. The Bell Courtroom has hosted appellate cases from both the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (including a death penalty appeal) and the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, as well as civil trials from the US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Academics

Oklahoma Law's tradition of excellence has earned it recognition as one of the leading law schools of the South-Central United States.[6] In its 2014 publication, U.S. News & World Report ranks the College of Law 58th among the nation's law schools.

Notable Alumni

Notable graduates include civil rights pioneer Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, defense attorney Stephen Jones, federal judicial nominee Scott L. Palk, former US Senator and current OU President David L. Boren, Oklahoma State University President V. Burns Hargis, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, Congressman and Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Brad Carson, former Oklahoma Governors Frank Keating and Brad Henry, former Oklahoma County District Attorney and current Dean Emeritus Andrew M. Coats and Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Steven W. Taylor.

Employment

Kit Johnson, professor of College of Law, in 2013.

According to OU Law's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 64.1% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo-practitioners.[7] Including solo-practitioners, the full-time long-term bar passage-required employment rate for 2013 graduates was 66.3%,[7] higher than the national average of 57% for ABA-approved law schools.[8]

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at OU Law for the 2012-2013 academic year is $38,181 for Oklahoma residents and $48,606 for non-residents.[9]

The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $144,339.[10]

Publications

Notes

  1. ↑ "University of Oklahoma Enrollment Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  2. ↑ "University of Oklahoma Fact Book" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  3. ↑ "U.S. News & World Report, Rankings - Best Law Schools". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  4. ↑ "University of Oklahoma College of Law, ABA Law School Data" (PDF). LSAC. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
  5. ↑ "Enrollment Summary, University of Oklahoma, Spring 2011" (PDF). University of Oklahoma. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
  6. 1 2 Long, Charles F. (September 1965). "With Optimism For the Morrow: A History of The University of Oklahoma". Sooner Magazine.
  7. 1 2 3 "Section of Legal Education, Employment Summary Report". American Bar Association. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  8. ↑ Caron, Paul. "ABA Releases 'Bleak' Jobs Data for 2013 Law School Grads". TaxProf Blog. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "The University of Oklahoma - 2013 Standard 509 Information Report" (PDF). The University of Oklahoma College of Law. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "University of Oklahoma Profile, Cost". Law School Transparency. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

Coordinates: 35°11′46″N 97°26′47″W / 35.19611°N 97.44639°W / 35.19611; -97.44639

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