University of Maine School of Law

University of Maine School of Law
Established	1962
Type	Public
Dean	Peter Pitegoff
Students	254
Location	Portland, Maine, USA
Campus	Urban
Website	http://www.mainelaw.maine.edu

The University of Maine School of Law is located in Portland, Maine and is Maine's only law school. It is a freestanding institution within the University of Maine System. In practice, it is administered as a unit of the University of Southern Maine, which provides the law school's support staff and physical plant needs. However, the school is officially not a part of the University of Southern Maine, as its mission extends to the entire state of Maine, not simply the Southern region. The law school's current Dean is Peter Pitegoff, who assumed the post in 2005.

Many of Maine's judges, legal scholars, politicians and community leaders graduated from the law school, including the current Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, the Hon. Leigh Ingalls Saufley, former state Attorney General Steven Rowe, former State Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock, former Governor John McKernan and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine, Paula D. Silsby.

Background

Sign at the University of Maine School of Law

In 2009, the University of Maine School of Law was ranked among the top 100 in the U.S. News & World Report annual ranking of U.S. law schools but has fallen back into the third tier. University of Maine School of Law was established in 1962 and is a public institution. The campus is in an urban area in Portland. The primary mission of the law school is to educate students to serve the public and private sectors with distinction; to contribute to the advancement of the law through scholarly and professional research and writing; and to engage in public services aimed at improving the legal system. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Portland area. Portland is the major urban and legal center in the state. Facilities of special interest to law students are the Cumberland County Superior Court, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, and the Federal District Court. Housing for students is available in university dorms, but most students prefer to find housing in and around Portland. All law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.^[1]

Academics

Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; the maximum number of credits varies and must be approved. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in public policy and management), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Business Administration), J.D./M.C.P. (Juris Doctor/Master in Community Planning and Development), and J.D./M.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Science in health policy and management).

Maine Law offers an Integrated Clinical Education Program to third-year students and includes civil practice and criminal defense under the auspices of the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic. This clinic includes the General Practice Clinic, Prisoner Assistance Clinic (civil matters), and Criminal Law and Family practicums. Students interested in intellectual property law benefit from a unique Intellectual Property Clinic in which they may prepare and file patent or trademark applications on behalf of local inventors and entrepreneurs.^[2] Maine Law’s IP Clinic is one of only four in the nation certified under the patent portion of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Law School Clinical Certification Pilot, and one of only sixteen schools certified under the Pilot’s trademark division.^[3] All clinics are open to third-year students and range from 3 to 6 credits. Students can also gain academic credit for work at many nonprofit and government agencies through an extensive externship program. Seminars in commercial law, consumer law, constitutional law, intellectual property law, and international law are open to second- and third-year students. The Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service is held annually, along with the Godfrey Distinguished Visiting Lecturer and the Deans Distinguished Lecture Series. The Student Bar Association and other student organizations also offer guest lectures. There is a 1-semester option at Dalhousie Law School in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the University of New Brunswick, Canada; University College, Galway, Ireland; and the University of Buckingham, England.^[4]

Admission & Employment Statistics

The University of Maine School of Law currently has a student/faculty ratio of 15.3:1. Acceptance to Maine Law is competitive. Applications were up 62% for the class of 2013.^[5] Approximately 37% of applicants are admitted, with 60% coming from Maine. The median LSAT score is 156, and the average GPA is 3.4. Roughly 52% of students are female, and 48% are male. Approximately 7% of this year's first year class are members of a racial minority group.^[6]

On average, 92.5% of students pass the bar on their first attempt. Nine months after graduation, 95.8% of Maine Law graduates are employed. With nearly 3/4 of the student body coming from Maine, it is also the state in which a majority take their bar examination. Graduates of Maine Law can expect to make, on average, $60,000 a year in the private sector immediately following their graduation.^[7]

Publications

The school is home to the Maine Law Review, the Ocean and Coastal Law Journal.

Campus

Maine Law is home to the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, a free clinic for people of low income in the area, as well as to the Marine Law Institute and the Center for Law and Innovation.^[8]

Notes

1. ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/131/
2. ^ http://mainelaw.maine.edu/academics/clinical-programs/ip.html
3. ^ http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/practitioner/agents/law_school_pilot.jsp
4. ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/131/
5. ^ http://www.mainelaw.maine.edu/news/20104_admissions.html
6. ^ http://mainelaw.maine.edu/admissions/entering-class-profile.html
7. ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/131/
8. ^ http://mainelaw.maine.edu/cli/

External links

• Official webpage
• Internet Legal Research Group

Coordinates: 43°39′40″N 70°16′44″W / 43.6611°N 70.2789°W / 43.6611; -70.2789