Moritz College of Law

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law is a public law school and charter member of the Association of American Law Schools. According to the 2010 U.S. News & World Report rankings, the Moritz College of Law is 35th in the nation overall and is in the top ten among public law schools. The specialty program in dispute resolution is ranked 5th in the nation. Founded in 1891 and elevated to college status in 1896,^[5] the College of Law has produced approximately 9,000 graduates.^[6]

Drinko Hall: Home of The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law

The university has recognized the College of Law through its Selective Investment Grants as a unit worthy of funding for innovative programs and top faculty.^[7] Moritz's faculty have been awarded University-wide teaching, diversity, and scholarship awards.^[8][9][10]

Traditional fields, such a criminal law, employment law, labor law, commercial law, and international law are available, as well as emerging areas, such as alternative dispute resolution and cyberlaw/intellectual property. The Moritz College of Law offers the fifth ranked alternative dispute resolution program,^[11] as well as an array of clinical programs. Dual degrees are sought by a number of students in the more than 100 master's programs and 90 Ph.D's offered by the university.^[12] Certificate programs are available to practicing attorneys and current students in international development and trade, dispute resolution, and children studies.^[13]

Students are encouraged to engage in public service through a number of activities, like Street Law, an educational program for children; Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, a tax preparation clinic for the poor;^[14] and Pro Bono Research Group, a student led and staffed research program that aids legal aid and pro bono attorneys throughout Ohio.^[15] Financial assistance is available to reduce the strain of entering public service law through the Public Interest Law Foundation's Fellows Program.^[16] During the summer, the Moritz College offers internships and classes in Washington, D.C., Columbus, and classes at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Students can take advantage of over 40 student organizations. National figures routinely appear at the College through a number of lecture series and a variety of conferences and workshops. Leading scholars from around the world routinely converge on the College for conferences and symposia.

In 2001, the College of Law received a $30 million donation from Michael E. Moritz, a graduate of the Ohio State University and its law school. This remains the largest single gift to the university (not counting the $100 million donation from Les Wexner in 2011). It provides full tuitions and stipends to 30 law students, 4 endowed faculty chairs, 3 service awards for students, and a fund for use by the dean.^[17] The law school is currently campaigning to raise an additional $30 million to match Moritz's gift and make further improvements.^[18]

The College of Law is located in Drinko Hall at the corner of 12th Avenue and High Street at the South-East corner of the Columbus campus. It is the only college at The Ohio State University to operate on semesters (until June 2012).

Moritz Law

The Dedication Wall inside the main lobby

Lou's Cafe inside the College of Law from the second floor balcony

Journals

Students have the opportunity to write and edit works published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals:

• The Ohio State Law Journal is the oldest (founded in 1935) and most widely cited of the journals published by the Moritz College of Law. It is published six times a year and has many articles online.
• The Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution is an officially sponsored quarterly journal of the American Bar Association. The Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution is the leading academic journal in the field of alternative dispute resolution. It is in its 25th year of publication and has won numerous awards in alternative dispute resolution scholarship.^[19] Additionally, the journal sponsors the Schwartz Lecture on Dispute Resolution, as well as an annual symposium relating to issues in dispute resolution.
• The Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law The Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law is a peer-evaluated, faculty-student cooperative venture published by the Michael E. Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University. Published semi-annually, it is a forum for important scholarship written by academics and professionals in the criminal justice field. The Journal's purpose is to provide useful, interesting, and provocative commentary on critical issues of interest to the national, and even international, criminal justice community. Each issue includes solicited scholarly articles, in a symposium format with a Guest Editor, written by experts on the subject. Past topics have included policing corporate conduct, capital juries, and the criminal justice system post–September 11. Each issue contains a Commentary section with briefer essays. The journal publishes high-caliber student essays, reviews of books, empirical studies, criminal justice reports, and even reviews of movies and other media.
• I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society is a peer-reviewed journal on the intersection of law, policy, and information technology published jointly with Carnegie Mellon University since 2005.^[20]
• The Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal is a semi-annual journal on issues affecting small businesses and entrepreneurship.

Moot Court & Lawyering Skills Program

The Moot Court & Lawyering Skills Program at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law includes intramural competitions and inter-scholastic teams covering various areas of the law. The Moot Court and Lawyering Skills Governing Board is responsible for organizing and administering four intramural competitions: the Herman Moot Court Competition, Colley Trial Practice Competition, the Representation in Mediation Competition, and the Lawrence Negotiations Competition.

The Moot Court Board also oversees the 15 Moot Court teams that compete nationally against other schools, and assists them in their preparation for competition. The teams include: Two teams who compete in the ABA Moot Court Competition, Two teams who compete in the Nationals Moot Court Competition, Two Civil Rights teams, a team who competes in the Jessup International Law competition, and teams in Corporate Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Juvenile Law and Labor Law. In addition, the winners from the Lawrence Negotiations and Representation in Mediation intramural competitions move on to an inter-scholastic regional round.

The Moot Court and Lawyering Skills Governing Board consists of a Chief Justice, four Executive Justices and seven Associate Justices, all of whom are second- and third-year students. The Board has established standing committees to oversee each major competition, and every Associate Justice is assigned as chairperson of a standing committee.^[21]

Library

The library at the Moritz College houses the 14th largest law school library collection in the United States^[1] and is part of the College's new wireless network. A donation in 1891 started the collection which has grown to 750,000 volumes today. The library is a member of OhioLINK and has access to LexisNexis, WestLaw, and HeinOnline, among others. The public is welcome to use the library as it is the largest law library in the state of Ohio.^[22]

Clinics and centers

Moritz houses several legal clinics and centers that focus on a variety of legal, business, and political issues.

Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies

The Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies offers students the opportunity to work closely with faculty members from both the College of Law and other disciplines on research dealing with critical contemporary policy issues. Three areas are of particular interest:

• Law and humanities, focusing on legal history and culture.
• Law, policy, and social sciences, focusing on empirical research, judicial behavior, and policy influences.
• Law and the information society, focusing on privacy, security, E-government, and E-democracy.

The I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society is a publication of the Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies.

Justice for Children

Ensuring that children and their rights are taken seriously, the Justice for Children Practicum provides students with the opportunity to represent children in a variety of legal proceedings. The cases may include abuse and neglect, delinquency, status offense, custody, and termination of parental rights cases pending in various courts

Student Housing Legal Clinic

Student Housing Legal Clinic (SHLC) was established in 1999 to provide free legal advice and representation to OSU students with landlord-tenant concerns.

The Clinic, an academic partnership between the Office of Student Affairs and the Moritz College of Law, recognizes that housing issues can affect the academic success, wellness, retention, and recruitment of students, as well as the relationship of the University to the community.

The purpose of the Clinic is to work with students, landlords, community organizations, and city officials to improve housing conditions and safety in the University District and surrounding areas, while providing a unique educational opportunity for law students to gain practical experience.

The Clinic offers the full continuum of legal services ranging from counsel and advice to long-term representation.

Legislation Clinic

The Moritz Legislation Clinic provides a front-row view of the legislative process in the Buckeye State as students work directly with legislative leaders and their staffs on matters pending or anticipated to arise before the Ohio House and Senate.

Team-taught by two members of the clinic faculty, the course meets twice a week. The classroom component focuses on the Ohio legislative process and on state constitutional law as it affects the relationship between Ohio courts and the legislature.

Clinical placements (as well as class sessions) teach students how to research and analyze current and potential legislative issues, expose them to the challenges of information sharing in a partisan context, and develop their negotiation and consensus building skills.

Alumni

Some of the college's notable alumni include:

• Howard M. Metzenbaum, former United States Senator from Ohio (1941)
• C. William O'Neill, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, Ohio Attorney General, Ohio Governor, and Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice (1942)
• William B. Saxbe, former United States Attorney General and Ambassador to India (1945)
• Robert Duncan, former justice on the Ohio Supreme Court, former judge on the United States Court of Military Appeals, former judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Judge (1952)
• Wade L. Hopping, justice of the Florida Supreme Court (1955)
• David A. Katz, United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Judge (1957)
• John (Jack) Creighton, former president & CEO of Weyerhaeuser Co. and chairman and CEO of UAL Corp. (United Airlines) (1957)
• Robert E. Holmes, former justice Ohio Supreme Court (1959)
• George V. Voinovich, United States Senator (1961)
• David L. Hobson, United States House of Representatives (1963)
• Gregory Lockhart - U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
• Thomas J. Moyer, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice (1964)
• Paul E. Pfeifer, Ohio Supreme Court Justice (1966)
• Michael G. Oxley, United States House of Representatives (1969)
• John Garland, president of Central State University (1974)
• Erin Moriarty, CBS News/48 Hours reporter (1977)
• Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Ohio Supreme Court Justice (1978)
• Zack Space, United States House of Representatives (1986)
• Linda L. Ammons, dean of the Widener University School of Law (1987)
• Sara Lioi, United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Judge (1987)
• Brian Sandoval, former United States District Court for the District of Nevada Judge (1989)
• Jeffrey S. Sutton, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judge (1990)
• Mark D. Wagoner, Ohio State Senator (1997)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} About Moritz College of Law. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
2. ^ US News Student Profile. Accessed on June 13, 2006.</
3. ^ Ohio State University (Moritz) - Best Law Schools - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report. Accessed on April 15, 2010.</
4. ^ Moritz College of Law: Tuition, Fees and Student Budget. Accessed on April 14, 2010.</
5. ^ Moritz Fact Sheet. Accessed on June 13, 2006.</
6. ^ 2006 Law Bulletin, inside cover. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
7. ^ 2000 Selective Investment Grant. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
8. ^ 2004 Distinguished Teaching Awards. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
9. ^ 2003 University Distinguished Scholar Awards. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
10. ^ 2004 University Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award. Accessed on July 13, 2006.
11. ^ US News ADR Rankings 2006. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
12. ^ 2006 Moritz College of Law Bulletin, page 12
13. ^ Certificate Programs. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
14. ^ Public Interest Programs and Opportunities
15. ^ Pro Bono Research Group. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
16. ^ Public Interest Law Foundation. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
17. ^ $30M Gift is Largest Single Donation to OSU, onCampus. July 19, 2001. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
18. ^ Law Record, Autumn 2005, Dean's Message. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
19. ^ Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
20. ^ Moritz Announces Journal for the New Information Age, This Month @ Moritz. Accessed on June 13, 2006.
21. ^ Student Organizations: Moot Court. Accessed on August 25, 2007.
22. ^ About the Law Library. Accessed on June 13, 2006.

Coordinates: 39°59′46″N 83°00′29″W / 39.99611°N 83.00806°W / 39.99611; -83.00806