Rutgers School of Law - Camden

Rutgers School of Law-Camden is one of only three law schools in the state of New Jersey in the United States. The law school is located in Camden, New Jersey on the main campus of Rutgers-Camden, just 3 miles away from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The law school originated as South Jersey Law School, which was established in Camden in 1926 by Arthur E. Armitage, Sr., and an interested group of citizens. In 1950, the School of Law was merged with Rutgers University.

The law school is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and is on the list of approved schools by the American Bar Association (ABA).

The Law school offers a three-year course of study for full-time students and a four-year, part-time program leading to the awarding of the Juris Doctor degree. According to the 2008 edition of the ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools, 219 students matriculated to the law school last year. 48% of the first year class entered on a full-time basis. 52% of the first year class entered on a part-time basis. [ [http://officialguide.lsac.org//SearchResults/SchoolPage_PDFs/ABA_LawSchoolData/ABA2092.pdf Rutgers—The State University of New Jersey—School of Law—Camden] , American Bar Association Official Guide. Accessed July 28, 2007.]

Camden has two unique features uncharacteristic of others school of similar repute. First, the number of students accepting clerkships as their first job out of law school typically exceeds or equals the number of students accepting positions in private practice. [ [http://officialguide.lsac.org//SearchResults/SchoolPage_PDFs/ABA_LawSchoolData/ABA2092.pdf Rutgers—The State University of New Jersey—School of Law—Camden] , American Bar Association Official Guide. Accessed Feb 23, 2008.] Second, the number of part-time students enrolled in the "part-time day" program greatly exceeds the number of students in the part-time evening program. [ [http://camlaw.rutgers.edu/site/admissions/pdf/admbroch.pdf Admissions Brochure] . "The entering class size each fall is about 220 students (180 full- and part-time day and 40 part-time evening)." The ABA guide lists 113 part-time students. With only 40 as part-time evening, that means 73 are part-time day, if the brochure's estimates are true.] Most law schools typically only offer part-time evening programs, giving students the option to transfer to the day program after completing the required curriculum and meeting a set GPA. The motivations for this strange distribution of part-time students are unknown. Part-time statistics for LSAT and GPA are not computed when calculating U.S. News rank. [ [http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_brief.php America's best Graduate Schools 2008: Top Law Schools] . "U.S. News & World Report". Accessed Feb 23, 2008. Most law schools only mention their full-time LSAT and GPA when reporting their statistics in admissions brochures or on their website.]

Rutgers School of Law - Camden has three clinics: Domestic Violence, Children's Justice and Civil Practice. There are also Externship and Pro Bono opportunities. Additionally, the law school publishes three student journals: "Rutgers Law Journal", "Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion", and "Rutgers Journal of Law and Public Policy".

Rutgers School of Law - Camden was ranked 77th among the Top 100 law schools in the United States by the 2009 edition of "U.S. News & World Report"'s "Best Graduate Schools". [ [http://premium.usnews.com/grad/law/items/03097 America's best Graduate Schools 2009: Top Law Schools] . "U.S. News & World Report". Accessed April 19, 2008.]

A major expansion and renovation of the law school's building will be unveiled in spring of 2008.

References

External links

* [http://camlaw.rutgers.edu Rutgers School of Law-Camden]