University of Michigan Law School

University of Michigan Law School
Established	1859
School type	Public
Endowment	US$248 million(2000)
Parent endowment	US$7.8billion (2011)[1]
Dean	Evan Caminker
Location	Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Enrollment	1,100
Faculty	90
Bar pass rate	94%
Website	law.umich.edu
ABA profile	officialguide.lsac.org

The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degree. The Law School has 81 full-time faculty members (60 tenured and tenure-track and 21 in clinical and legal practice).^[2]

Michigan Law School consistently ranks among the highest-rated law schools in the United States. It was ranked third in the initial U.S. News & World Report law school rankings in 1987, only below Yale and Harvard, and is one of seven schools never to appear outside the magazine's top 10. Michigan Law is also one of the "T14" law schools, that is, schools that have consistently ranked within the top 14 law schools since U.S. News began publishing rankings. In the 2011 U.S. News ranking, Michigan Law is ranked 7th overall.^[3] Other 2009 rankings place Michigan as high as second.^[4][5] Michigan Law is currently ranked 6th for International Law.^[6] In a 2011 U.S. News "reputational ranking" of law schools by hiring partners at the nation’s top law firms, the University of Michigan Law School ranked 4th.^[7] Only Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and Columbia Law School have graduated more Supreme Court Justices than Michigan Law, and Michigan Law has placed more Supreme Court law clerks than any other public law school, with over 50 to date. Michigan Law is also among the handful of schools regularly sending substantial numbers of graduates into law teaching.

Admission to Michigan Law is highly selective, with only 18% of applicants accepted.^[8] The most recent class to matriculate has a median LSAT of 169 (top 2 to 3% of test takers) and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.73.^[9] Approximately 99.8 percent of the graduating class of 2008 was employed by graduation, earning a median starting salary of $160,000. About 750 employers were present in Ann Arbor for the Law School's Early Interview Week in August 2006. The majority of Michigan Law grads work in New York, Illinois, California, Washington, D.C. and Michigan.^[10]

The law school has graduated the late U.S. Supreme Court Justices Frank Murphy, William Rufus Day, and George Sutherland, as well as a number of heads of states and corporate executives. The school places more graduates in Supreme Court clerkships than any other public law school in the United States. Michigan Law has also placed 30 of its graduates on the state's Supreme Court, including five who served as Chief Justice. More than 170 Michigan law graduates have served as legislators as either United States Senator (20 graduates) or as a Congressional representative (more than 150 graduates).

History

The Law School was founded in 1859, and quickly rose to national prominence. By 1870, Michigan was the largest law school in the country.

In 1870, Gabriel Franklin Hargo graduated from Michigan as the second African-American to graduate from law school in the United States. In 1871 Sarah Killgore, a Michigan Law graduate, became the first woman to both graduate from law school and be admitted to the bar.^[11]

Although the law school is part of the public University of Michigan, only three percent of the law school's expenses are covered by state funds.^[12] The remainder (97-98% of Michigan Law's budget) is supplied by private gifts, tuition, and endowments.

As of 2009, Michigan Law is engaging in a $102 million dollar enterprise, constructing an addition to the law building that remains loyal to the English Gothic style. This enterprise is fully funded by endowments and private gifts.^[13] 2009 also marked the school's sesquicentennial celebration. As a part of the festivities, Chief Justice John Roberts visited the school and participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building.

Law Quad

The Lawyer's Club, Law Quadrangle, Library reading room, Library exterior, and Library interior.

The Law Quadrangle is designed in the English Gothic style.

Built between 1924 and 1933 by the architectural firm York and Sawyer with funds donated by William Cook (an alumnus), the Cook Law Quadrangle comprises four buildings:

• Hutchins Hall, the main academic building, named for former Dean of the Law School and President of the University, Harry Burns Hutchins
• The Legal Research Building. In 2007, the University of Michigan Reading Room was named 94th on a list of "American's Favorite Buildings."^[14] The building is one of only three law buildings on the list.
• John Cook Dormitory
• The Lawyer's Club, providing additional dormitory rooms and a meeting space for the residents of the Quad; highlighted by a Great Lounge, and a dining room with a high-vaulted ceiling, an oak floor, and dark oak paneling.^[15]

Publications

Michigan Law School students publish six well-regarded law journals including the Michigan Law Review, the sixth oldest legal journal in the U.S.

The other law journals include:

• University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
• Michigan Journal of International Law
• Michigan Journal of Gender & Law
• Michigan Journal of Race & Law, [1]
• Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review

Moot court competitions

Students may compete in intramural and extramural moot court competitions, the oldest of which is the prestigious Henry M. Campbell Moot Court Competition, established in 1926.^[16]

Student Funded Fellowships

Student Funded Fellowships (SFF) is a program designed to fund Michigan Law students who accept public interest summer jobs with low pay. SFF is governed by a board of 9-12 law students and operates independently of the Law School. The Board elects its own members, including two co-chairs, a treasurer, and various committee chairs. Board members head fundraising efforts throughout the year, ranging from Donate a Day's Pay (DADP), in which highly paid law firm clerks donate a day's salary to SFF, to a grand auction in March that invites bids on various donated items, including sports tickets, meals with faculty members, and art. In the late spring, Board members review applications for summer funding and select a limited number of highly qualified students for grants. In 2007 about twice as many students applied for grants as could be funded.

Notable faculty

• Dean Evan Caminker
• Dean Emeritus Theodore J. St. Antoine
• Associate Dean and Professor Mark D. West
• Professor Phoebe C. Ellsworth
• Professor Emeritus Yale Kamisar
• Professor James E. Krier
• Professor Jessica Litman
• Professor Catharine MacKinnon
• Professor Margaret Radin
• Professor James Boyd White
• Professor James J. White

Notable alumni

• Ralph W. Aigler (J.D. 1907), Nationally known expert on property, member of U-M faculty, 1910–1954; also inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor
• Ronald J. Allen (J.D. 1973), Northwestern University John Henry Wigmore Professor of Law, one of only four Americans to be designated as a Yangtze River Scholar (China's highest academic award, which was formerly only for Nobel Laureates) in 2007. Allen is the first law professor to receive the award, which usually goes to scientists or economists.
• Edgardo Angara (LLM 1964), former president of the University of the Philippines and Senate President of the Philippines.
• Susanne Baer, (LLM 1993) was elected to the German Federal Constitutional Court in February 2011.
• Melody Barnes, (J.D. 1989) Director of the President's Domestic Policy Council
• Mary Frances Berry (J.D. 1970), former chairwoman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights; current professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Lester Bird (LLB 1959), Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
• Henry Bodenstab (LL.B. 1898), Wisconsin State Senator
• Willard Lee Boyd (LAW: LL.M. 1952;S.J.D. in 1962) President Emeritus of The University of Iowa having served as its 15th President. He served as Chairman of the Association of American Universities (AAU) from 1979 to 1980.
• Steven G. Bradbury (J.D. 1988), former Acting Assistant Attorney General (Office of Legal Counsel)
• Nicole (Niki) Burnham (J.D. 1994), Author, RITA award winner
• Harold G. Christensen (LAW: JD 1951) Deputy US Attorney General, 1988–89
• William W. Cook (LAW: JD 1882), heavily published and cited author of textbooks on corporate law; donor of the quadrangle to Michigan
• Mike Cox (J.D. 1989), Michigan Attorney General, 2003 - 2010
• Ann Coulter (J.D. 1988), Political personality, author
• George Crockett Jr. (LAW: 1934) Civil Rights activist; helped found the National Lawyers Guild. First African American lawyer hired by the Department of Labor. Recorder's Court Judge, Detroit, Michigan, 1966–74; U.S. House of Representatives (D-Mich.), 1980 - 1991.
• Byron Mac Cutcheon (LL.B. 1866) was an American Civil War officer, Medal of Honor recipient and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
• Clarence Darrow (attended), famous trial lawyer; defense counsel in in the Scopes Monkey Trial and Leopold and Loeb
• Harry M. Daugherty (LL.B. 1880), Republican Party boss, member of the "Ohio Gang". US Attorney General, 1921–24
• William R. Day (LL.B. 1870), United States Secretary of State, 1898; United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, 1903–1922
• Donald McDonald Dickinson (LL.B. 1867) in 1887 Grover Cleveland, appointed Dickinson United States Postmaster General, in which capacity Dickinson served from January 6, 1888 until the end of Cleveland's first term in 1889.
• Robert L. Eastaugh, (J.D. 1968), Justice, Alaska Supreme Court
• Harry T. Edwards (J.D. 1965), former chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
• Larry Elder (J.D. 1977), syndicated radio and television talk show host
• John Feikens (J.D.) was a politician and judge from the U.S. state of Michigan. He was the Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (1986-present). Feikens had the unusual honor of being nominated to the same district court by three presidents.
• Jeffrey L. Fisher (J.D. 1997), Stanford Law School professor and prevailing counsel in Crawford v. Washington and Blakely v. Washington and other important Supreme Court cases.
• Harold Ford, Jr. (J.D. 1996) - former U.S. Representative from Tennessee; Democratic Leadership Council chair
• Ralph M. Freeman (LL.B. 1926), Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• John J. Gardner (attended 1866-1867) - U.S. Representative from New Jersey; mayor of Atlantic City
• Ralph F. Gates (J.D. 1917), 37th governor of Indiana
• Richard Gephardt (J.D. 1965) - U.S. Representative from Missouri (1977–2005). Served as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003.
• Chuck Greenberg - (J.D. 1985) Owner, CEO of the Texas Rangers
• Jay Gorney (LL.B. 1919), Tin Pan Alley songwriter who co-wrote Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?; blacklisted during McCarthy era.
• Michael W. Grebe (J.D. 1970), President of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation; Regent of the University of Wisconsin System (as President)
• Wycliffe Grousbeck (J.D. 1986), Owner of the Boston Celtics.
• Teresita J. Herbosa (M.C.L. 1980) appointed, in 2011, as the new chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines. Prior to her appointment to the corporate regulator, Herbosa, 60, was a senior partner at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Office (ACCRA).
• James P. Hoffa (LL.B. 1966) - President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• Vice Admiral James W. Houck (J.D. 1985) - Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy
• Valerie Jarrett, (J.D. 1981) Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama
• Amalya Lyle Kearse (J.D. 1962) - Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Paul S. Kemp (J.D. 2000), is a fantasy author most known for his Forgotten Realms novels. He is also a strong defender of shared world fiction. His novel “Deceived,” recently debuted and currently (2011) is on the New York Times best-seller list
• Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy (J.D. 1947) - Senior Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Raymond Kethledge (J.D. 1993) - Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Eric Paul Lefkofsky (J.D. 1993) (born September, 1969) is a U.S.-born serial entrepreneur. An Angel investor in Groupon, he is currently president of Blue Media, LLC, a Chicago-based private equity and consulting firm. He was named, in 2011, to Forbes list of billionaires.
• Jeffrey Lehman (J.D. 1981) 11th President of Cornell
• Brian Leiter (J.D. 1987), Professor, University of Chicago
• Tom Lewand (J.D. 1996) was named president of the Detroit Lions on December 29, 2008.
• J. Thomas McCarthy (J.D. 1963), Author of McCarthy's Treatise on Trademark and Unfair Competition
• Charles Edward Merrill (1906–1907), Co-Founded stock brokerage firm Merrill Lynch (NYSE MER) with Edmund C. Lynch. Worked at Merrill Lynch 1914-56
• Jeffrey P. Minear (J.D. 1982) is Counselor to Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr..
• Frank Murphy (LL.B. 1914), United States Attorney General, 1939, and United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, 1940–1949
• Ronald L. Olson (J.D. 1967) is an American attorney and "name partner" in the Los Angeles office of the law firm of Munger Tolles & Olson LLP.
• Rob Pelinka (J.D. 1996), sports agent, best known for representing Kobe Bryant
• Lloyd Welch Pogue (J.D.) (October 21, 1899 – May 10, 2003) was a pioneering American aviation attorney and chairman of the now-defunct Civil Aeronautics Board.
• John Porter (J.D. 1961), United States Representative from Illinois, 1980–2001
• Rob Portman (J.D. 1984), Director of the Office of Management and Budget. In 2010, the United States Senator-elect from the state of Ohio. Portman began serving as United States Senator as of January 5, 2011.
• Clark T Randt, Jr. (JD 1975), United States ambassador to China (2001–2009)
• Branch Rickey (LL.B. 1911), Major League Baseball executive and Hall of Famer; created the modern minor league system and signed Jackie Robinson to a contract, breaking the sport's 20th-century color line.
• Richard Riordan (J.D. 1956), Mayor of Los Angeles, 1993–2001
• John M. Rogers (J.D. 1974), Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.
• Marvin B. Rosenberry, (J.D. 1893) Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Ken Salazar (J.D. 1981), former U.S. Senator from Colorado and current United States Secretary of the Interior.
• Miriam Defensor Santiago (LL.M. 1975, S.J.D. 1976) - member of the Senate of the Philippines
• Anthony Joseph Scirica (J.D. 1965), Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• Ma. Lourdes Aranal Sereno (LL.M. 1993) is a Filipino jurist, lawyer and law professor. In August 2010, she was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
• Alvin V. Shoemaker ( LLB 1963), Chairman of First Boston 1983-1989
• Cynthia Leitich Smith (J.D. 1994), author
• Rick Snyder - (J.D. 1982) Former CEO of Gateway; current Governor of Michigan
• George Sutherland (attended 1891), United States Supreme Court Justice
• Masaaki Tanaka (LL.M), President and Chief Executive Officer of UnionBanCal Corporation and its principal subsidiary, Union Bank of California (NYSEUB).
• Daniel Tarullo (J.D. 1977), member of Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve Board since January 28, 2009
• Larry Dean Thompson (J.D.) is an American lawyer, most notable for his service as deputy Attorney General of the United States under United States President George W. Bush until August 2003.
• William Wheeler Thornton (LL.B. 1876), Judge, Author, Indiana Deputy Attorney General, Indiana State Supreme Ct. Librarian
• John M. Walker, Jr. (J.D. 1966), former Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Moses Fleetwood Walker (attended 1881-1882) - Baseball player and author; first African-American to play major league professional baseball
• Sarah Killgore Wertman (LAW: LLB 1871), née Sarah Killgore the first woman to be admitted to the Bar of any state in the United States of America.
• David Westin (J.D. 1977) - President of ABC News
• James J. White (J.D. 1962) - Robert A. Sullivan Professor of Law at Michigan Law; expert on the Uniform Commercial Code
• Ralph Wilson - owner, Buffalo Bills
• Bob Woodruff (J.D. 1987) - journalist; ABC News anchor
• Sam Zell (LSA B.A. 1963; J.D. 1966) - land developer; founder of Equity Office Properties; former National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts chairman and current Chairman and majority owner of the Tribune Company.

See also

• List of University of Michigan law and government alumni
• List of University of Michigan legislator alumni
• List of University of Michigan people

Notes

1. ^ University of Michigan: Diversity Research & Resources, Proposal 2 Information. Link to UM website
2. ^ Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action v. Granholm, No. 2:06-cv-15024 (E.D. Mi.) (Lawson); Nos. 06-2640, 06-2642 (6th Cir. 2007).
3. ^ January 10, 2007 statement by Dean Evan Caminker. See statement here

References

1. ^ http://www.finops.umich.edu/reports/2011/UM_Financial_Report_2011-highres.pdf
2. ^ http://web.law.umich.edu/_FacultyBioPage/index.asp
3. ^ http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings
4. ^ Vault Top 25 Law Schools. Accessed November 17, 2009.
5. ^ http://www.superlawyers.com/toplists/lawschools/united-states/2009/
6. ^ http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/international-law-rankings
7. ^ http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/articles/2011/03/07/law-firm-recruiters-rank-best-law-schools
8. ^ http://www.law.umich.edu/prospectivestudents/Pages/classstatistics.aspx
9. ^ http://www.law.umich.edu/prospectivestudents/Pages/classstatistics.aspx
10. ^ http://www.law.umich.edu/currentstudents/careerservices/factsandstats/Pages/gradgeo.aspx.aspx
11. ^ http://www.law.umich.edu/newsandinfo/lqn/lqnstories/kilgore/Pages/default.aspx
12. ^ http://www.law.umich.edu/campaign/thirdyearchallenge/Pages/thirdyearchallenge-faq.aspx
13. ^ http://www.law.umich.edu/newsandinfo/buildingproject/Pages/default.aspx
14. ^ http://www.favoritearchitecture.org/
15. ^ Michigan Law School - History and Traditions
16. ^ http://www.law.umich.edu/newsandinfo/pages/march2008.aspx

External links

• University of Michigan Law School
• A virtual tour of the Law Quad
• 3d Law School Building in Google Earth

Coordinates: 42°16′26.9″N 83°44′21.6″W / 42.274139°N 83.739333°W / 42.274139; -83.739333