Facts About the School of Law

MEETING THE MISSION: The mission of the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC-DCSL) is to

recruit and enroll students from groups under-represented at the bar, provide a well-rounded theoretical and practical legal education that will enable students to be effective and ethical advocates, and represent the legal needs of low-income District of Columbia residents through the school's legal clinics.

UDC-DCSL is one of only five fully American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law schools at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). It has the sixth highest percentage of minority law students and the fifth highest percentage of African-American law students enrolled in the 192 ABA-accredited law schools.

UDC-DCSL is the most diverse law schools in the nation.

50% of students are members of minority groups.
61% of students are women.
The average age is 28.

UDC-DCSL students and faculty provided 75,000 hours of legal services during 2006-07 on behalf of some of the District of Columbia's most vulnerable citizens.

All students provide 40 hours of community service to non-profit public interest groups, the judiciary or federal and local government in the first year of law school.

All students perform a minimum of 700 hours of faculty-supervised representation of low-income District of Columbia residents in the school's outstanding clinical programs.

First-year students who provide 400 hours in public interest, public service, or public policy summer jobs receive $2,500 stipends through the Joseph Rauh Public Interest Fellowship Program.

CLINICAL PROGRAMS: Students and faculty provide high-quality legal services to more than 1,000 low-income District of Columbia residents each year, the majority of whom would otherwise be denied access to justice. Clients include women and children affected by the AIDS epidemic; children with special educational needs or those who are abused or neglected; tenants and tenant organizations fighting illegal rent increases or seeking to purchase and renovate buildings; seniors; people with mental retardation and other disabilities; individuals seeking to start small businesses and non-profit organizations; government whistleblowers fired for exposing fraud, waste and mismanagement; and low-income tax-payers moving from welfare to work, among others.

HIGHLY RANKED:

One of top 20 Clinical Programs (US News and World Report, 2006).
5th in the nation in percent of African American Students (ABA).
9th in the nation in percent of Minority students (ABA).
Ranked 1st in the nation for most progressive students (Princeton Review, October 2007).
Ranked 3rd in the nation for "most welcoming of older students" (Princeton Review, October 2007).
Ranked 10th in the nation for "best environment for minority students" (Princeton Review, October 2007).
Ranked 6th in the nation for "most diverse faculty" (Princeton Review, October 2007).

ACCREDITATION: The School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association.

BAR PASSAGE: The School of Law's first-time bar passage rate has increased to over 60%. First-time D.C. bar passage is 80%.

CURRENT AND FUTURE GROWTH: The applicant pool grew from 338 to 1,300 over six years. The School will soon request ABA approval to offer part-time and joint degree programs, and ultimately grow to 600 students. These programs will significantly increase overall tuition revenue and reduce reliance on appropriated funds. Students can become residents after one year.

LOW TUITION: UDC-DCSL is one of the most affordable law schools in the nation. D.C. residents pay $7,350 yearly tuition (students living in D.C. for one year are eligible for the D.C. tuition rate). Non-residents pay $14,700.

SCHOLARSHIPS & FINANCIAL AID: The School of Law will award up to 20 full three-year Advocate for Justice scholarships EACH YEAR to applicants who have both outstanding academic credentials and a proven commitment to public service. The School also provides a significant number of additional merit and need-based scholarships and financial aid awards.

PRIVATE FUND RAISING: The School of Law Foundation raised over one million dollars to support its first endowed chair, the Joseph L. Rauh, Jr., Chair of Public Interest Law and millions of dollars in scholarship, clinical program, and other funding.

OUTSTANDING FACULTY: UDC-DCSL's faculty is composed of excellent teachers and scholars who have been widely recognized for extraordinary service to the community and to the nation. A few examples:

Professor Ed Allen received the D.C. Bar's 2006 Jerrold Scoutt Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award.

Dean Katherine S. Broderick received Olender Foundation Hero in the Law award (2007); the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia Servant of Justice Award (2005); the Bar Association of the District of Columbia Annice Wagner Pioneer Award (2004); the Equal Justice Works Outstanding Law School Dean Award (2002); and the American Association of American Law School's William Pincus Award for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Legal Education (1999).

Professor Robert Burgdorf was awarded the National Council on Disability's 2006 Leadership Award, was principal staff author of the Americans with Disabilities Act and won a Mary Switzer Disability Rights Fellowship (2001).

Professor Edgar S. Cahn received the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia Servant of Justice Award (with his wife, Jean Camper Cahn, posthumously) (2004), D.C. Superior Court Medal of Excellence (2001), and the American Association of American Law School's national William Pincus Award for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Legal Education recipient (with his wife, Jean Camper Cahn, posthumously) (1997).

Professor William C. Pryor is former Chief Judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals.

Professor William L. Robinson is former Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and immediate past dean.

Professor Alice M. Thomas is one of only five law professors chosen as a Carnegie Scholar (2001), and was selected as a Lead Carnegie Scholar (2003).

Professor Joseph B. Tulman received the American Association of Law Schools Gary Bellow Fellowship (2007), the D.C. Bar Jerrold Scoutt Award (2001) and the ABA Livingston Hall Juvenile Justice Award (1996).

DISTINGUISHED ADJUNCT FACULTY: The outstanding cadre of judges, academicians, and practitioners who serve the School of Law as adjunct faculty include U.S. Tax Court Chief Special Trial Judge Peter J. Panuthos; D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Milton Lee; immigration law specialists Michael Maggio, Francesco Isgro, Carolyn Waller, and Robert Raymond; Howard Law School Professors Spencer Boyer and Sherman Rogers; trial attorney Colin Dunham; and criminal and civil law practitioner Stephen Mercer.

ILLUSTRIOUS ALUMNI: UDC-DCSL alumni are fast becoming leaders of the bench and bar and are providing access to justice to low-income people in the District of Columbia and across America. In addition to the five who are D.C. Superior Court Associate or Magistrate Judges, alumni include a member of the Illinois Supreme Court, a federal District Court Judge, the first African-American woman judge in a West Virginia town, a Latino alumnus who serves as a Georgia state court judge, an African-American woman municipal judge in New Jersey, and two state court judges in Alaska. Many have served in varying capacities as hearing examiners and administrative law judges, and as special masters locally and around the nation. More than a dozen are law professors at law schools across America.

Locally, UDC-DCSL alumni lead key legal services organizations such as the D.C. Legal Aid Society, the AARP's Legal Counsel for the Elderly, and the non-profit law firm, Advocates for Justice in Education, based in Southeast Washington. Numerous alumni have served as staff attorneys for the Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia, and one heads the Alexandria, Virginia, Public Defender Service. UDC-DCSL alumni work throughout the D.C. government, at the D.C. Council, and for Members of Congress. They staff Equal Employment Opportunity and General Counsel offices in numerous federal agencies.

A large number of alumni provide quality legal work at affordable prices and integrate pro- and "low"-bono work on a regular basis in small and solo practices.

EMPLOYMENT: In keeping with our mission of training attorneys for public service careers, graduates are increasingly taking positions in that sector. In the Class of 2006, 18.2% were working in public interest jobs including the Neighborhood Legal Services Program, the Children's' Law Center, and Advocates for Education and Justice. 25% took local and federal government jobs, such as the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 13% of the class of 2006 accepted judicial clerkships. 9% accepted private law firm positions, virtually all of which are small law firms that represent the individuals, families and small businesses that make up the fabric of the local community. More than 27% are working for businesses, and 4.5% others opted for post-graduate study.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: The nation's capital is home to thousands of non-profit organizations, government agencies, businesses, and law firms offering students opportunities for part-time work and internships, and offering graduates myriad professional opportunities. It is a quick trip from the School of Law to anywhere in the city, starting at the Van Ness/UDC Metro station just steps from the School's front door.

Updated: November, 2007