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University of Alabama School of Law

Coordinates: 33°12′39″N 87°32′46″W / 33.2109°N 87.5462°W / 33.2109; -87.5462
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University of Alabama School of Law
Parent schoolUniversity of Alabama
Established1872
School typePublic
DeanWilliam S. Brewbaker III[1]
LocationTuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
33°12′39″N 87°32′46″W / 33.2109°N 87.5462°W / 33.2109; -87.5462
Enrollment428 (approx.)
Faculty50 full-time; 40 adjunct
USNWR ranking33rd (tie) (2024)[2]
Bar pass rate91.30% (2023 First-time takers)[3]
Websitewww.law.ua.edu
ABA profileofficialguide.lsac.org

The University of Alabama School of Law,[4] (formerly known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama)[5][6] located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the only public law school in the state. It is one of five law schools in the state, and one of three that are ABA accredited. According to Alabama's official 2023 ABA-required disclosures, 89.4% of the Class of 2023 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. An additional 4.8% of the Class of 2023 obtained JD-advantage employment.[7]

Approximately 428 JD students attended Alabama Law during school year 2022–2023. 51 undergraduate institutions, 23 states, and 3 countries are represented among the class of 2026, and the student-faculty ratio is 6.7 to 1.[8]

Academics

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Alabama Law offers the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, as well as an International LL.M., an LL.M. in Taxation, and an LL.M. in Business Transactions. In conjunction with the Manderson Graduate School of Business, the law school also offers a four-year joint J.D./M.B.A. program. Students may also pursue a number of graduate degrees through established dual enrollment programs for M.A. or Ph.D. in Political Science, M.P.A., Ph.D. in Economics, or LL.M. in Taxation. Certificates in Public Interest Law, Governmental Affairs, and International and Comparative Law are also available.

Admissions have been increasingly selective. The class of 2026 has a median LSAT score of 167 and median undergraduate GPA of 3.95. The 75th and 25th percentile for these metrics are 168 and 4.00, and 159 and 3.63, respectively.[8]

Law clinics

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Alabama Law guarantees that every interested student has the opportunity to participate in at least one law clinic before graduating. It is one of the few law schools in the country to make this guarantee.[9]

  • The Children's Rights Clinic works with the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program to assist youth with disabilities in the juvenile justice system.[10]
  • The Civil Law Clinic is Alabama's oldest clinic and provides free legal advice and representation to University of Alabama students and community members in civil matters. Civil clinic students handle over 200 cases annually.[11]
  • The Criminal Defense Clinic represents indigent defendants in misdemeanor and felony criminal matters for both bench and jury trials.[12]
  • The Domestic Violence Clinic takes a holistic approach to assisting survivors of domestic abuse in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. In addition to providing comprehensive legal services, clinic students also perform outreach and education.[13]
  • The Entrepreneur & Nonprofit Clinic provides free transactional legal services to small businesses, start-ups, and nonprofit organizations. The suite of services include preparation of formation documents, agreement negotiation and drafting, and regulatory compliance.[14]
  • The Mediation Law Clinic provides an alternative to the adversarial litigation process for families to settle disputes more promptly and with a reduction in emotional trauma.[15]

Publications

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In 2007 Jarvis & Coleman ranked the Alabama Law Review (ALR) 36th "on the basis of the prominence of their lead article authors."[16] This represents an incredible 63 position improvement from the rankings of ten years prior. For 2015–2016, ExpressO, UC Berkeley's manuscript submission service, ranked the ALR at 10th in terms of "number of manuscripts received."[17] In 2015 Washington and Lee's methods rank ALR at 46th in both the number of citations from other journals and the combined score.[18] These show an improvement of 10 and 26 positions, respectively, over the preceding 5 years.

Approximately 40% of students graduate with journal experience. This is a slightly lower percentage than many of Alabama's peer schools, but nonetheless above the national average.

Employment

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According to Alabama's official 2023 ABA-required disclosures, 89.4% of the Class of 2023 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage required employment within nine months after graduation.[7] 26% of 2023 graduates were employed by a national law firm and 11.4% found judicial clerkships.[23] Alabama's Law School Transparency under-employment score for 2023 is 4.9%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2023 who were unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[24]

ABA Employment Summary for 2023 Graduates [25]
Employment Status Percentage
Employed - Bar Passage Required
89.4%
Employed - J.D. Advantage
4.9%
Employed - Professional Position
0.0%
Employed - Non-Professional Position
0.0%
Employed - Undeterminable
0.0%
Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time
0.8%
Unemployed - Start Date Deferred
0.8%
Unemployed - Not Seeking
0.0%
Unemployed - Seeking
4.1%
Employment Status Unknown
0.0%
Total of 123 Graduates

Costs

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Tuition and fees at the University of Alabama School of Law for the 2018–2019 academic year total $23,920 for residents and $42,180 for nonresidents.[26] 69.2% of students received discounts during the 2017–2018 school year; the remaining 30.8% paid full price. Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years at full price to be $157,785 for residents and $231,042 for nonresidents.[26]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ Law, University of Alabama School of (3 May 2023). "William S. Brewbaker III Named Dean of The University of Alabama School of Law – The University of Alabama – School of Law". law.ua.edu.
  2. ^ "University of Alabama". Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "University of Alabama School of Law - 2023 Bar Passage". abarequireddisclosures.org. ABA. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  4. ^ "UA trustees vote to return Culverhouse Jr. donation, remove name from law school". WTVY. June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  5. ^ "UA Law School Named for Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. in Recognition of $26.5 Million Donation". law.ua.edu. UA Law School. September 20, 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  6. ^ Data Report, Staff (September 20, 2018). "Sarasota developer Hugh Culverhouse Jr. donates millions to University of Alabama law school". heraldtribune.com. Sarasota Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  7. ^ a b "Employment Summary for 2023 Graduates" (PDF).
  8. ^ a b "Quick Facts". UA School of Law. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  9. ^ "Academics; Law Clinics". The University of Alabama School of Law. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  10. ^ "Children's Rights Clinic | The University of Alabama School of Law". www.law.ua.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  11. ^ "Civil Law Clinic | The University of Alabama School of Law". www.law.ua.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  12. ^ "Criminal Defense Clinic | The University of Alabama School of Law". www.law.ua.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  13. ^ "Domestic Violence Law Clinic | The University of Alabama School of Law". www.law.ua.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  14. ^ "Entrepreneurship & Nonprofit Clinic | The University of Alabama School of Law". www.law.ua.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  15. ^ "Mediation Law Clinic | The University of Alabama School of Law". www.law.ua.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  16. ^ "Ranking Law Reviews by Author Prominence -- Ten Years Later" (PDF). Law Library Journal. p. 577.
  17. ^ "2015-16 Top 100 Law Reviews" (PDF). Bepress.
  18. ^ "Law Journals: Submissions and Ranking". Washington and Lee University School of Law. Archived from the original on 2006-03-07. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
  19. ^ "Alabama Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review". University of Alabama School of Law. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  20. ^ "Alabama Law Review". University of Alabama School of Law. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  21. ^ "Journal of the Legal Profession". University of Alabama School of Law. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  22. ^ "Law & Psychology Review". University of Alabama School of Law. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  23. ^ "University of Alabama Jobs".
  24. ^ "University of Alabama Profile".
  25. ^ "ABA School Employment Summary Reports".
  26. ^ a b "Finances".
  27. ^ "Edward B. Almon". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  28. ^ "James Allen". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  29. ^ "Mel Allen". NNDB Soylent Communications. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  30. ^ "John W. Abercrombie". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  31. ^ "Spencer Bachus". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  32. ^ "Hugo Black". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  33. ^ Oganovich, Nancy (July 21, 2021). "Former Alabama Senate Staffer Gives Mo Brooks Run for His Money". Bloomberg Government. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  34. ^ Cason, Mike (2022-11-09). "Katie Britt wins: Makes history, becomes Alabama's 1st woman elected to U.S. Senate". al. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  35. ^ "Emmett Ripley Cox". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  36. ^ Monroe, Carla R. "Morris Dees | biography – American civil rights lawyer". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  37. ^ "Fuller, Mark E." United States Federal Courts. 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  38. ^ Victor Gold profile, June 29, 2007, Bill Moyers Journal website.
  39. ^ "Foy Guin - Ballotpedia". Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  40. ^ "[Perry O. Hooper, Sr". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  41. ^ "Frank Minis Johnson". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  42. ^ Pruitt, Paul McWhorter Jr. (March 13, 2007). "Maud McLure Kelly". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  43. ^ "Oral History Interview with Bert Nettles, July 13, 1974". docsouth.unc.edu. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  44. ^ "Harper Lee". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  45. ^ "Bill Baxley". NNDB Soylent Communications. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  46. ^ "Jeff Sessions". USA Today. Retrieved 8 Feb 2017.
  47. ^ "Steadman S. Shealy". Shealy, Crum & Pike, P.C. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  48. ^ "Henry Bascom Steagall II" (PDF). Judiciary of Alabama. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  49. ^ "Robert Smith Vance". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  50. ^ "George Wallace". National Governors Association. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  51. ^ Cox, Erin. "SOLE SURVIVOR: Williamsburg's Nick Wilson wins 37th season of 'Survivor'". Richmond Register. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
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