Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Columbus, OH

Overview

The Michael E. Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University was established in 1891. Including a range of clinical and skilled courses, the law school offers more than 145 courses covering almost every area of law. The curriculum is designed to provide a strong theoretical and analytical foundation, as well as multiple opportunities for developing and honing students’ lawyering skills. Its law library is one of the nation’s largest academic law libraries.

Along with an exceptionally broad range of clinical programs, including clinics in civil and criminal practice, mediation, legislation, and juvenile law, Moritz College of Law also offers a nationally ranked program and certificate in the emerging area of alternative dispute resolution. The curriculum also provides preparation in the fields of criminal law, intellectual property law, employment and labor law, commercial law, international law, and many others.

In addition, Moritz College of Law has various study-abroad programs in Oxford, England. Located at St. Anne’s College on the campus of the University of Oxford, the Pre-Law Program provides students with exposure to various aspects of British cultural life as well as an understanding of English culture and legal institutions fundamental to the American legal system. Classes, guest lectures, and field trips to places of legal, historical, and cultural interest are also incorporated into this five-week program. Through the Schottenstein Zox & Dunn Distinguished Practitioners in Residence Program in Business Law, students take one-credit courses from prominent practitioners.

Student-Faculty Ratio 15.1:1

Admission Criteria

	LSAT	GPA
25th-75th Percentile	159-165	3.45-3.81
Median*	163	3.63

The above LSAT and GPA data pertain to the fall 2011 entering class.
Medians have been calculated by averaging the 25th- and 75th-percentile values released by the law schools and have been rounded up to the nearest whole number for LSAT scores and to the nearest one-hundredth for GPAs.

Admission Statistics

Approximate number of applications	2,300
Number accepted	898
Percentage accepted	39.0%

The above admission details are based on fall 2011 data.

Class Ranking and Grades

Class rankings are computed after the second semester ends and all grades are in. At Moritz College of Law, students in the top 5% of each class are ranked individually. The law school distributes a grade distribution sheet for each class that shows the numerical grade range for each percentage range in ranking for the top half of the class.

Moritz College of Law uses letter grades to determine academic good standing, probation, dismissal, and graduation. Students receive both a letter and a number grade—for example, 85B. Each letter grade has its own point value on a 4.0 scale. Grades are assigned according to the following scale:

Letter Grade	Numerical Grade	Point Value
A	93-100	4.0
A-	90-92	3.7
B+	87-89	3.3
B	83-86	3.0
B-	80-82	2.7
C+	77-79	2.3
C	70-76	2.0
D	65-69	1.0
E	60-64	0.0

A student is in good standing if he or she has an average GPA of 2.0 or better.

Grade normalization (Curve)

Moritz College of Law has a long-standing grade distribution policy. The underlying reasons for the policy are to promote a common faculty-wide grading standard and to reduce instances in which different professors use different grading standards. The policy is a suggested tool and is not mandatory. It suggests the following grade distribution to teachers of first-year courses:

A ’s	30%
B ’s	60%
C ’s	10%
D, E	Not more than 4% with the direction that a D or E should be given only if inferior performance is clearly demonstrated.

For second- and third-year courses, the grade distribution is based on the past average letter grade performance of the students as a whole who registered for the particular course. The professor receives a grade distribution for the students enrolled in his or her course that semester. There are no names on the grade distribution, so the profile in no way focuses on individual students.

Honors

Honor	Percentage of Class Receiving	GPA Required	Number of Students
Order of the Coif	Top 10%	93.4	21
summa cum laude	Top 3%	95.6	9
magna cum laude	Not provided	Not provided	Not provided
cum laude	Top 25%	90.6	51

Awards

Name of Award	Description
Tax Award	Awarded for the highest average in tax courses
Academic Excellence	Awarded for the highest cumulative average in each class
Torts	Awarded for the highest grades in Torts
Trial Practice	Awarded for the highest grades in Trial Practice
Legal Professions	Awarded for the highest grades in Legal Professions
Dispute Resolution	Awarded for the best research paper in an alternative dispute resolution course
Constitutional Law	Awarded to the top students in Constitutional Law
Ohio State Law Journal Awards	Not provided
Journal on Dispute Resolution	Not provided
Leadership Awards	Not provided
Clinic Awards	Not provided
George R. Beneman Award	Awarded for demonstrating outstanding performance in the Moot Court program
Topper Eagle Award	Awarded for significant contribution to the administration of the Moot Court program
Labor and Employments Award	Not Provided
Bankruptcy Award	Not Provided

Journals

The Ohio State Law Journal was established in 1935 and is published six times annually. Its management is exclusively governed by the student body of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. The journal publishes articles by scholars, professionals, and students on the most important legal issues faced by the global legal market.

The Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution reports on issues relating to alternative dispute resolution. The periodical is exclusively run by students and is published four times per year. It focuses on various methods of dispute resolution, including arbitration, mediation, mini-trials, negotiation, and summary jury trials. It is the official journal of the American Bar Association’s Section on Dispute Resolution.

The Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, published twice per year, discusses vital issues in the field of criminal law and justice. It publishes important research and writing by professionals and scholars in the field of criminal law. The journal comprises symposia, commentary, and book and cultural review sections. It is a peer-evaluated, faculty-student cooperative venture published by the College of Law.

I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society publishes three issues per year focusing on the intersection of law, policy, and information technology. It represents a partnership between Moritz College of Law and Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management.

The Ohio State Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal releases thought-provoking articles, book reviews, and student notes on current happenings in the entrepreneurial business world. The latest addition to Moritz College of Law’s publications, this journal gives students an excellent chance to explore the link between business and law. It is published twice per year and is managed exclusively by students. It also hosts an annual symposium where professors and practitioners from around the world gather to discuss topical issues and emerging trends in entrepreneurial business law.

Moot Court

All second-year students must participate in Moritz College of Law’s moot court program after successful completion of Appellate Advocacy I. In Appellate Advocacy I, students write an appellate brief and argue the case before a panel of judges comprised of faculty members, practicing attorneys, and third-year students.

Second- and third-year students also have an opportunity to gain experience in a variety of lawyering skills by competing in the various intramural and interscholastic lawyering skills competitions administered by the Director of the Moot Court and Lawyering Skills Program. This program is a student-run organization responsible for conducting all of the school’s five intramural competitions and 2L Appellate Advocacy Performance Arguments and for overseeing the Moot Court travel teams who compete nationally at inter-school competitions.

Appellate Advocacy II (also known as the Herman Moot Court Competition) is an intramural moot court competition. Participation in Appellate Advocacy II is voluntary. Students write an appellate brief and argue a number of rounds to participate in this competition. They may participate in the second semester of their second year. Appellate Advocacy II serves as the selection process for third-year students who want to take part in national interscholastic moot court competitions.

The Moritz College of Law currently participates in the following national moot court competitions: ABA, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Corporate Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Jessup International Law, Juvenile Law, Labor Law, and National Mediations.

Clinical Programs

Moritz College of Law students begin taking clinical courses in their second year. Third-year students may enroll in courses that permit them to represent clients under the supervision of Moritz faculty. The law school offers the following clinical programs:

• The Civil Law Clinic
• The Criminal Defense Clinic
• The Entrepreneurial Business Law Clinic
• The Justice for Children Clinic
• The Legislation Clinic
• The Mediation Clinic
• The Prosecution Clinic

Placement Facts

Starting Salaries (2010 Graduates employed Full-Time)

Private sector (25th-75th percentile)	$60,000-$120,000
Median in the private sector	$90,000
Median in public service	$53,500

Employment Details

Graduates known to be employed at graduation	83.2%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation	88.6%

Areas of Legal Practice

Graduates employed In	Percentage
Law Firms	41.3%
Business and Industry	20.1%
Government	21.8%
Judicial Clerkships	5.6%
Public Interest Organizations	3.4%
Academia	7.8%
Unknown	0%

Externships/Internships

Externships

Moritz College of Law’s externship “Washington, DC Summer Program” requires students to dedicate at least 20 hours per week for at least seven weeks. Each student has a supervisor where he or she works. Students have the opportunity to work in substantive, legal externships in Washington DC while benefiting from a high-quality academic program and a summer in the nation’s capital.

Twenty-five students are selected each semester by Moritz College of Law to serve as judicial externs in judges’ chambers. This proves to be an excellent opportunity for students as they gain real-life experience with court proceedings. Students work on research and writing on pre-trial matters under the direct supervision of distinguished judges. They then attend numerous class sessions wherein they share their judicial experiences with their classmates and discuss ethical issues pertaining to the judicial context.

Judges participating in the law school’s judicial externship program include United States Circuit, District, Bankruptcy, and Magistrate judges; justices of the Ohio Supreme Court; Franklin County Domestic Relations judges; and Juvenile Court judges. The program runs the full 14 weeks of the Autumn and Spring Semesters and 8 weeks of Summer Semester. Students receive three credits in Autumn and Spring and two credits in Summer, and the course is graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

Student organizations

• Advocates for Children
• American Civil Liberties Union
• American Constitution Society
• Asian/Pacific American Law Students Association
• Black Law Students Association
• Business Law Society
• Christian Legal Society
• Criminal Law Society
• Dispute Resolution and Youth
• Dispute Resolution Association
• Environmental Law Association
• Federalist Society
• Health Law Society
• I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society
• Immigration Law Society
• Intellectual Property Law Society
• Inter-Professional Council
• International Justice Mission
• International Law Society
• J. Reuben Clark Law Society
• Jewish Law Students Association
• Labor & Employment Law Association
• Latino Law Students Association
• Law School Democrats
• Law School Republicans
• Mentoring Collaborative Student Association
• Middle Eastern Law Students Association
• Military Law Students Association
• Moot Court and Lawyering Skills Governing Board
• Moritz Community Outreach Project
• Moritz Education Law Society
• Muslim Law Students Association
• Ohio State Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal
• Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law
• Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution
• Ohio State Law Journal
• OutLaws
• Pro Bono Research Group
• Public Interest Law Foundation
• Real Estate Law Association
• Sports and Entertainment Law Association
• Street Law
• Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF)
• Student Bar Association
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
• Women’s Legal Society

References

• http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/
• http://premium.usnews.com/