SCU named in U.S. News� top 100 law schools

04/10/07

SCU named in U.S. News' top 100 law schools

U.S. News & World Report's annual publication of "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008" has named California's Santa Clara University School of Law as one of the top 100 law schools in the country. Santa Clara University School of Law was also recognized for having one of the top 10 intellectual property programs and campus diversity. The survey found that 95.5 percent of SCU's law graduates were employed within nine months of graduation. Established in 1912, SCU School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association. While its law degree can be combined with an MBA or a master's degree in taxation, SCU also offers lawyers master's degrees in international and intellectual property law.

UVA clinic ensures Supreme Court hear them on Watson v. U.S.
A few students at the University of Virginia's litigation clinic will make their mark in Supreme Court history in the Watson v. United States case this October. Students in the clinic are busy preparing the petition for a writ of certiorari. The clinic is helping Watson, a 55-year-old legally blind man, argue his case. Watson argues that, just because he had an unloaded firearm during a drug trafficking offense, it does not mean that he "used" the firearm. Watson, who has always wanted to purchase a firearm for personal protection, exchanged 24 dosage units of OxyContin for an unloaded firearm. What he didn't know was that his illegal exchange was with an undercover government agent! Watson's legal argument is being drafted by the clinic participants. Karl J. Koch; lawyer at McGlynn, Glisson & Koch; will argue the case in October. Khang Tran, Matthew Madden, and many other 3Ls in the clinic are very excited about the upcoming prospects. Professors and clinic instructors; Daniel Ortiz, Daniel Goldberg, and Mark Stancil; are ecstatic that their students' dogged efforts will have wide-reaching results. Ortiz said, "They have really stepped up to the plate and realized that they have less control over deadlines, and if things have to get done on short notice, they have to get done."

Stetson e-elder LL.M. program begins fall 2007
The Stetson University College of Law will offer a first-of-its-kind online LL.M. degree in elder law this fall 2007. The 24-credit program, divided into three-semesters, will allow students to pursue studies at their own convenience. The e-learning will also ensure global student participation. Students, who have received their first law degree from a U.S. law school or from an approved foreign law school can apply to this program. Professor Rebecca Morgan, who leads Stetson's Center for Excellence in Elder Law, will direct the LL.M. program. Morgan also holds the Boston Asset Management Faculty Chair in Elder Law, the first elder law chair in the country. Florida's first law school, the Stetson University College of Law, is placed amongst the nation's top 100 law schools. The school ranked first in trial advocacy and fifth in legal writing.

Boston team brings home Moot Court laurels
The Law Criminal Procedure Moot Court team at Boston College Law School has done the college proud. For the second consecutive year, the team won the coveted John J. Gibbons Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition award. The team; comprised of third-year students Brian Bialas, Elizabeth Chew, and Scott Wilson; won in three major categories: the team award, the best brief, and the best oralist awards. Scott Wilson was recognized as the prized oralist in the final competition. The 13-year old competition was held at Seton Hall School of Law in Newark, New Jersey. The Gibbons Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition deals with criminal procedure law. The competition is divided into three rounds. 32 teams competed to win the best brief and the best oralist awards, as well as a place in the finals and semifinals. This is Boston College's second consecutive win, a feat that no other moot court team can boast about. Hailing the students' efforts as "significant accomplishment," BC Law Professor and team advisor Robert Bloom summed up the achievement as "magnificent."

NU School of Law opens executive program in Israel
After reaching out to the legal community in Seoul and Madrid, the Northwestern University School of Law is now reaching out to Israeli law students and professionals in Tel Aviv. Since February, Chicago-based NU School of Law has collaborated with the Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University to offer a dual masters degree in law. NU aims to expand its horizon through its international course. The outreach is aimed at helping foreign students who are not able to attend classes in Chicago, Dean David Van Zandt said. The executive degree program, unique in its class, is open to lawyers and professionals in Tel Aviv, Israel. 38 students who have already enrolled for the program will be awarded a dual degree in public law and international law. The university's executive program at Tel Aviv is the third of its kind. Similar programs, catering to a business audience, are also underway in South Korea and Spain. The Israeli program, on the other hand, will consist of student groups who wield considerable influence on developing public life in Israel. The law school will send its faculty to teach the students at Tel Aviv. Zandt believes the arrangement will also be beneficial to U.S. students at the Northwestern University, too. He reasoned that they will benefit by learning from a faculty with an international focus. The NU School of Law was ranked 12^th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The law school's Investor Protection Center ranks in the top 10 in the country and the first in the Midwest.

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