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The Columbia Law School held its first law class in 1858. Many lawyers were in attendance to support the Law School's beginning and 35 students attended after first paying tuition for the entire course of legal classes. The second year there was 62 law students and 103 students the next year. The unique fact about the Law school is that it acted as a training ground for many who were already members of the American Bar Association. The Law School commented that it was an inefficient way to produce lawyers rather than just training them in the office alone. The local community of lawyers realized the value of the Columbia Law School to enrich the development of practicing lawyers. The rest is history and as of today the Columbia Law School has the honor or producing 2 Presidents of the United States, other attorneys who have held the positions of Justices of the Supreme Court of the U.S., Cabinet members, Governors, and presidential advisors.
The Columbia Law School has a legal focus in the following:
- Business Law
- Commercial Law
- Corporate Law
- U.S. securities regulation
- Criminal Law
- International and Comparative Law
- Intellectual Property
Listed here are some notable events that happened at Columbia Law School:
- In the early 1900's, the Law School was known for the origination of the legal realism movement.
- In September 1988, Columbia Law School established the first AIDS Law Clinic in the U.S.
- In 2006, the Law School took on a plan to increase the number of faculty by fifty percent but they school would not increase student enrollment.
- Columbia Law School has connections for dual degree programs with Law Schools overseas. The Law Schools working with Columbia Law include: King's College London (KCL), London School of Economics (LSE) in London, England and the University College London (UCL). There are currently 3 Law Schools in France which are involved in the dual degree programs and one Law School in Germany.
- Columbia Law School also operates mentally challenging clinical programs that lend support to the community. They operate in technology based clinics and started the first Aids Law clinics.
Making Application to Columbia Law School
The Columbia Law School admission process requires applicants to have an undergraduate GPA ranging from 3.58 to 3.82 and an LSAT score ranging from 170 to 174. At present, their ratio of students to faculty is 1 to 9. The cost of tuition in the 2008-2009 semesters was $68,000 for a single student and the cost does include tuition, room, board, and books.
The parts of the application that must be completed and submitted are:
- Biographical Information Form
- Personal Profile
- A Personal Essay or Statement
- Two Recommendation Letters
- Resume
Students with interest can submit their applications before they sit for the LSAT, but they must note to the school when the LSAT will be taken. The latest it can be taken is the December before admission. Good luck in your legal future.
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