Southern University Law Center

Southern University Law Center has a foundation that is like no other. In December, 1946, an African American wished to attend law school, but could not gain acceptance at any established university. The Louisiana State Board of Education ruled that a new law school would be established and further, that it was to be established in time for the 1948 session. Once the plans were approved in January 1947, days later the Board appropriated $40,000 for its operation. Nine months later, the Southern University Law School opened and would provide ''legal education for African American students''. A few of its very first graduates include Jesse N. Stone, Jr., Alvin Basile Jones and Leroy White. All of these early graduates are now all over the country and are considered ''trailblazers in the legal profession, securing equal rights for others''. It should come as no surprise then to find out that more than 2,500 graduates later, Southern University Law Center is considered one of the most racially diverse educational institutions in the country.



Enrollment is slightly more than 700 law students, both full time and part time. Interestingly, more than 90 percent of Louisiana's African American attorneys received their JD from Southern University Law Center. Law students are trained in legal reasoning, research, theory and social purposes and the school boasts the city's only clinical educational program, which allows law students to represent indigent clients in the courtroom.

With programs geared towards civil and common law, the school emphasizes those unique procedural laws within Louisiana. From a focus on the foundation from which the legal system is built, law students are better able to understand a contemporary legal system by understanding the traditions and reasoning the system was initially built on.

Not only is this considered one of the finer schools in the country, Southern University Law Center also has an impressive operations procedure. Because six months out of the year the officials must remain on high alert during hurricane season, it knows the importance of preparedness. With every possible consideration built into its plan, the law school has an unprecedented approach that works as good as the proverbial ''well oiled machine''. From notification systems for students, local officials and parents to a very detailed game plan once a tropical system enters or forms in the Gulf of Mexico, the school is prepared for any possible emergency.