Boston College Law School

Boston College Law School (BC Law) is one of the six professional graduate schools at Boston College. Located approximately 1.5 miles from the main Boston College campus in Chestnut Hill, Boston College Law School is situated on a 40-acre (160,000 m²) wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts.

With approximately 800 students and 125 faculty members, the Law School is one of the largest of BC's seven graduate and professional schools. Admission to BC Law is highly selective. For the class entering in the fall of 2012, 1,400 out of 4,774 J.D. applicants were offered admission (29.3%), with 245 matriculating. The 25th and 75th LSAT percentiles for the 2012 entering class were 161 and 166, respectively, with a median of 164. The 25th and 75th undergraduate GPA percentiles were 3.40 and 3.71, respectively, with a median of 3.61. 29% of the students are AHANA. Reflecting its Jesuit heritage, BC Law has established programs in human rights, social justice and public interest law. Its faculty played a part in arguing for the repeal of the Solomon Amendment, presenting oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court in Rumsfeld v. FAIR.

According to BC Law's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 64.4% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.

History

Boston College Law School - Our profile of Boston College Law School was filmed entirely onsite in Boston, MA. Compare BC Law to the T14 and our AdmissionsConsultants Top 25 law ...

Although provisions for a law school were included in the original charter for Boston College, ratified by the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1863, Boston College Law School was formally organized in the 1920s and opened its doors on September 26, 1929. It was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1932 and the Association of American Law Schools in 1937. Originally located in the Lawyer's Building opposite the Massachusetts State House in central Boston, it moved to the main Boston College campus in 1954 and to its present 40-acre (160,000 m²) campus, the home of the former Newton College of the Sacred Heart, in 1975.

Nicknames

Stemming from the nickname of Boston College athletics teams, the term "Legal Eagle" is sometimes used to refer to students and alumni of Boston College Law School. The term Triple Eagle, which technically designates a recipient of any three degrees from Boston College, is usually used to refer to graduates of Boston College High School, Boston College, and BC Law.

Academics

Curriculum

In addition to J.D., M.A. and Ph.D. programs, Boston College Law School offers joint degrees with BC's Carroll School of Management (J.D./M.B.A.), Graduate School of Social Work (J.D./M.S.W.) and Lynch School of Education (J.D./M.Ed.). Joint degrees in the humanities, fine arts, natural sciences and social sciences are offered with BC's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

BC Law offers several programs abroad including the Semester in London Program and the Semester in The Hague Program with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The law school also has exchange programs with Bucerius Law School, the Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, and numerous other law faculties throughout the world.

Speakers also frequently attend the law school. Past speakers have included supreme court justices, federal appellate court judges and famous scholars of law.

Ranking

Due to Boston College student placement in the top law firms in the country, the Princeton Review rankings place Boston College in the number 7 position for "Best Career Prospects". Boston College is also ranked number 5 for "Professors Rock (Legally Speaking)." In 2015, "Above The Law" ranked Boston College Law School 16th overall in the country.

Regarding recruiting at the top law firms in the country, since 2007 the National Law Journal has ranked BC Law in the top 15 law schools because of the large number of graduates the school places in the top American law firms. Harvard was the only other Boston school that placed in the top 20 for recruiting.

The U.S. News & World Report 2016 Law School Rankings placed Boston College Law School 34th in the country. BC Law's legal writing program ranked 9th in the nation and its tax program 23rd.

Law Review publications

Boston College Law School maintains six student-run publications. The Boston College Law Review is the oldest scholarly publication at the law school. The Boston College International and Comparative Law Review is one of approximately 30 law reviews in the United States that focus on international legal issues. The Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review is the nation's second oldest law review dedicated solely to environmental law. The Third World Law Journal is a unique legal periodical that fills the need for a progressive, alternative legal perspective on issues both within the United States and in the developing world.

The Uniform Commercial Code Reporter-Digest is the only student-written publication at Boston College Law School published by a private corporation.

Boston College is also the first law school to implement a completely online publication, the Intellectual Property and Technology Forum, providing research articles on issues of copyright, trademark and patent law.

Libraries

In a new building opened in 1996, the Law Library is located on the Boston College Law School campus in Newton, and contains approximately 500,000 volumes covering all major areas of American law and primary legal materials from the federal government, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, and the European Union. The library also features a substantial treatise and periodical collection and a growing collection of international and comparative law material. The library's Coquillette Rare Book Room houses works from the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries, including works by and about Saint Thomas More.

Research centers & institutes

• Center for Human Rights and International Justice
• Business Institute, Boston College
• Center for Asset Management
• Center for Corporate Citizenship (CCC)
• Center for East Europe, Russia and Asia
• Center for Ignatian Spirituality
• Center for International Higher Education
• Center For Investment Research And Management
• Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture (ISPRC)
• International Study Center
• Irish Institute
• Jesuit Institute
• The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy
• Small Business Development Center
• Urban Ecology Institute
• Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics
• Women's Resource Center

Student life

The total enrollment for BC Law is 794 students. 20% of the student population are students of color and 2% of the population are international students. 68% of the law students receive grant assistance to pay for their education.

The 2011 entering class was composed of 268 students (from 5,685 applicants) - it had a median LSAT score of 166 and a median GPA of 3.66. There were 18 students with graduate degrees.

Employment

According to BC Law's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 64.4% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. BC Law's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 22.5%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.

The median private sector starting salary is $145,000, and the median public service starting salary is $48,000, although these numbers are based on self-reporting statistics.

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at BC Law for incoming students in the 2013-2014 academic year is $64,591. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $245,864.

Noted people

• Francis X. Bellotti, JD 1952, former Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, former Attorney General of Massachusetts, founder of Arbella Insurance
• Edward P. Boland, JD 1936, former United States Congressman; author of the Boland Amendment
• Garrett J. Bradley, JD 1995, member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 2000 - present)
• Scott Brown, JD 1985, former United States Senator (served 2010 - 2013)
• William M. Bulger, JD 1961, President of the Massachusetts Senate, President of the University of Massachusetts.
• Mike Capuano, JD 1977, United States Congressman
• Paul Cellucci, JD 1973, former Governor of Massachusetts, former US Ambassador to Canada
• Robert W. Clifford, JD 1962, Maine Supreme Judicial Court justice
• Silvio Conte, JD 1949, former United States Congressman
• Bill Delahunt, JD 1967, United States Congressman
• John Dooley, LLB 1968, Vermont Supreme Court justice
• Bob Downes, JD 1968, Alaska Superior Court Judge
• James B. Eldridge, JD 2000, member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 2002 - present)
• Michael S. Greco, JD 1972, President, American Bar Association (2006â€"2007)
• Margaret Heckler, JD 1956, former United States Congresswoman, former US Secretary of Health and Human Services, former US Ambassador to Ireland
• Philip H. Hilder, JD 1981, former attorney-in-charge of the Justice Department's Houston office of Organized Crime Strike Force, (1987-1990)
• Paul Hodes, JD 1978, United States Congressman
• Jared Huffman, JD 1990, United States Congressman
• John Kerry, JD 1976, Secretary of State (2012- ),United States Senator, 2004 Democratic candidate for President of the United States
• Kerry Kennedy, JD, human rights activist, writer and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy
• Stephen F. Lynch, JD 1991, United States Congressman
• Dan Malloy, JD 1977, Governor of Connecticut
• Ed Markey, JD 1972, United States Senator (served 2013 - present), United States Congressman (served 1976 - 2013)
• Shannon Miller, JD 2007, Olympic gymnast
• Marilyn Mosby, JD 2007, State Attorney for City of Baltimore (2014â€"Present).
• Francis Patrick O'Connor, JD 1953, Associate Justice of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court for 16 years, the first from Boston College Law School
• Charles Redding Pitt, JD 1977, Former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama
• Grier Raggio, JD 1968, Democratic candidate in 32nd congressional district of Texas
• James A. Redden LLB 1954, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court; former Attorney General and State Treasurer of Oregon
• Charles E. Rice JD 1956, author, legal scholar, and professor of law
• Thomas Reilly JD 1970, Attorney General of Massachusetts, 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate
• Manuel Rodríguez-Orellana JD 1975, Author (memoir), Professor of Law (retired), Puerto Rican Independence Party (Senator 2000)
• Marian T. Ryan JD 1979, Middlesex County (MA) District Attorney
• Warren Rudman, JD 1960, former United States Senator and New Hampshire attorney general
• Larry Ruttman, JD 1958, author
• Thomas Salmon, JD 1957, former Governor of Vermont
• Bobby Scott, JD 1973, United States Congressman
• Francis X. Spina, JD 1971, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justice
• Michael A. Sullivan, JD 1985, Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Richard Thompson, Member of the Maine House of Representatives
• Patric Verrone, JD 1984, President of the Writers Guild of America West
• Kevin White, LLB 1955, Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, from 1968â€"1984
• Diane Wilkerson, JD 1981, first African-American Massachusetts state senator
• Debra Wong Yang, JD 1984, United States Attorney for the Central District of California
• Gerald T. Zerkin, JD 1976, Federal Public Defender for Zacarias Moussaoui

See also

• List of Boston College people
• Presidents of Boston College

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Boston College Official ABA Data
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ "Schools and Colleges - Boston College". Bc.edu. 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2014-06-24. 
4. ^ "Boston College | Law School Numbers". Bc.lawschoolnumbers.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24. 
5. ^ [2]
6. ^ "Employment Summary for 2013 Graduats" (PDF). 
7. ^ "BC Law International". Bc.edu. 2014-04-28. Retrieved 2014-06-24. 
8. ^ "Princeton Review List". Princetonreview.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24. 
9. ^ http://abovethelaw.com/careers/2015-law-school-rankings/#rankings
10. ^ The go-to schools
11. ^ http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings?int=a1d108. 
12. ^ "US News Legal Writing Rankings". Grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24. 
13. ^ "US News Best Grad Schools". Premium.usnews.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24. 
14. ^ "U.C.C. Reporter Digest". Bc.edu. 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2014-06-24. 
15. ^ "The Intellectual Property and Technology Forum". Bc.edu. Retrieved 2014-06-24. 
16. ^ "Daniel R. Coquillette Rare Book Room - Boston College". Bc.edu. 2014-03-04. Retrieved 2014-06-24. 
17. ^ "Employment Summary for 2013 Graduates" (PDF). 
18. ^ "Boston College Profile". 
19. ^ "Law - Best Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report". Retrieved 1 November 2013. 
20. ^ "2013-2014 law school cost of attendance" (PDF). 
21. ^ "Boston College Profile". 
22. ^ "25th Anniversary". Arbella.com. Retrieved 2014-06-24. 
23. ^ "Boston College Law Bookshelf, Spring 2006". Boston College. Retrieved 30 December 2013. 

External links

• Boston College Law School