About the School of Law
On February 2, 2010, UMass Dartmouth was authorized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to grant the Juris Doctor degree. The law program will be built upon a $23 million donation of assets including a building, land, library, and technology from the Southern New England School of Law.
Nestled amongst the pines and cedars in rural Massachusetts, between the Paskamansett River and the coastline of Buzzards Bay, UMass Law's primary objective is to educate men and women for membership in the legal profession.
The law school offers its students the intellectual and practical training necessary for the practice of law and instills in them an appreciation of the human qualities necessary to create a satisfying and meaningful career.
History
Southern New England School of Law was established in 1981 by a group of civic-minded citizens of the Massachusetts South Coast and Rhode Island dedicated to breaking down the financial, geographical, and temporal barriers to legal education. Its modern 75,000 square foot facility on 8.5 acres of land opened in 1993.
The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees voted in 2009 to authorize UMass Dartmouth to offer the JD degree and accept the law school’s donation of assets, valued at $23 million, to support the program. The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education voted February 2, 2010 to award UMass Dartmouth final authorization of its law program.
Affiliation/Accreditation
UMass Dartmouth has full accreditation by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
The dean is fully informed as to the Standards and Rules of Procedure for the Approval of Law Schools by the American Bar Association. The administration and the dean are determined to devote all necessary resources and in other respects to take all necessary steps to present a program of legal education that will qualify for approval by the American Bar Association. The law school makes no representation to any applicant that it will be approved by the American Bar Association prior to the graduation of any matriculating student.
Graduates of UMass Law are eligible to take the bar examination in:
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
Graduates who have been admitted to the Massachusetts or Connecticut bar are immediately eligible to take the bar examination in:
- New Hampshire
- Wisconsin
- West Virginia
In addition, there are a number of states and jurisdictions where graduates are eligible to take the bar examination after practicing for three to five years.
Graduates who have been admitted to practice in any state may practice before Federal administrative agencies (such as the National Labor Relations Board), and they also may be admitted to practice before all Federal Courts of Appeals.
Graduates who have passed the Connecticut bar examination may be admitted to practice in the Federal District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York as well as in the Bankruptcy Courts for those districts. These two districts include the following counties:
- New York City
- Nassau
- Suffolk
- Westchester
Registering with State Bar Examiners
Many State Bar Examiner Boards require students to register with the state board during their first year in law school. Because this practice varies from state to state, students are responsible for determining the applicability of this and any other requirement of the state in which they anticipate seeking admission to the bar. Students planning to take a bar examination should call the state bar examiners well in advance to determine bar requirements.
Bar Admission InformationThere are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar. All jurisdictions have standards of character and fitness that candidates are required to meet in order to be admitted to the bar and practice law there. Applicants are encouraged to determine what those requirements are in the state(s) in which they intend to practice by consulting the website of the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Applicants should also try to consult with an official of the bar as necessary to discover whether any past conduct could keep them from becoming admitted to the bar upon graduation from law school. |
The Program
The law school advances the mission of educating men and women for membership in the legal profession. The program will provide its students with the intellectual and practical training necessary for the practice of law and instill in them an appreciation of the human qualities necessary for the practice of law to be a satisfying and worthwhile career.
Joint Degree Opportunities
The law program offers joint degree opportunities in collaboration with the UMass Dartmouth undergraduate programs through a 3+3 program that combines the last year of the undergraduate major with the first year of the law program, as well as joint graduate degrees affiliated with the UMass Dartmouth MBA and Public Policy programs.
Faculty
The faculty is a diverse group of teachers and scholars with expertise across the spectrum of law practice and scholarship. Each professor's primary responsibility is teaching. Small classes are the norm. Additionally, individual students routinely have the opportunity to work one-on-one with their professors.
Facility
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Alumni
More than 1,200 alumni are using their degrees to practice law all over the world and are also demonstrating leadership in law enforcement, management, and public service.
Cost/Financial Aid
The annual tuition and fees for the 2011-2012 academic year are:
- $24,178 for full time in-state students
- $31,870 for full time out-of-state students
50% public interest fellowships: 25/year (students selected for fellowship program must make a four-year commitment to practicing public interest law upon graduation)
Additional need and merit-based financial aid is available.
