About Arizona LawArizona Law, which is approaching its 100th year, is home to approximately 400 JD students, 40 LLM and SJD students, and 39 full-time faculty. The College completed a renovation to its primary building, the Law Commons, in 2008, following the renovation of a smaller multipurpose building, Rountree Hall. Arizona Law has a long and distinguished record of serving Arizona and the nation by training lawyers who have become leaders in the profession, on the bench, in business, and in public life.
Arizona Law’s dean search coincides with one of the most challenging and turbulent times ever for legal education. Like other law schools, Arizona Law faces many challenges caused by rapid and significant changes in the legal profession. These changes have led to reduced numbers of law jobs and an accompanying reduction in the number of people applying to law schools. Even before the dramatic changes in the legal market, critics of the traditional law school model had urged law schools to provide more experiential education for students, and to rethink the traditional law school curriculum.
Arizona Law is remarkably well situated to adapt to these challenges and possesses the qualities necessary not only to survive but to thrive. We recently led a successful effort that will, on an experimental basis, allow third-year students to take the Arizona bar exam in February and participate in a “theory-to-practice” residency after the administration of the exam. We are seeking a Dean able to think in progressive and unconventional ways about how to harness and capitalize on this foundation and to lead Arizona Law into its second century.
On the day that our dean search committee convened for the first time, Ann Weaver Hart was inaugurated as the University of Arizona’s 21st president. In her inaugural address, President Hart envisioned “a 21st century university that not only attracts the best and brightest students, faculty, staff and partners, but also attracts visitors from around the world to see how we are doing it.” President Hart emphasized that making this vision reality will require rethinking investments, governance structures, partnerships and incentives to increase the University’s competitiveness and endowment, while ensuring the continued improvement of its educational and research endeavors. It is noteworthy that her major points of emphasis emerged from University-wide strategic planning. The Dean of Arizona Law will be part of this exciting transformation at the University of Arizona, one of the premier land grant universities in the nation, and the only AAU member University in the state.
Points of pride include:
Our small size Arizona Law is one of the smallest law schools in the country. In recent decades the JD class has averaged around 150 students, and more recently we have reduced the class further to sustain quality in a declining applicant pool. Being small is not in itself a virtue, but small size produces great benefits for students, including highly individualized academic and career counseling. Our small size also allows us to offer small classes, which create the opportunity for students and faculty get to know each other well (more than 90 percent of second and third year law classes have between five and 25 students). The small size of the law school also enhances the creation of a common community where students - along with faculty, staff, and supporters - actively shape the character and destiny of the institution.
The quality and diversity of our students With one of the best student/faculty ratios in the country and competitive tuition, Arizona Law attracts extraordinarily gifted students. The 121 members of the 2012 entering class had a median LSAT of 161 and a median grade point average of 3.52. Approximately 27 percent of the class are members of racial and ethnic minorities; 47 percent are women. Fifteen percent of the class hold advanced degrees and 22 percent of the class are age 30 or older. The current student body represents more than 55 undergraduate institutions. The LLM and SJD programs further contribute to the diversity of our student body. The 41 students enrolled in the LLM and SJD programs come from 24 countries on five continents; 50 percent are female and 59 percent are persons of color. Arizona Law ranks 36th on the National Jurist's list of Most Diverse Schools.
The impact of our faculty. Despite having a small law faculty by comparison to our peers,
Experiential learning. We offer a wide range of renowned clinics, but we go further to integrate experiential learning beyond the traditional law school clinic throughout the curriculum. We offer a number of applied learning opportunities, including externships, clerkships, workshops, legal skills competitions, seminars, and ad hoc placements. These include our Mortgage Clinic, our Trial Advocacy program, our Criminal Defense Clinic, our Human Rights Workshops, and the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade, which conducts cutting-edge projects in the areas of commercial law, corporate law, environmental law, and family law, among others, primarily on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, USAID and the World Bank. The relatively small classes in our Legal Writing Program and our team of practitioner-professors also provide an ideal opportunity to model professionalism and bring lessons from the "real world" practice of law into the classroom.
Our cross-campus connections. The University of Arizona is a top ranked research, land grant University with a tradition of interdisciplinary engagement and outreach, and Arizona Law is considered an integral part of the intellectual life of the University. The University President and Provost enthusiastically support the Law College and its contributions. Numerous law faculty hold appointments in other departments and are also engaged in active research projects with faculty members throughout the University. Arizona Law also partners with other Colleges at the University to offer a series of dual degrees, including 10 joint JD/Master's Degrees and three joint JD/PhD programs. It is also possible to minor in law as part of many Masters and Doctoral programs on campus. Important dimensions of our approach to scholarship and innovation fall squarely under President Hart's rubric of "strategic opportunism." In addition to its joint degree programs, Arizona Law has established close connections and innovative programs with several University divisions, including the National Center for Civil Discourse, the Institute of the Environment, the Business/Law Exchange between Arizona Law and the McGuire Center at the Eller College of Management, and several programs on Native peoples, which include American Indian Studies, the Native Nations Institute, the Native Peoples Technical Assistance Office, and the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy.
Our approach to globalization. Arizona Law has long been connected to Arizona and to the West. Our globally recognized specialties in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy, International Trade and Business Law, and Environmental Law reflect the history, culture, and future of Arizona and have enabled us to make substantial contributions to the region for decades. More recently, Arizona Law has forged a distinctive path as part of its response to the increasing globalization of legal practice. Rather than create a large, generalized LLM program as a way of attracting non-U.S. students in what is primarily a revenue generating enterprise, Arizona Law has focused on area-specific LLM programs where the law school can be (and is) a national and world leader. We are also increasing non-U.S. JD applicants through partnerships with innovative, top quality law schools and universities around the world.
The employment success of our graduates. The roughly 7,000 living alumni practice in 49 states, in numerous countries, and on six continents. Arizona Law is one of only 19 law schools in the nation (9.6 percent of all ABA accredited schools) that had more than 75 percent of 2011 graduates employed as of nine months after graduation in full-time, long-term jobs that require bar passage. Arizona Law was one of the three most successful law schools in the West, along with Stanford and Berkeley. Arizona Law received an A- from National Jurist for its transparency with respect to employment statistics.
The students, faculty, and staff at Arizona Law have a long and rich tradition of community engagement and outreach. More than 25 percent of our graduates enter public service, with an additional 20 percent who begin their legal career as judicial clerks. On average, 10 percent of law graduates nationwide enter public service. Forty-three percent of the graduates of our IPLP Program work in public service, including for governments, international organizations, and nonprofit organizations.
The strength of our alumni. Since 1915, more than 7,000 students have called Arizona Law home. We are grateful to have such a large number of engaged and well placed alums who include U.S. senators, state supreme court justices, executives in industry and government, founding and senior law firm partners, and attorneys working in almost every state in the nation. The Law College Association (LCA) is a 501(c)3 organization that represents the alumni and friends of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. The LCA accepts, invests, and distributes donations to benefit the students, faculty, and alumni of the College. Established in the 1950's by a group of forward-thinking alumni, the LCA not only contributes to the College's financial strength, but also engages alumni by hosting social and educational events throughout each academic year. The Board of Directors is currently constituted with 36 alumni members, who support Arizona Law by serving on committees and working groups, by planning and promoting events, by providing support and technical assistance to development and advancement staff, and by serving as ambassadors of the College in their respective legal and civic circles.
Our vision and mission:
We are rooted in Arizona and the West, but nationally preeminent in fostering an intimate and supportive environment for learning and scholarship, where leaders in their fields help students develop the knowledge, skills, and ethical foundation necessary to succeed in the 21st century and to lead in the legal profession and beyond. We put students at the center by providing an individualized, innovative, and rigorous learning experience that trains ethical and effective lawyers and leaders. We advance knowledge through the creation and dissemination of scholarship, including interdisciplinary research, that makes important contributions to intellectual discourse, the development of the law and law reform, and that is recognized for excellence, theoretical creativity, pluralism, and practical significance. We provide service and leadership on important matters of law, law reform, public policy, and justice, particularly in those fields in which we possess special expertise.
College of Law core values:
College level and institutional leadership:
We seek candidates who will lead the College through wisdom in vision, excellence in management, and personal attributes to create an environment where faculty, staff, and students can do their very best work. Moreover, we seek candidates who will relish being part of the University Senior Leadership Team, which excels in institutional thinking and collaborative interaction - the qualities that historically have proven to advance the University of Arizona as an AAU institution.
Our Tucson location:
Tucson is a great place to enjoy the influence of multiple cultures, the amenities and atmosphere of a major University, desert and mountain landscapes, and year round outdoor sports and activities. You can find more information, including how to apply, here.
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Updated: 12/17/2012