University of Cincinnati College of Law

University of Cincinnati
College of Law

University of Cincinnati Seal
Motto	Juncta Juvant ("Strength in Unity")
Type	Public (state university)
Established	1833
Dean	Louis D. Bilionis
Students	385
Location	Cincinnati , Ohio , USA
Campus	Urban
Website	www.law.uc.edu

The University of Cincinnati College of Law is the fourth oldest continually running law school in the United States and a founding member of the Association of American Law Schools. It was started in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. Then-dean and future 27th President of the United States, William Howard Taft (1880), merged it with the University of Cincinnati in 1896.

The school is one of only seven American law schools, along with Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, the University of Virginia School of Law, the William & Mary Law School and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, to have produced both a President of the United States (William Howard Taft) and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (both Taft and Willis Van Devanter). The school has also produced a Vice President of the United States, Charles G. Dawes, a Secretary of Commerce, Charles W. Sawyer, as well as numerous governors and U.S. congressmen.

Overview

Faculty

Entrance to the College of Law from Clifton Avenue.

The UC College of Law's faculty includes several leading scholars in their fields. The faculty consists of 29 full-time employees and 27 part-time employees, creating one of the lowest student to faculty ratios in the country, 10:1. There are 10 endowed UC College of Law professorships currently. In 2005, the school announced the appointment of Louis Bilionis as Dean and Nippert Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Bilionis was formerly the University of North Carolina School of Law's first Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law.

Admissions

Admission to the College is competitive. In 2010, there were 1,823 applications and an entering class of 144 students. UC Law offers a full-time, day program only. Total enrollment is limited to 400 students. According to 2010 data, the median LSAT is a 161 and the median GPA is a 3.56. The 75th percentile for LSAT/GPA is a 162/3.80 respectively, while the 25th percentile for LSAT/GPA is a 157/3.36 respectively. There are 73 undergraduate schools represented in the 2010 incoming class. In terms of diversity, 20% of the students come from minority backgrounds.

The bar passage rate for first time Ohio bar examinees in July 2010 was 91%.

The hallway inside the main entrance to the College of Law.

Tuition/Financial Aid

Tuition and fees for the 2010-11 academic year was $20,946 for a resident and $36,526 for a non-resident. After one year, students are able to apply for residency and obtain the in-state tuition rate.

Rankings

In the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings of top law schools (2011), UC Law was ranked 61st. From 1995 to 2002, UC Law was ranked in the top tier (top 50) of U.S. law schools by U.S. News & World Report.

The College's trial courtroom, where Cincinnati-area state and federal judges conduct proceedings in real cases several times each year.

Statue of former Dean William Howard Taft outside the College of Law. Taft went on to serve as President of the United States and Chief Justice of the United States.

Another view of the Taft statue.

Deans of the College of Law

Dean	Years Served
Timothy Walker	1833–1843
William S. Groesbeck	1844–1869
Charles L. Telford
Maskell S. Curwen	1850–1868
Rotated among faculty	1869–1875
Rufus King	1875–1880
Jacob D. Cox	1880–1897
William H. Taft	1897–1900
Gustavus H. Wald	1900–1902
William P. Rogers	1902–1916
Albert B. Benedict	1916–1926
Merton L. Ferson	1926–1946
Frank S. Rowley	1946–1952
Roscoe L. Barrow	1952–1965
Claude S. Sowle	1965–1969
Samuel S. Wilson	1969–1970 1973* 1974–1978
Edward A. Mearns, Jr.	1970–1973
Victor E. Schwartz	1973–1974*
Jorge L. Carro	1978–1979*
Gordon A. Christenson	1979–1989
Joseph P. Tomain	1989–1990* 1990–2005
Louis D. Bilionis	2005–present

*Acting

Library Services

The Robert S. Marx Library has 437,356 volumes with 237,352 titles and a full-time staff of 13 employees. The library also has two computer labs and a wireless network that is accessible throughout the College of Law building.

A study area in the Marx Law Library.

Clinics, Publications, and Student Activities

UC Law is home to several journals including the Human Rights Quarterly, University of Cincinnati Law Review, the Immigration and Nationality Law Review, and The Freedom Center Journal (FCJ), a joint publication between the law school and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

The College of Law also offers a Moot Court program.

UC Law offers a variety of legal clinics and special programs. The Center for Professional Development works to develop students' legal research and writing capacities. The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project works to free actually innocent inmates. UC's Corporate Law Center develops students understanding of corporate law. The Glenn M. Weaver Institute of Law and Psychiatry provides UC Law students, mental health providers, and others opportunity to examine the legal and psychiatric systems and their implications for criminals and the justice system. Through the Center for Practice in Negotiation and Problem Solving students and practitioners can enhance their negotiation and problem-solving skills.

The College also offers joint degree programs in Law and Business, Community Planning, Political Science, Social Work, and Women’s Studies.

Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights

A lecture hall for larger classes at the College of Law.

A smaller classroom fitted with a variety of instructional technologies.

The Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights was established in 1979 to educate and train human rights lawyers and to promote and protect human rights in the international arena. It is the oldest endowed international human rights program for American law schools.

The UMI emphasizes three areas: teaching, research and service. Students have the opportunity to participate in externships that can take them around the world-standing with human rights groups around the world fighting injustice; serving as election observers in South Africa; and, working to strengthen women's rights in foreign countries.

At the core of the UMI is the Human Rights Quarterly, recognized as the leading academic journal in the human rights field. The Quarterly covers the range of human rights matters encompassed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Published by The Johns Hopkins Press, the Human Rights Quarterly is edited by the Institute's Director, Professor Bert B. Lockwood of the University of Cincinnati, College of Law.

University of Cincinnati Law Review

UC Law publishes the University of Cincinnati Law Review (founded 1927) which was the first law journal published by an Ohio law school. The Law Review is a quarterly publication produced by second and third-year law students. Each year, approximately 30 students are invited to join the Law Review as Associate Members.

The Moot Court Honor Board

UC Law's Moot Court Honor Board hosts two competitions throughout the academic year.[1] One is the LexisNexis Moot Court Competition, an entirely intramural competition held in the fall that serves as the basis for selecting new members to the Board. The second is the August A. Rendigs, Jr., National Product Liability Moot Court Competition held in the spring, which is open to law schools throughout the country. In addition, the Board sends teams of competitors to many regional and national moot court competitions.

The Corporate Law Center

The Corporate Law Center encourages the development of law students' and the legal and business communities' understanding of the issues involving corporate law. By developing programs to educate and train students, as well as provide assistance to attorneys, the Center positively impacts the legal and business communities-in Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Indiana and the world. Established in the 1980s, the Center addresses issues of central concern to corporate attorneys, such as the fiduciary duties of managers, the relationship between managers and shareholders, and the relationship of the corporation to society. Central to its activities is the annual Corporate Law Symposium, which provides an opportunity for scholars, practitioners and law students from across the country to exchange ideas, debate issues, and discuss ongoing research and scholarship on current topics in the field.

Center for Practice

The Center for Practice was founded to enhance professional education for negotiations and problem solving. The Center's seminars, forums, workshops and courses draw upon work from a variety of disciplines, including law, behavioral science, and decision-science.

Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project

The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project works for positive social and legal change in Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Indiana, and beyond. Founded in the aftermath of the racial strife and civil unrest that shook Cincinnati to its core in April 2001, the RIJ/OIP seeks to make a difference in the lives of wrongly convicted criminals, in government rulings, or in the community.

The RIJ/OIP focuses on research project and reports, the Ohio Innocence Project, and the Speakers Series. Participants engage in public policy research, working with UC law professors on issues that affect law and justice-from racism to race relations, from the environment to economics. The Ohio Innocence Project serves as "freedom fighters," working to free the wrongly convicted. UC Law's program has freed three wrongly convicted persons to date. The Speakers Series provides an opportunity to engage the public, politicians, and others on issues affecting urban justice.

The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice was founded by Gabriel J. Chin, Professor of Law, University of Arizona College of Law and Joseph P. Tomain, Dean Emeritus and Wilbert and Helen Ziegler Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati Law School.

Professor Mark A. Godsey serves as the Faculty Director. Staff attorneys include Jennifer Paschen Bergeron, Karla Markley Hall, and Carrie Wood.

The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project is supported by Cincinnati and Ohio philanthropists.

Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic

At the ECDC, third year law students represent local small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs on transactional legal issues critical to their success. Such services include assistance and counseling on entity selection and formation; regulatory compliance and licensing; trademark and copyright protection; lease review and negotiation; contract preparation, review, and negotiation; as well as any other legal issues confronting a small business. Students perform all work at the ECDC under the supervision of its director, Professor Lewis Goldfarb. The ECDC represents clients of limited financial means, including both for-profit and non-profit organizations, which cannot afford the legal services of the private bar. The ECDC determines eligibility for its services based on a completed “Application for Pro Bono Legal Assistance.”

The Center for Race, Gender, and Social Justice

The Center for Race, Gender, and Social Justice provides experiential learning, research, and other opportunities for interdisciplinary inquiry that enhance the vibrant intellectual life at the College of Law. The Center bridges theory and practice, forgse relationships with local, national, and global communities, and prepares students to take the lead in advancing justice. The Center's programs are the Joint Degree Program in Law and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), the Freedom Center Journal, and the Domestic Violence and Civil Protection Order Clinic.

Location

Main entrance to the College of Law.

The College of Law is located in Cincinnati, Ohio which is the 62nd largest city in the United States--List of United States cities by population, while the Cincinnati-Middletown metropolitan area is the 24th largest in the country by population--United States metropolitan areas. The Greater Cincinnati area is home to over 685 law firms. Notably, Cincinnati's downtown is the site for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit courthouse, and also the courthouse for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Furthermore, Cincinnati is home to 10 Fortune 500 companies including being the headquarters for Procter & Gamble, Fifth Third Bank, GE Aviation, Macy's, Inc. and Kroger.

In their annual list, the Partners for Livable Communities has continued to name Cincinnati as one of the top ten most livable cities in the United States.

The College of Law is located at the corner of Clifton Avenue and Calhoun Street in the Heights neighborhood of Cincinnati.

Notable alumni

The period from 1925 to 1929 was a golden era for the school's alumni. During this time, UC Law alumni had significant influence in all three branches of the federal government. Charles G. Dawes was Vice President (and therefore also President of the Senate), Nicolas Longworth was Speaker of the House of Representatives, and William Howard Taft was Chief Justice of United States. Also during this time, alumnus Miller Huggins managed the New York Yankees to World Series championships in 1927 and 1928.

Name	Year of Graduation	Notable Accomplishments
John D. Altenburg	1973	Major General and military lawyer (U.S. army ret.) appointed authority for military commissions covering detainees at Guantanamo
Helen Elsie Austin	1930	A U.S. Foreign Service Officer and the first black woman to graduate from UC Law
William M. Barker	1967	Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court
Michael Ryan Barrett	1977	District Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Sandra Beckwith	1968	Chief Judge and the first woman to sit on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Theodore Ted Berry	1931	First African-American mayor of Cincinnati, has been called "Mr. Cincinnati", advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and pivotal attorney in the Civil Rights Movement for the NAACP
Joseph Gurney Cannon	attended, 1859	U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1903-1911)
Samuel Fenton Cary	1837	U.S. Congressman representing Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives (1867-1869), United States Vice Presidential candidate, prohibitionist
Stan Chesley	1960	Nationally recognized attorney of Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley Co., L.P.A., well-known for his expertise with class action lawsuits; has been referred to as "The Prince of Torts"
Norton Parker Chipman	1859	Chief JAG Prosecutor at Andersonville, Secretary of the District of Columbia, U.S. Congressman, Author, and First Presiding Justice of the California Third District Court of Appeal
Donald D. Clancy	1948	Former U.S. Congressman representing Ohio in the House of Representatives (1961-1977) and former mayor of Cincinnati
James Beauchamp Clark	1875	U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1911-1919)
Cris Collinsworth	1991	Former wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals and current television sportscaster for NBC Sunday Night Football
Charles G. Dawes	1886	30th Vice President of the United States (1925-1929) and Nobel Peace Prize recipient
James W. Denver	1844	Governor of the Kansas Territory (1857-1858), Secretary of State of California (1853-1855) and namesake of Denver, Colorado
Joe Deters	1982	Ohio State Treasurer (1999-2005), Prosecuting Attorney of Hamilton County, Ohio (2005-present)
Richard P. Ernst	1880	U.S. Senator from Kentucky (1921-1927)
Judson Harmon	1870	Attorney General of the United States (1895-1897), Governor of Ohio (1909-1913)
John David Holschuh	1951	Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Miller Huggins		Manager of the New York Yankees, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Henry Thomas Hunt	1903	Mayor of Cincinnati (1912-1913)
Charles Keating	1948	Founding partner of Keating, Muething & Klekamp; appointed to one of Richard Nixon's Presidential Commissions
William J. Keating		U.S. Congressman in the House of Representatives (1971-1974);partner of Keating, Meuthing & Klekamp
Joseph P. Kinneary	1935	ret. Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, The Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse dedicated in 1998
Nicholas Longworth	1894	U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1925-1931)
Charlie Luken	1976	U.S. Congressman and mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio (1984-1991, 1999-2006)
Harold G. Maier	1963	International Law Scholar; former Counselor on International Law, U.S. Department of State
William "Billy" Martin	1976	Prominent defense attorney of Washington D.C.; represented Marcia Lewis during the Lewinsky scandal, the parents of Chandra Levy, former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell, former NBA player Jayson Williams, and most recently NFL Quarterback Michael Vick
Lawrence Maxwell, Jr.	1875	United States Solicitor General (1893-1895)
Edwin P. Morrow	1902	Governor of Kentucky (1919-1923)
Edward F. Noyes	1858	Governor of Ohio (1872-1874)
Atlee Pomerene	1886	Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (1910-1911) and United States Senator (1911-1923)
Todd Portune	1983	Cincinnati City Council (1993-2000); Hamilton County Commissioner (2000-Present)
William S. Richardson	1943	Former Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court (1966 - 1982); The University of Hawaii's William S. Richardson School of Law is named after him for his dedication to its establishment
Thomas M. Rose	1973	District Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Charles W. Sawyer	1911	Secretary of Commerce (1948 to 1953)
David M. Smolin	1986	children's/human rights activist and law professor at Cumberland School of Law, Director of Cumberland School of Law's Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics.
Bob Taft	1976	Governor of Ohio (1999-2007)
William Howard Taft	1880	27th President of the United States (1909-1913), 10th Chief Justice of the United States (1921-1930) and United States Solicitor General (1890-1892)
Willis Van Devanter	1881	Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1911-1937)

External links

Websites and journals

• University of Cincinnati College of Law
• University of Cincinnati Law Review
• About the Human Rights Quarterly
• Immigration and Nationality Law Review
• About the Freedom Center Journal
• Securities Lawyer's Deskbook
• University of Cincinnati College of Law Student Bar Association
• University of Cincinnati College of Law Moot Court Honor Board

Professor blogs

• Professor Timothy K. Armstrong's Info/Law Blog
• Professor Marianna Brown Bettman's Legally Speaking Ohio Blog
• Professor Barbara Black's Securities Law Blog
• Professor Paul Caron's Tax Law Blog
• Professor Jacob Katz Cogan's International Law Reporter
• Professor Mark A. Godsey's Criminal Law Blog