New England Law Boston
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| File:Neslseal.png New England School of Law seal | |
Former names | Portia Law School (1908-1969) |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1908 |
| Dean | John O'Brien |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | www.nesl.edu |
New England School of Law (NESL or New England Law) is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1908 as a law school for women.
Cost of attendance
Tuition for the 2009–2010 academic year is $38,500 for full-time students and $28,880 for part-time students.[1]
Student body profile
The Fall 2008 NESL/NELB admitted class was 55% female and had a 10% representation of minorities, down 4% from 2004. NESL/NELB reports that 3,167 individuals applied for admission, of which 384 were enrolled for admission, representing 37 states and 8 countries. The median LSAT score of admitted students was 152 for the full-time program and 150 for the part-time program. The student faculty ratio was 23:1.[2]
Career statistics
Based on employment statistics from 1997-2007, NESL/NELB reports that 84% of its 2007 graduating class had secured positions within nine months of graduation.[3] It was also reported that, of the 84% of graduates who had secured employment, 43.3% were characterized as being employed in Private Practice, 24.1% in Business/Corporations, 15.2% in Government, 12.5% in Judicial Clerkships, and 4.9% in Public Interest.
The 2009 Raw Data Law School Rankings compiled by the Internet Legal Research Group reported that 30.5% of New England School of Law students had secured employed at graduation, while 76.1% has secured employment within nine months of graduation.[4]. This reported statistic ranked New England at 178 out of the 185 law schools that reported such information.[5]
History
In 1908, two Boston women decided to sit for the Massachusetts bar examination. A lawyer named Arthur Winfield MacLean agreed to tutor them, and other students followed over the next few years. MacLean's wife called the school "Portia Law School" after the heroine of Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice". From 1908 to 1938, Portia Law School was the sister school to the all male, Suffolk University Law School, and MacLean was a law partner to Suffolk founder, Gleason Archer, Sr.. MacLean served as the school's first Dean.[6].
Beginning in 1920, Portia graduates received the LL.B. degree. In 1922, the school moved into its first permanent building in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, when enrollment had reached 228. Portia Law School became coeducational in 1938. In 1969, the school's name was changed to New England School of Law and accreditation was granted by the American Bar Association. The school's moved to its current location in the 1980s. In January 1998, the law school was elected to membership in the Association of American Law Schools.[citation needed]
Location and resources
The law school's main campus is a five-story building on Stuart Street in Boston's theater district within walking distance of courthouses, federal and state offices, and the Transportation Building. Clinic, administrative, and Law Review/Journal offices are in a nearby building in the Bay Village on Church Street. Offices for the school's administrative departments, clinical law office, and student publications are located in a two-story building in a residential neighborhood, about three blocks from the main building.
NESL is easily accessible on the MBTA Green line via either the Arlington station or Boylston station, as well as the Orange line via the New England Medical Center station or the Chinatown station, and the Silver line via New England Medical Center, Chinatown, and Boylston.
The library collection contains approximately 335,000 volumes and volume equivalents, an audio and video collection, microform materials, CD-ROM titles with multiple legal databases, and several online research services. Collaboration Room Seating is available for 364 students in carrels and study areas, some of which are private collaboration rooms suitable for student meetings and cooperative learning. More than 120 computer work stations and laptops are available for student use.
Academics
New England Law offers full-time time and part-time (either day or evening) divisions.[citation needed] The student-to-faculty ratio is 23:1.[7] New England Law is ABA (American Bar Association) accredited[citation needed] and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.[citation needed] It is also a founding member of the Consortium for Innovative Legal Education.[8] According to U.S. News and World Report, New England Law ranks in the "Fourth Tier" of law schools in the United States.[9]
Faculty
NESL faculty members have published more than 70 books and articles over the past five years, the international moot court team won the Richard R. Baxter Award for best brief in the 2001 Jessup moot court competition. NESL's 18 clinics in areas such as domestic violence, environmental law, family law, federal courts, health and hospital law, immigration law, and mediation offer opportunities for practical legal experience in varied fields, and each clinic has a required classroom component.
NESL's full-time faculty members are top graduates of law schools in the United States and abroad. Many hold advanced degrees either in law or other fields, in addition to their juris doctor degrees. Most have practiced law in the fields in which they now teach, and many have served as judicial clerks (including four as Federal Court of Appeals clerks) before beginning their teaching careers. The full-time faculty of 36 includes two African Americans, one Asian American, and 12 women. NESL also attracts excellent adjunct faculty members from the judiciary, law practice, and government to teach advanced courses in their areas of expertise. Adjunct faculty bring to the classroom their first-hand knowledge of how the law is being applied in the world of practice.
Notable alumni
Notable alumni include Joseph R. Driscoll, Norfolk representative to the Massachusetts House of Representatives,Andrew Vachss, children's lawyer and author of the Burke series of novels, and Leonard P. Zakim, religious and civil rights leader in Boston.
Notes and references
- ^ http://www.nesl.edu/admissions/tuition_fees.cfm
- ^ http://www.nesl.edu/engaged/ataglance.cfm
- ^ http://www.nesl.edu/engaged/ataglance.cfm
- ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view.php/58
- ^ http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/index.php/4/desc/Employ9Mos
- ^ Michael Rustad, "Book Reviews," Contemporary Sociology, January 1986, Vol. 15, Number 1, page 102. accessed through JSTOR
- ^ http://www.nesl.edu/admissions/ataglance.cfm
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/page+7
External links
Template:Law schools in Massachusetts