Suffolk University Law School
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| Suffolk Law School | |
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| Motto: | “Honestas et Diligentia" |
| Established: | 1906 |
| Type: | Private |
| President: | David Sargent |
| Dean: | Alfred C. Aman, Jr. |
| Staff: | 193 |
| Students: | 1,672 |
| Location: | Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Website: | www.law.suffolk.edu |
Suffolk University Law School is a private law school in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The fourth oldest law school in New England in continuous existence (after Harvard, Yale, and Boston University), Suffolk was founded in 1906 by Gleason Archer, Sr. to provide a legal education for those who traditionally lacked the opportunity to study law because of socio-economic or racial discrimination. Originally an all-male school, Suffolk has been co-educational since 1937.
The law school currently has both day and evening (part-time) divisions. The school is located in the newly built Sargent Hall on Tremont Street in downtown Boston. There are over 200 upper level electives offered at the law school, and the school is consistently ranked one of the most technologically advanced schools in the nation. [1][2] Admission to Suffolk is somewhat competitive. In 2005, 43% of applicants were admitted to the law school.[3] Suffolk regularly publishes five law reviews, to which students, faculty, and other scholars contribute. The school is featured annually in the Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report rankings. Suffolk has attracted notable scholars and prominent speakers ranging from John F. Kennedy to William Rehnquist to Antonin Scalia to Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Suffolk University alumni are found in high level judicial, political, and private positions throughout the United States. With nearly 17,000 alumni, Suffolk is one of the largest law schools in the Northeast.
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[edit] Admissions
In 2005 the median GPA for incoming Suffolk Law students was 3.30, and the median LSAT score was 157. The admission rate for 2005 was 43%. A breakdown of the various degree programs reveals that for certain programs the selectivity can dramatically increase,such as the LL.M. program.[4]
[edit] Curriculum
Suffolk Law maintains a traditional first-year curriculum which includes the year-long courses of Civil Procedure, Contracts, Property, Torts, and Legal Writing, in addition to the semester-long Constitutional Law and Criminal Law courses. Until recently, students were also required to take a class in their second year, Fiduciary Relations, which concentrated on the law of Agency and Trusts. Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year though, this class was no longer a requirement for the J.D. program. Upon completion of the required curriculum, students at Suffolk choose from over 200 upper-level courses, many of which focus on learning practical skills.
In addition to J.D. and LL.M., Suffolk University Law School offers joint degrees with Suffolk's Sawyer Business School (J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.S.F., J.D./M.P.A.), and the Suffolk University College of Arts and Sciences (J.D./M.S.C.J., J.D./M.S.I.E.).[5]
Suffolk Law also offers a program abroad: the Semester in Sweden Program with Lund University, a university where Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg conducted research for her book on Swedish Law in the 1960s.[1]
[edit] Libraries
In 1999, after construction on a new law school building was completed, the John Joseph Moakley Library moved to its new home in Sargent Hall. The library contains over 350,000 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 houses the John Joseph Moakley Archive (a collection of the late representative's papers which he gifted to the school in 2001).[6]
[edit] Law Review publications
Suffolk University Law School maintains five student-run publications. The Suffolk University Law Review is the oldest scholarly publication at the law school. The Moot Court Honor Board, which runs many of the school's successful mock trial competitions, produces the Suffolk Journal of Trial & Appellate Advocacy, which publishes scholarly work written by leading academics, judges, practitioners, and students covering varied trial and appellate practice issues in the United States. Suffolk's Journal of High Technology Law focuses on providing research articles on issues of copyright, trademark and patent law. The Suffolk Transnational Law Review is one of approximately 30 law reviews in the United States that focus on international legal issues and the second oldest in existence (after the Harvard International Law Journal). Suffolk recently recognized a fifth journal, the Journal of Health and Biomedical Law, which focuses on cutting-edge legal developments in the field of health law.[7]
[edit] Suffolk Law School in literature, film and culture
- The Departed (2006) - In the film, Matt Damon plays a Suffolk Law School night student, Colin Sullivan, parts of the movie are filmed at Suffolk.[8]
- The Practice, ABC (1997-2004) Bobby Donnell is a Suffolk Law alumnus played by Dylan McDermott.
- Boston Legal, ABC, (2005-2006) Justin Mentell plays Garrett Wells, a hot shot attorney who graduated at the top of his class from Suffolk Law.[9]
[edit] Prominent alumni
- Peter Agnes, class of 1975, Superior Court Justice, Massachusetts
- Gleason Archer Jr., class of 1939, theologian
- James Bamford, class of 1975, Author
- James A. Burke, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1959-1979)
- Jonathan W. Blodgett, class of 1983, current District Attorney for Essex County, Massachusetts
- Judge Frank Caprio, class of 1965, television judge on Caught in Providence on ABC, Chief Judge Providence, RI Municipal Court
- Daniel F. Conley, class of 1983, District Attorney for Boston (Suffolk County)
- Michael A. Costello, class of 1996, Legislator, member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 2002 - present)
- Linda S. Dalianis, class of 1974, Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
- Salvatore DiMasi, class of 1971, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 1979 - present)
- James H. Fagan, class of 1973, member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 1992 - present)
- Christopher G. Fallon, class of 1981, member of the Mass. House of Representatives (served 1996 - present)
- Jerald G. Fishman, class of 1976, President & CEO, Analog Devices
- Francis Flaherty, class of 1975, Justice of Rhode Island Supreme Court
- William F. Galvin, class of 1975, Secretary of State of Massachusetts
- Gustavo Gelpí, class of 1991, United States District Court Judge for the District of Puerto Rico
- Maureen Goldberg, class of 1978, Justice of Rhode Island Supreme Court
- Dan Harrington, world renowned poker player
- John Hynes, mayor of Boston (1950–1960), namesake of Boston's Hynes Convention Center
- Cheryl Jacques, class of 1987, Legislator, former President of the Human Rights Campaign
- William R. Keating, class of 1985, current District Attorney for Norfolk County, Massachusetts
- Thomas J. Lane, class of 1925, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1941-1963)
- Richard J. Leon, class of 1974, U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, judge (2002-present)
- Gerard T. Leone, Jr., class of 1989, current District Attorney for Middlesex County, Massachusetts
- John Loftus, class of 1977, author, television commentator
- Martin F. Loughlin, class of 1951, U.S. District Court of New Hampshire, judge (1979-1995)
- Patrick C. Lynch, class of 1992, Attorney General of Rhode Island
- Ronald Machtley, class of 1978, President of Bryant College, U.S. Representative from Rhode Island (1989-1995)
- Martin Meehan, class of 1983, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1993-2007)
- Joe Moakley, class of 1956, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1973-2001)
- Kate Murray, Supervisor, Town of Hempstead, New York
- Gunnar S. Overstrom, Jr., class of 1968, vice-chair of Fleet Boston and president and chief operating officer of the Shawmut National Corporation.
- Paul Reiber, class of 1974, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
- Robert Rufo, class of 1975, Superior Court Justice, Massachusetts
- David Sargent, class of 1954, President of Suffolk University (1989-)
- Ellen Simon, class of 1979, U.S. Representative candidate from Arizona (2006)
- James Sokolove, class of 1969, television personal injury attorney
- Michael Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
- Paul Suttell, class of 1976, Justice of Rhode Island Supreme Court
- John F. Tierney, class of 1976, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1997-present)
- Joan Vennochi, class of 1984, Pulitzer Prize winner, investigative journalist
- Nina Mitchell Wells, Secretary of State of New Jersey, (2006-present)
- Justice Peter T. Zarella, class of 1975, Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
[edit] Prominent faculty and trustees
- Alfred Aman, Jr., Dean of Law School, internationally known legal writer
- Joseph Glannon, Professor, well known writer of Torts and Civil Procedure texts
- Joseph P. Hoar, Trustee, Commander of U.S. central command
- Charles P. Kindregan, Jr. Professor of Law, Author
- Charles E. Rounds, Jr., Professor of Law, Author
- Michael Rustad, Lambert Professor of Law, Author
[edit] Honorary degree recipients and speakers
- John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States
- Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
- William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
- Stephen Breyer, Justice U.S. Supreme Court
- Antonin Scalia, Justice U.S. Supreme Court
- Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Justice U.S. Supreme Court
- Andrew Card, Chief of Staff to George W. Bush
- Ralph Nader, consumer advocate, Green Party Presidential nominee
- Edward Kennedy, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
- Coretta Scott King, civil rights activist
- Edwin Meese III, U.S. Attorney General
- Richard Posner, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals
- Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of New York City during September 11
- Robert S. Mueller III, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
[edit] Notes
- ^ Linda, Bayer "Ruth Bader Ginsburg"(Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2000), 46.
[edit] External links and references
- Suffolk University Law School official site
- Suffolk Law Admissions
- Suffolk Law School Class and Student profiles from 1909-1929
- Princeton Review
- U.S. News and World Report
