University of Pennsylvania Law School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[www.upenn.edu]
| Penn Law | |
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| Established: | 1790 |
| Type: | Private |
| Dean: | Michael A.Fitts |
| Students: | 848 |
| Location: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Website: | http://law.upenn.edu |
The University of Pennsylvania Law School is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is currently ranked 7th overall by U.S. News & World Report.[1]
Penn Law is a very selective law school: the entering class of 2010 has a median LSAT score of 170 and a median GPA of 3.77. Over a third of students identify as persons of color, and 12% of students enrolled with an advanced degree. The school prides itself on its collegiality [2] and the importance it places on diversity [3].
Penn Law emphasizes cross-disciplinary education, both within the law school and through courses, certificates, and joint/dual degree programs with the other graduate and professional schools on the Penn campus, most notably the Wharton School. [4]
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[edit] History
The University of Pennsylvania Law School officially traces its origins to a series of lectures delivered in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.
Following this early beginning, Penn began offering a full-time program in law in 1850, under the leadership of George Sharswood, an innovator in legal education. Under Sharswood’s leadership, Penn Law created what has become the template for modern legal education: a combination of lectures in law with practical experience for students. In 1897, Penn Law once again reformed legal education by initiating a three-year curriculum and instituting stringent admissions requirements.
In 1900, the new Law School building (now Silverman Hall) opened in its present site on the Penn campus with its massive Georgian structure of brick and limestone with ornamental details throughout. It was at the time considered the largest structure devoted solely to legal education in the country.
Source: [5]
[edit] The Campus
The Law School’s campus consists of four interconnecting buildings around a central courtyard. At the east end of the courtyard is Silverman Hall built in 1900, housing the Levy Conference Center, classrooms, faculty offices, the Gittis Center for Clinical Legal Studies, and administrative and student offices. Directly opposite is Tannenbaum Hall, which opened in 1993, home to the Biddle Law Library, several law journals, administrative offices, and comfortable student spaces. Gittis Hall sits on the north side and has new state-of-the-art classrooms (renovated in 2006) and new and expanded faculty offices. Opposite is Pepper Hall, which houses administrative offices, a seminar room, and a large classroom.
A small row of restaurants and shops faces the Law School on Sansom Street. North of Penn Law, on Chestnut, is a new deluxe apartment complex with retail outlets. Nearby are the Penn Bookstore, the Pottruck Center (a new 115,000 square foot multi-purpose sports activity area), the Institute of Contemporary Art, a performing arts center, and area shops.
[edit] Cross-Disciplinary Studies
Over 70% of the Law School faculty hold advanced degrees other than a J.D., and a third hold secondary appointments in other departments at the University. As a result, many of the law courses have an interdisciplinary perspective. Students are allowed to take four courses outside the Law School as part of their J.D. degree, and many students earn joint/dual degrees or certificates. The Law School is located on the University of Pennsylvania campus, in close proximity to the Wharton School of Business, the Fels Institute of Government, the Medical School, the Annenberg School for Communication and the other graduate and professional programs at Penn.
Certificate Programs Students can earn a Certificate of Study within the three year J.D. program.
• Certificate in Business and Public Policy, The Wharton School
• Environmental Policy, Environmental Studies Institute
• Environmental Science, Environmental Studies Institute
• Gender and Sexuality Studies, Women’s Studies/College of Arts and Sciences
Other certificate programs, such as the Certificate in Non-Profit Management at the Fels Institute of Government of the Certificate in Islamic Studies, may be available to students on an ad-hoc basis.
19% of the Class of 2007 earned a Certificate.
Source: [6]
[edit] Public Interest Program
Penn Law was the first national law school to establish a mandatory pro bono program and the first law school to win the American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award. Students complete 70 hours of pro bono service as a condition of graduation. More than 73% of the Class of 2007 exceeded the requirement. Students can create their own placements or select from 1,200 slots in close to 400 public interest organizations in Philadelphia and nationwide.
The Law School awards Toll Public Interest Scholarships to accomplished public interest matriculants and has a generous Public Interest Loan Repayment Program for graduates pursing careers in public interest.
Students interested in public interest work receive funding for summer positions through money the student-run Equal Justice Foundation or via funding from Penn Law. Additionally, the Law School funds students interested in working internationally through the International Human Rights Fellowship.
[edit] Gittis Center for Clinical Legal Studies
Students have a wide variety of opportunities to use their legal training in Penn Law’s client-centered clinics that focus around the distinct roles that lawyers play in various parts of our society. The Clinic provides the opportunity for students to explore the intersection of the legal system with a broad array of societal issues while developing skills common to any practice setting. Students may enroll in clinical courses in their second and third years of law school.
• Civil Practice Clinic
Students serve clients in civil litigation in housing, consumer, family law, employment discrimination, and government benefits disputes.
• Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic
Students provide representation to an entrepreneurial client base, from emerging businesses and non profit organizations to larger organizations involved in community economic development activities.
• Mediation Clinic
In this unique clinic, students are trained in dispute resolution skills and serve as front-line appointed mediators in civil litigation, criminal and family disputes, employment discrimination, and on-campus disciplinary matters.
• Legislative Clinic
Students combine classroom study of legislative lawyering and public policy with firsthand experience in legislative and federal placements in Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg, PA.
• Inter-Disciplinary Child Advocacy Clinic
Taught by a Penn Law clinical professor and a pediatrician, and a social work supervisor, Penn Law students team with medical, nursing, and social policy & practice students to represent children.
• Transnational Clinic
Students work with clients across cultures, languages, borders and legal systems. Cases may include immigration-related matters, human rights claims and international transactions and development projects.
• Criminal Defense Clinic
Students get first-hand experience trying cases in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the Philadelphia Municipal Court under the close supervision of a senior trial attorney from the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
• Lawyering in the Public Interest
Students examine lawyering themes that arise in the representation of low-income and disadvantaged clients.
• Externships
Penn Law externs can elect from a diverse and rich mix of experiences in a range of unique Philadelphia organizations.
[edit] Journals
Students at the Law School publish these journals:
• University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business and Employment Law, f/k/a the Journal of Labor and Employment Law.
• University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, celebrating its 10th anniversary
• University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, f/k/a the Journal of International Economic Law
• University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change, Penn Law’s newest official journal.
• University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the oldest law review in the United States.
Students also self-publish these unofficial journals:
• Journal of Animal Law and Ethics
• Journal of International Law and Policy[7]
[edit] Institutes & Programs
Penn Law’s institutes and programs address many legal issues from a cross-disciplinary perspective. For example, the Institute for Law & Economics is a joint research center of the Law School, Wharton, and Penn’s Department of Economics whereas the Penn Program on Regulation focuses on the study and teaching of regulation and administrative law, involving departments from throughout the University.[8]
[edit] External links
- Penn Law Website: [9]
- Cross-Disciplinary Information: http://www.law.upenn.edu/crossdisc/
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