Thank you for your interest in the University of Missouri School of Law!
The Law Department at the University of Missouri was founded in 1872. Since that time, the law school has produced well-rounded lawyers who are sensitive to ethical issues, prepared to serve clients and ready to be leaders in promoting justice for the State of Missouri and the nation.
At Mizzou Law, we are proud to offer an affordable, accessible legal education. Affordability is coupled with excellence in legal education. Our faculty is recognized for scholarly work and teaching excellence. Faculty members are regarded as experts in their fields and are regularly quoted in the national media in outlets such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor and The Wall Street Journal. The nation’s leading patent law blog is authored by a Mizzou Law professor who has testified before Congress on patent law reform.
Our students are provided with a challenging and practical education. Our trial practice program gives students a hands-on experience, including the option of a January course with outstanding judges and lawyers and an advanced trial practice course taught by one of the leading trial practice attorneys in Missouri. Mizzou Law students have the opportunity to further hone their skills in one of our clinical programs – Criminal Prosecution Clinic, Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic, Family Violence Clinic, Innocence Clinic, Mediation Clinic and Veterans Clinic – or two practicums – Landlord/Tenant Practicum and Legislative Practicum.
As a national leader in the field of dispute resolution, we seek to complement a strong traditional curriculum with an orientation toward lawyering as a problem-solving endeavor. Our Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution is nationally recognized, with leading scholars from around the country serving as fellows. Mizzou Law has been granted “Recognised Course Provider” status by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators for four courses in the J.D. program, including three arbitration courses.
We support students in their quest for a law degree while they’re here in Hulston Hall, but we also know that there is life after law school. Our Career Development team offers students personalized attention as they examine career options and a wide array of career-related programs.
Life after law school frequently starts with the bar examination. In July 2016, Mizzou Law alumni taking the Missouri Bar Examination for the first time passed at a rate of 87.5 percent – more than four points higher than the state average.
Career Development efforts are supported by an alumni network stretches far and wide, both geographically and in areas of practice. It includes alumni practicing in every county in Missouri, in 50 states and in 22 countries around the world. You will find our alumni in all areas of practice: public service, government, business, academia, dispute resolution and at law firms of all sizes. They serve as members of the U.S. Congress and the Missouri General Assembly, prosecutors and public defenders, as entrepreneurs, and as partners at some of the nation’s most prestigious law firms. Mizzou Law alumni are leaders of The Missouri Bar – six of the last 15 presidents of the bar are our graduates.
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Curriculum
Students often describe the academic atmosphere at MU as challenging, but with an emphasis on learning rather than competition. Courses offer students a broad and balanced perspective on the law and legal institutions to prepare them for a wide range of career options in law, as well as alternative careers anywhere in the country.
Students
The first-year class is divided into two sections with approximately 60 students in each section. Approximately 75 percent of the upper-level classes have an average of fewer than 25 students.
The average age of student ranges from 24 to 26, with students starting law school from their 20s to their 60s.
The JD enrollment is 336 for the 2016-2017 academic year, with 40 percent women and about 18 percent minority students.
Students at Mizzou Law experience small class sizes with ready access to faculty scholars. The student-faculty ratio is currently 9.4:1.
Location
The school’s spacious and modern building, Hulston Hall, is located in the heart of the beautiful University of Missouri campus, within an easy walking distance of the university’s famous Columns, the student center, and the recreation center. Opened in 1988, Hulston Hall houses the law school’s classrooms, library, student organization offices, lounge and dining area. As one student recently said, “You’re going to have all of your classes here, you’re going to eat here and you may even sleep here – but you’re also going to have fun here.”
Special features in Hulston Hall include our Courtroom’s recording equipment to assist students in practicing and perfecting the skills of oral argument, advocacy and litigation; the law library’s extensive collection of legal research databases and print materials for study and research in all areas of the law; and our team of law librarians — several with law degrees — IT professionals, and staff to assist legal researchers in accessing and using the library’s collection.
The University Missouri is located in the center of Columbia, Missouri, which is often referred to as “Collegetown U.S.A.” With a population of about 110,000, Columbia is located in central Missouri, halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City and about 30 minutes from the state’s capital, Jefferson City. Columbia is routinely rated as one of the best U.S. cities in which to reside.
What makes Columbia a great place to live is a matter of individual taste, but we like its extensive network of trails, designation as a hub for arts and culture, home of Southeastern Conference sports and variety of festivals.
Accreditation
The School of Law is a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools. The School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association. Questions regarding ABA accreditation may be directed to the Office of the Consultant on Legal Education, American Bar Association, 321 North Clark Street, 21st Floor, Chicago, IL 60654-7597 or 312-988-6738. Basic information about the School of Law has published annually in the ABA Official Guide to Law Schools.
Student complaints implicating compliance with the standards imposed by the American Bar Association Section on Legal Education and Administration to the Bar shall be filed in writing with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, or if the complaint involves the person serving in that capacity, with the Dean of the Law School.
The complaint shall include the date in which the complaint is being filed; the name and address of the complainant; and a description of the complaint.
The description of the complaint shall include a description of the accreditation standard which the law school’s action or inaction implicates.
The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (or the Dean of the Law School) will investigate the complaint and respond to the complainant in writing within 30 calendar days from receiving the complaint. The response will indicate whether the Law School has taken any corrective action, or if not, the reasons for not taking any action.