Liberty University School of Law
Coat of arms of the school
MottoAd Fontes
Parent schoolLiberty University
Established2004
School typePrivate
DeanMorse Tan
LocationLynchburg, Virginia, United States
37°21′20″N 79°10′24″W / 37.35556°N 79.17333°W / 37.35556; -79.17333
Enrollment173
USNWR ranking135th (2024)[1]
Bar pass rate95.65
Websitewww.liberty.edu/law/
ABA profileABA profile

The Liberty University School of Law is the law school of Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia. The school offers the J.D., L.L.M., and J.M. degrees.[2]

History

The Liberty University School of Law was founded in 2004 as a division of Liberty University, an evangelical school. It received provisional accreditation in 2006 and became fully accredited by the American Bar Association in 2010.[3]

The original dean was Bruce W. Green, who was responsible for guiding the school in obtaining Liberty's provisional bar accreditation in February 2006. Green resigned in May 2006 and was succeeded by Mathew D. Staver. In 2015, B. Keith Faulkner assumed the deanship.[4] He had previously served as the dean of the Campbell University Lundy–Fetterman School of Business.[4]

Buildings and campus

The School of Law is located in the Green Hall facility on Liberty's campus, and consists of 116,000 square feet (10,800 m2), all of which is located on one level. 34,000 square feet (3,200 m2) of that space is dedicated to Ehrhorn Law Library.[5] The School's Supreme Courtroom contains an exact replica of the Supreme Court of the United States judges' bench.[6][7]

Tuition and financial aid

Tuition for the 2016-2017 academic year was $29,994, with estimated costs and fees totaling an additional $19,108.[8] Law School Transparency estimated the debt-financed cost of attendance for three years, based on data from the 2015-2016 academic year, to be $182,400.[9] In 2016, U.S. News & World Report ranked Liberty as one of the private law schools that award the most financial aid, providing a median grant of $19,500.[10]

Statistics and rankings

Student and faculty

The student to faculty ratio is 10.2 to 1.[11] As of the Class of 2019, there were 64 full-time students and no part-time students in the first-year class.[12] For incoming students, the median LSAT score was 152 and the median undergraduate grade point average was 3.43.[12] Minorities made up 20% of the class and women 42%.[12] The number of states represented were 40 and 11 foreign countries were represented in the Class of 2019.[12]

Bar Exam passage rates

In July 2015 and July 2016, the School of Law had first-time passage rates on the Virginia Bar Exam of 93% and 89% respectively.[13] These rates placed them first in 2015 and second in 2016 among the eight law schools in Virginia. The school has also seen recent bar exam success in other states, such as North Carolina.[14] Liberty had one of the top five bar passage rates in the entire nation for 2018.[15]

First-time takers' Bar Exam pass rates for Liberty University School of Law[16]
Month Year Liberty University's Bar Passage Rate All Bar Exam Applicants Passage Rate Rank in State
September 2020 60.00% 78.52% 8th
July 2020 91.67% 90.62% 6th
February 2020 100.00% 64.23% 1st*
July 2019 88.24% 80.04% 3rd
February 2019 100.00% 68.66% 1st*
July 2018 86.67% 79.73% 3rd
February 2018 75.00% 60.69% 5th
July 2017 80.00% 76.43% 6th
February 2017 66.67% 70.71% 6th
July 2016 89.66% 77.79% 2nd
February 2016 50.00% 65.44% 7th
July 2015 93.33% 75.62% 1st
February 2015 60.00% 67.13% 7th
July 2014 50.00% 72.86% 7th
February 2014 60.00% 69.96% 6th
July 2013 63.89% 79.54% 7th
February 2013 100.00% 65.71% 1st*
*Tied for first with University of Virginia School of Law.

School rankings

The School of Law's ranking given by the U.S. News & World Report is 147-192 (bottom 25%).[11] Above the Law reported that U.S. News & World Report named Liberty University's law school as one of the top five most popular schools in the nation, defined as the schools with the highest applicant yield, along with Yale Law School, BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School, and Harvard Law School. Above the Law theorized that this is because students who get into Liberty do not have many other options.[17] In 2015, National Jurist ranked the school as one of the best schools for public service careers in the area of defender/prosecutor training beside schools such as Washington College of Law, Florida State University College of Law, and UC Davis School of Law.[18]

Employment

According to Liberty University's ABA-required disclosures, 77.8% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, bar passage required employment nine months after graduation.[19] Liberty's Law School Transparency under-employment score was 27.6%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2014 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[20] In 2011, U.S. News & World Report recognized the School of Law as being in the top 17 percent of all law schools for placing graduates as law clerks for federal courts.[21] As of 2023, the median starting private sector salary for graduates was $57,500 and the median public service starting salary was $56,900.[11]

ABA Employment Summary for 2018 Graduates[19]
Employment Status Percentage
Employed - Bar Passage Required
 
 77.8%
Employed - J.D. Advantage
 
 11.1%
Unemployed - Not Seeking
 
 4.4%
Unemployed - Seeking
 
 6.7%
Total of 45 Graduates

Partnerships

The School of Law has two partnerships with the Liberty Counsel:

  • The Liberty Center for Law and Policy is a joint partnership between the School of Law and the Liberty Counsel. It provides information, research, and expertise to affect legislation and public policy at the local, state, and national level.
  • The Center for Constitutional Litigation Clinic.[22]

The School of Law also partners with the Bedford Commonwealth Attorney's Office for The Prosecution Clinic in order to expose students to prosecution experience.[23]

Notable people

Alumni

Faculty

References

  1. ↑ "Liberty University". usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Liberty Law to Offer an Online LL.M. and Two Other Online Masters Programs in Law". Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  3. ↑ "School of Law awarded full accreditation approval by the ABA | Liberty University". www.liberty.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  4. 1 2 "Campbell Business Dean named Liberty Law School Dean - Campbell University". www.campbell.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  5. ↑ "Campus Facilities | Liberty University School of Law". Law.liberty.edu. 2003-07-08. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  6. ↑ Martin, Laira (Fall 2015). "Top moot courtrooms". National Jurist.
  7. ↑ "Law Schools Supreme Courtroom Reflects Supreme Vision | School of Law OLD". www.liberty.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  8. ↑ "Tuition and Fees | Liberty University School of Law". Liberty.edu. 2003-07-08. Archived from the original on 2015-04-05. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  9. ↑ "Liberty University Profile". 1stscorereports.com. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  10. ↑ "Which private law schools award the most financial aid?". grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  11. 1 2 3 "Liberty University". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Class Profile - 2019 | Liberty University School of Law". www.liberty.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  13. ↑ itembridge.com. "VBBE - Exam - Statistics". barexam.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  14. ↑ "Law grads hit 100 percent first-time pass rate on North Carolina Bar Exam | School of Law OLD". www.liberty.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  15. ↑ "The Law Schools with the Best and Worst First-Time Bar Exam Pass Rates (2018)". 22 April 2019.
  16. ↑ itembridge.com. "VBBE - Exam - Statistics". barexam.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  17. ↑ Lat, David. "More Law School Rankings: The Top Ten Most Popular Schools". Above the Law. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  18. ↑ "Best schools for public service careers | the National Jurist". www.nationaljurist.com. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  19. 1 2 "Employment Summary for 2018 Graduates" (PDF). Liberty.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  20. ↑ "Liberty University Profile". 1stscorereports.com. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  21. ↑ "Liberty University School of Law Reports High Number of Graduates in Judicial Clerkships". Prweb.com. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  22. ↑ "About the Center for Constitutional Litigation and Policy". Lc.org. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  23. ↑ "News Articles | Liberty University School of Law". Law.liberty.edu. 2011-07-18. Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  24. ↑ "State Rep. Matt Krause, District 93 (R-Fort Worth)". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  25. ↑ "The Law Office of Todd A Kirby LC | Staff Profiles". Todd A. Kirby L.C. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
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