Vanderbilt Law School
Established1874
School typePrivate
Endowment$100 Million
Parent endowment$6.4 billion
DeanChris Guthrie
LocationNashville, Tennessee, United States
36°08′53″N 86°48′01″W / 36.1480°N 86.8003°W / 36.1480; -86.8003
Enrollment640
Faculty100[1]
USNWR ranking16th (2024)[2]
Bar pass rate92.05%[1]
Websitelaw.vanderbilt.edu

Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law enrolls approximately 640 students, with each entering Juris Doctor class consisting of approximately 175 students.

According to Vanderbilt Law School's 2020 ABA-required disclosures, 84.44% of the Class of 2020 obtained full-time, long-term, bar examination passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners.[3] The dean of the law school is Chris Guthrie, who began his third five-year appointment as dean on July 1, 2019.[4]

History

Thomas H. Malone, dean from 1875 to 1904.

Vanderbilt Law School was established in 1874, and was the first professional school to open (Vanderbilt University itself did not start its undergraduate classes until 1875).[5] The law school's first class consisted of only seven students and eight professors, with a two-year course of study comprising the school's curriculum. William V. Sullivan was the school's first graduate and would eventually represent Mississippi in the United States Senate. William Frierson Cooper, who had been nominated by Jefferson Davis to serve on the Supreme Court of the Confederate States of America, served as the first dean from 1874 to 1875.[6][7] He was succeeded by Thomas H. Malone, a veteran of the Confederate States Army,[8] who served as dean from 1875 to 1904.[7]

Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the law school remained small, never exceeding 70 students. The law school offered a two-year departmental program, and changed locations between downtown Nashville and the Vanderbilt campus. By 1941, it had expanded into the old chapel area of Kirkland Hall on the Vanderbilt campus, but faced very limited enrollment during World War II. Classes were suspended in 1944.

VLS was based in Kirkland Hall from 1944 to 1962.

Vanderbilt Law School was revived with a $1 million endowment in 1947 and experienced significant growth through the 1960s. Facing overcrowding, in 1962, it moved out of Kirkland Hall and into a dedicated law school building on 21st Avenue South, where it is still located.

Since then, VLS has undergone a series of renovations and expansion, notably including a $24 million upgrade under then-dean Kent D. Syverud completed in 2002.

By 2000, VLS had established a Law & Business Program, new clinical programs, multiple law journals, and an LL.M. program for foreign lawyers. At this point, Vanderbilt had greatly solidified its regional prestige and was well on its way to aggressively developing a national reputation.[9]

In 2005, Edward L. Rubin was appointed to replace Syverud as dean of the law school. During Dean Rubin's tenure, Vanderbilt Law School significantly developed its Litigation & Dispute and Resolution Program (resulting from a $2.9 million endowment donation), established or formalized a number of academic programs, and increased its reputation in the field of Law and Economics by establishing a Ph.D. Program in Law and Economics based within the law school and headed by noted economist W. Kip Viscusi; students earn both a J.D. and a Ph.D. through the program.

Chris Guthrie succeeded Rubin as the law school's dean in July 2009. In addition to its Law and Business and Litigation and Dispute Resolution Programs, the law school now offers programs in Intellectual Property Law; International Legal Studies; Energy, Environment and Land Use Law; Criminal Justice; Social Justice; and Law and Government. Vanderbilt University and the law school also offers a joint-degree law and neuroscience program in which students earn both a J.D. and Ph.D., and the school introduced a joint-degree J.D./M.S. in Finance in conjunction with Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management in fall 2014.

Culture

The total enrollment of students pursuing either a Juris Doctor (J.D) or LL.M. is approximately 640. The program usually enrolls no more than 175 students to the J.D. class, and approximately 50 students to the LL.M class each year. VLS has more than 45 student organizations,[10] which support many lectures, presentations and social events throughout the year. Students are also encouraged to form new organizations tailored to their personal interests, which has most recently produced Law Students for Social Justice (LSSJ), a new organization within the Social Justice Program that aims to facilitate an increasing number of students interested in pursuing public interest careers or hearing from legal practitioners on various ways to implement social justice values into their practice.

Programs

Vanderbilt University Law School Building, Nashville, Tenn.

Vanderbilt's upper-level concentration programs allow students to earn a certificate in Law & Business as well as concentrate their studies in such fields as international law,[11] intellectual property law; litigation and dispute resolution; energy, environmental and land use law; criminal law and social justice. In 2005, the Cecil D. Branstetter Litigation & Dispute Resolution Program received a $2.9 million endowment through a cy pres settlement of a class action lawsuit. Vanderbilt also has programs that allow students to focus on intellectual property law; energy, environmental and land use law; international and comparative law; criminal justice; and social justice. In fall 2011, Vanderbilt University received a $4.85 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation[12] for the establishment of a national MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience.[13]

Vanderbilt's Ph.D. Program in Law & Economics was the first program of its kind in the nation. The program, which is directed by economists W. Kip Viscusi and Joni Hersch, admitted its first class in fall 2007 and graduated its first student, Jennifer Bennett Shinall, in 2012. Shinall joined Vanderbilt's Law and Economics faculty in fall 2014.

Vanderbilt Law School also offers a summer study program, Vanderbilt in Venice,[14] which is open to students from all accredited law schools and offers courses in comparative and international law. While classes in the program are held in Venice, Italy, the faculty include members of the Vanderbilt Law School faculty as well as faculty from the Ca' Foscari University of Venice.[15] Past courses included Transnational Litigation, Counter-Terrorism Law, European Union Law, and Comparative Environmental Regulation.[16]

Post-graduation employment

According to Vanderbilt Law School's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 85.9% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo-practitioners.[3] Vanderbilt Law School ranked 12th out of the 201 ABA-approved law schools in terms of the percentage of 2013 graduates with non-school-funded, full-time, long-term, bar passage required jobs nine months after graduation.[17]

Vanderbilt Law School's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 6.3%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[18] 94.2% of the Class of 2013 was employed in some capacity while 1% were pursuing graduate degrees and 3.9% were unemployed nine months graduation.[3]

Vanderbilt Law School is currently the 10th best law school for securing federal clerkships, with 10% of its recent graduates having secured such positions.[19] In 2017 and in 2018, recent Vanderbilt Law graduates have clerked for Justices Clarence Thomas[20] and Sonia Sotomayor[21] of the Supreme Court of the United States, respectively.

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Vanderbilt Law for the 2020-21 academic year is $92,004.[22]

The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $270,165.[23]

Publications

The Vanderbilt Law Review is ranked 18th among general-topic law reviews, based upon the number of times its articles are cited.[24] Other journals are the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, founded in 1967, and the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, founded as the Journal of Entertainment Law and Practice in 1998.

The Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review, a joint publication with the Environmental Law Institute, debuted in 2008. ELPAR is released each year as the August issue of the Environmental Law Reporter, one of the most widely circulated environmental law publications in the country.[24]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

James Clark McReynolds

Current

Former

References

  1. 1 2 http://law.vanderbilt.edu/Std509InfoReport2015.pdf Archived 2016-04-07 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Vanderbilt Law". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Section of Legal Education, Employment Summary Report". American Bar Association. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  4. ↑ Owens, Ann Marie Deer. "Guthrie reappointed as dean of Vanderbilt Law School". Vanderbilt University. Archived from the original on 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  5. ↑ "Vanderbilt Law School :: About Vanderbilt Law School". Law.vanderbilt.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-01-04. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  6. ↑ "Noted Jurist Of Other Days. Judge William Frierson Cooper Dies in New York. Named For Supreme Bench Of Confederacy. One of Oldest Living Graduates of Yale, Having Been Tutored by Father of President Taft--Will Be Laid At Rest in Historic Ashwood". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. May 8, 1909. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. His supreme ability was so uniformly recognized in the South that Jefferson Davis nominated him to serve on the supreme bench of the Confederacy, which was in a measure to guide the destinies of the new republic. But this court never sat. Open access icon
  7. 1 2 3 "Vanderbilt Law School Deans". Vanderbilt Law School. Vanderbilt University. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Judge Malone Passes Away. Leader In Legal Profession For Many Years. Head Of Local Has Company. End Comes After Several Months Of Ill Health--Funeral Will Take Place This Afternoon From His Late Residence". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. September 15, 1906. p. 6. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. For a period of over twenty years he was Dean of the law department of Vanderbilt University, and gave up his work in the institution only a year and a half ago. Numerous lawyers in this community received their foundations of legal lore from him. Among those who studied with him was Judge J. M. Dickinson. Open access icon
  9. ↑ "Vanderbilt Law School :: History". Law.vanderbilt.edu. 2009-07-01. Archived from the original on 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  10. ↑ "Vanderbilt University Law School :: Student Organizations". Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  11. ↑ "Vanderbilt Law School :: International Legal Studies". Law.vanderbilt.edu. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  12. ↑ "Vanderbilt Law School :: Article Detail". Law.vanderbilt.edu. 2011-08-24. Archived from the original on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  13. ↑ "MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience | Vanderbilt University". Lawneuro.org. 2012-11-25. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  14. ↑ "Vanderbilt Law School :: Vanderbilt in Venice". Law.vanderbilt.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  15. ↑ "Vanderbilt in Venice| Academics| Law School| Vanderbilt University". law.vanderbilt.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  16. ↑ "Vanderbilt in Venice Summer 2018 Courses| Vanderbilt in Venice| Academics| Law School| Vanderbilt University". law.vanderbilt.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  17. ↑ Leichter, Matt (9 April 2014). "Class of 2013 Employment Report". The Law School Tuition Bubble. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "Vanderbilt University Profile". Law School Transparency. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  19. ↑ Loudenback, Emmie Martin, Tanza. "The 24 best law schools for securing federal clerkships". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-02-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ "Cameron Norris '14 (BA'11) will clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 2017". Vanderbilt University. Archived from the original on 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  21. ↑ Wolf, Amy. "Vanderbilt law alumna to clerk for Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor". Vanderbilt University. Archived from the original on 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  22. ↑ "Estimated Cost of Attendance". Vanderbilt Law School. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  23. ↑ "Vanderbilt University Profile, Cost". Law School Transparency. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  24. 1 2 "Law Journal Submission Information". Archived from the original on 2006-03-07. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  25. ↑ "People". Archived from the original on 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  26. ↑ "David Rall Award". Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  27. ↑ School, Harvard Law. "| Harvard Law School". Harvard Law School. Archived from the original on 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2019-01-13.
  28. ↑ University opf Texas Professor Brian Leiter's study of most-cited law faculty, http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2002faculty_impact_areas.shtml#environmental Archived 2019-09-10 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ↑ Little, Charles G. (March 1928). "Reviewed Work: Outline of Suretyship and Guaranty by Earl C. Arnold". University of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register. 76 (5): 625–626. doi:10.2307/3307662. JSTOR 3307662.
  30. ↑ "Rebecca Brown | USC Gould School of Law". Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  31. ↑ Reisman, W. Michael. "Jonathan I. Charney: An Appreciation," Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Vol. 36, 2003
  32. ↑ Owsley, Harriet Chappell; Waggener, Lexie Jean (Jean B.), eds. (September 1, 1964). "DICKINSON, JACOB McGAVOCK (1858–1921) PAPERS 1812-1946" (PDF). Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Barry Friedman - Overview | NYU School of Law". its.law.nyu.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  34. ↑ "Former State Dept. lawyer decries torture". Associated Press. 2009-03-27. Archived from the original on 2009-03-30. Retrieved 2009-03-27. He told the AP Friday that 'Guantanamo was one of the worst overreactions of the Bush administration.'
  35. ↑ "Brian LeiterTop Ten Law Faculties in Scholarly Impact, 2005-2008". Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
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