Wake Forest University School of Law

The Wake Forest University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Wake Forest University. Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Wake Forest University School of Law is a private American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). The school was established in 1894. U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks the school among the Top Tier Law Schools in the nation. The current dean is Blake Morant.

Wake Forest University School of Law has a faculty of 52 Resident Faculty Members and 40 Extended Faculty Members.^[1]

The school is known for emphasizing small classes, usually limiting the first year class size to about 150 students. The incoming Class of 2012 had a 25/75% GPA range of 3.26 to 3.71 and LSAT range of 160 to 164.^[2]

Degrees

The school offers the Juris Doctor, LLM, and S.J.D. degrees, as well as four joint degrees (JD/MBA, JD/MA in Religion, JD/Master of Divinity, and JD/MA in Bioethics).

Publications

The school has three student-run law journals. The school's flagship journal is the Wake Forest Law Review.^[3] The school also publishes two specialized journals, the Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy^[4] and the Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law.^[5]

Rankings

The Wake Forest University School of Law was ranked 39th in the 2011 U.S. News and World Report Best Law Schools rankings.^[6]

Student organizations

• Student Bar Association
• Phi Alpha Delta
• North Carolina Student Bar Association
• Federalist Society
• Moot Court Board
• Trial Bar

Student Opportunities

• Metropolitan Externship in Washington, D.C. - Students spend approximately 35 hours per week interning in a government agency or non-governmental organization. In addition to this practice component, students attend a weekly class session, which explores issues common to the interns.^[7]
• Sumer Study Abroad Programs in London, Venice, and Vienna.^[8]
• Inns of Court
• Guardian Ad Litem
• Pro bono Project

Clinics

The Law School offers six legal clinics, or programs that allow students to attain practical legal experience through providing legal services to real clients.^[9]

• Appellate Advocacy Clinic - Students represent clients in a variety of appellate courts, including the Fourth Circuit and the Seventh Circuit. Students handle an actual appeal from start to finish, with advice and assistance from their professor, who is counsel of record. Students also travel to Washington, D.C., to observe arguments at the United States Supreme Court.^[10]
• Child Advocacy Clinic - Students represent children in custody disputes, domestic violence situations, and in issues involving the public school system.^[11]
• Community Law and Business Clinic - A new program, this clinic provides law and graduate business students with an opportunity to develop skills needed to practice in the increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment they will encounter as professionals.^[12]
• Elder Law Clinic - Students provides free legal assistance to moderate income seniors in a variety of legal matters.^[13]
• Innocence and Justice Clinic - This clinic has its origins in the Innocence Project in which Wake Forest students review and investigate claims of innocence to determine whether DNA evidence existed that could exonerate inmates.^[14]
• Litigation Clinic - Students have the opportunity to represent clients in both civil and criminal matters.^[15]

Notable alumni

• Rhoda Billings (J.D., 1966), Former Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
• William Earl Britt (LL.B. 1958), Former federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
• Sidney S. Eagles, Jr. (J.D. 1964), Former Justice of the North Carolina Court of Appeals
• James P. Cain (JD, 1984), Former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark
• Robert L. Ehrlich (J.D., 1982), Former Governor of and Congressman for the state of Maryland
• Jerome B. Friedman (J.D., 1969), Federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
• Kay Hagan (JD, 1978), U.S. Senator for the state of North Carolina (2009-)
• Malcolm Jones Howard, (J.D. 1970), Federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
• Samuel Johnson Howard (JD, 1976), 8th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida
• I. Beverly Lake, Jr. (J.D. 1960), Former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
• John C. Martin (J.D. 1967), Chief Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals
• Robert Burren Morgan (JD), Former U.S. Senator for the state of North Carolina (1975–1981)
• Edwin Monroe Stanley (LL.B., 1931), Former federal judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
• Charles H. Taylor (J.D., 1966) Former U.S. Congressman for the state of North Carolina (1991–2007)
• Hiram Hamilton Ward (LL.B., 1950) Former federal judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
• Samuel Grayson Wilson (J.D., 1974) Federal Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
• Christopher R. Barron (J.D.), Co-Founder of GOProud.
• Greg Habeeb (J.D., 2001) Member of the Virginia House of Delegates.

References