The J. Reuben Clark Law School (also known as JRCLS or BYU Law School) is the professional school for the study of law at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Founded in 1973, the school is named after J. Reuben Clark, a former U.S. Ambassador, Undersecretary of State, and general authority of the institution's sponsoring organization, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association, and a member of the Association of American Law Schools. The J. Reuben Clark Law School consistently ranks among the nation's top tier of American Bar Association approved law schools according to U.S. News & World Report, and it is particularly renowned for its low tuition and high placement rate in Article III federal judicial clerkships.
Video J. Reuben Clark Law School
History
On March 9, 1971 the BYU Board of Trustees announced that a law school would be established at the university. Just two-and-one-half years later the opening ceremonies were held on August 27, 1973. Classes were initially held down the street from the current building in an old Catholic school building, affectionately referred to as "St. Reuben's" by the students. Future U.S. Solicitor General Rex E. Lee was the charter dean of the school. The JRCLS Building was completed and dedicated in 1975, and the school graduated its first class in 1976. The school has since graduated more than 5,000 students.
Maps J. Reuben Clark Law School
Campus
The nearly 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) JRCLS building is located on the east side of the BYU campus and backdropped by Y Mountain. The building's five floors contain eleven classrooms, three seminar rooms, a student commons area, a student lunchroom, spaces for student organizations and activities, a large computer lab, and a computer training room. The Howard W. Hunter Law Library occupies the north wing of the law building and houses a collection of over 450,000 volumes and volume equivalents in paper and microform. The library provides its law students with 470 individually assigned study carrels, 17 group study rooms, a reading room for quiet study, and a popular reading and conversation room. The library also has two classrooms where library faculty teach legal research and writing classes, familiarizing students with specific types of legal research and with library holdings. In 2014, the National Jurist ranked the Howard W. Hunter Law Library as the 25th best law library in the country.
Academics
Admissions
Many admitted students have graduate and doctoral degrees in a wide range of academic disciplines, and most have spent time abroad. Entering students graduated from over 70 different undergraduate colleges and universities in 11 countries and nearly 40 US states.
In 2009, the incoming class had a median GPA of 3.73 and a median LSAT score of 165. Based on these numbers, the J. Reuben Clark Law School ranks 12th in the nation for GPA and 25th in the nation for LSAT admissions standards.
Admission to the BYU Law School is open to people of any faith or sexual orientation, subject to the school's Honor Code. Among other things, the Honor Code precludes the admission and retention of students who are former members of the LDS Church, or whose actions are categorized as "homosexual behavior," which includes both sexual relations and "all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings". To verify Honor Code compliance, students are required to obtain, and maintain during their course of study, an ecclesiastical endorsement from a religious leader or designated BYU chaplain. In 2016, the American Bar Association, which accredits the school, conducted a review to determine whether BYU Law School's admission and retention policy was in accordance with its nondiscrimination policy.
Degree programs
Juris Doctor (JD) program
Most of the students at J. Reuben Clark Law School are enrolled in the Juris Doctor (JD) program. JD students are required to take 90 semester hours of credit in order to graduate. In the first year of law school all students are required to take one semester each of Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Torts, Introduction to Legal Research and Writing, Introduction to Advocacy, Legislation and Regulation, and Structures of the Constitution. Additionally, each student must take Professional Responsibility during their second or third year and prepare a substantial paper (at least 30 pgs). Students must also fulfill a Professional Skills Requirement by completing six hours of externship credit or Professional Skills Courses. In addition to their substantive coursework, many second and third-year students participate in moot court, a scholarly publication, a clinic, or an externship.
Joint Degree programs
For students interested in a more general interdisciplinary course of study, the School of Law offers five joint degree programs (usually completed in four years, as opposed to three for a standard JD):
- JD-MBA, with the Marriott School of Business
- JD-MPA, with the Romney Institute of Public Management within the Marriott School of Business
- JD-MAcc, with the School of Accountancy within the Marriott School of Business
- JD-MEd, with the David O. McKay School of Education
Master of Laws (LLM) program
For foreign lawyers seeking a master's degree in Comparative American law, the J. Reuben Clark Law School offers a two semester Master of Laws (LLM) program. Applicants must have a law degree or certification from an institution located outside the U.S. to participate in the program.
Academic offerings
The student-to-faculty ratio at the J. Reuben Clark Law School is about 18 to one. The current faculty includes seven former United States Supreme Court clerks, amnda former Undersecretary of the Interior,. The school hosts several events each year, including the World Family Policy Center / United Nations Conference (July), the International Law and Religion Symposium (October), and the Orrin G. Hatch Distinguished Trial Lawyer Lecture Series (November).
Students at BYU Law publish four law journals: the BYU Law Review, the BYU Journal of Public Law, the BYU Education and Law Journal, and the BYU International Law & Management Review.
Rankings and honors
The 2018 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "Best Law Schools" ranked the J. Reuben Clark Law School 46th in the country overall, and 3rd for "Law Degrees With Most Financial Value at Graduation" (2016)
The National Jurist named the J. Reuben Clark Law School 1st in "Best Value Law Schools" (2016) and 20th in "Best Law Schools"(overall) (2013)
Princeton Review's "Best Law School" ranked the J. Reuben Clark Law School 8th in the Country Overall (2007)
Leiter's Law School Rankings placed the law school
- 13th in United States Supreme Court clerk placement over the last 10 years.
- 25th in Admissions Selectivity
- 33rd in the country (tie) in Student Quality
Employment
According to BYU's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, within nine months of graduation 64.6% of the Class of 2013 found full-time, long-term, bar-passage-requirement employment; 11.5% found full-time, long-term, JD-advantage employment; and 5.4% found part-time, long-term, bar-passage-required or JD-advantage employment. Overall, 92% of the Class of 2013 found employment within nine months of graduation, and 83.7% of those who found employment were in full-time, long-term positions. BYU's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 20.4%, 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.
Costs
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at BYU for the 2016-17 academic year is $33,4645 for LDS students and $46,144 for students who are not LDS. Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $118,778. It further estimated the cost of living at $20,352 and the cost of tuition and fees for LDS students at $12,310 while Non-LDS students would pay $24,620 during the 2016-17 term.
Associated organizations
BYU Law students may participate in a wide variety of organizations while attending law school and after graduation. Co-curricular programs include Law Review, Moot Court, Trial Advocacy, and various other student-edited publications. For extracurricular activities, students may choose from more than 30 student-run and professional associations, including the American Constitution Society, the Federalist Society, the Student Bar Association, and the Minority Law Students Association.
Of particular note is the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, which is an organization of law school students and graduates consisting of 65 professional and 125 student chapters throughout the world. Although students and graduates of the J. Reuben Clark Law School are de facto members of the Society, there is no requirement to attend the Law School or to be a member of the LDS Church. The organization currently claims 14 U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judges, 18 U.S. District Court Judges, 4 U.S. Attorneys, 6 U.S. Senators (including the Senate Majority Leader), 9 U.S. Congressmen, dozens of legal officers in Fortune 500 companies, and over 100 State Supreme Court, Appellate Court, and District Court judges. The Society holds an annual conference for students and practicing attorneys. Prior conferences have featured former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Notable people
Faculty
Faculty include Kif Augustine-Adams, Cole Durham, Frederick Gedicks, James D. Gordon III, Cheryl B. Preston, Brett Scharffs, D. Gordon Smith, James Rasband, Lynn Wardle, Kevin J Worthen.
Notable former faculty have included Dee Benson (U.S. District Court, UT), Larry Echohawk (Asst. Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs), Michael Goldsmith (Vice Chairman of the U.S. Sentencing Commission), Thomas B. Griffith (U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C.), Bruce C. Hafen, H. Reese Hansen, RonNell Andersen Jones, Dale A. Kimball (U.S. District Court, UT), Thomas R. Lee (UT Supreme Court), Mike Lee (U.S. Senate), Howard C. Nielson Jr. (nominated to U.S. District Court, UT).
Alumni
Notable JRCLS alumni include two judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, five U.S. District Court judges, one U.S. Senator, three U.S. Congressmen, three university presidents, and a NFL Hall-of-Famer.
Law clerks of the United States Supreme Court
For the 2003-2013 Terms of the United States Supreme Court, BYU Law was ranked #13 nationally in Brian Leiter's rankings for Supreme Court clerkship placement (per capita).
As of 2014, the following sortable table lists all of the law clerks that attended the J. Reuben Clark Law School who have served for Supreme Court justices, the year their service began and ended, the year they graduated, and any previous clerkships they held. (To sort, click on the arrow in the header. To sort by multiple columns, click on the first column's sort arrow, then shift-click on subsequent columns' sort arrows.)
See also
- List of deans of the J. Reuben Clark Law School
- List of law schools in the United States
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
References
External links
- "Dear Cosmo" Unofficial BYU Law School Forum and Discussion Board
- Brigham Young University photographs of campus buildings, including photographs of the law building, UA 827 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University
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