University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
{{Short description|Law school in Baltimore, Maryland, US}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{Infobox law school
| name = University of Maryland
Francis King Carey School of Law
| image = 220px
| motto =
| parent = University of Maryland, Baltimore
| established = {{start date and age|1824}}
| type = Public law school
| endowment =
| parent endowment=
| dean = Renée M. Hutchins
| city = Baltimore
| state = Maryland
| country = U.S.
| coordinates = {{coord|39.2893|-76.6224|region:US_type:edu|display=it}}
| students = 705 (part- and full-time, {{abbrlink|JD|Juris Doctor}}, {{abbrlink|LLM|Master of Laws}}, & {{abbrlink|MSL|Master of Science in Law}})
| faculty = 59 full-time; 112 adjunct{{cite web |title=Maryland, University of - 2020 Standard 509 Information Report |url=https://www.law.umaryland.edu/media/SOL/pdfs/ABA/ABA%20509%20Dec%202020.pdf |publisher=American Bar Association |access-date=14 April 2021}}
| ranking = 55th (tie) (2024){{cite web |title=University of Maryland (Carey) |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-maryland-baltimore-03071 |publisher=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=10 April 2024}}
| bar pass rate = 85% (2021)
| website = {{URL|http://www.law.umaryland.edu}}
| aba profile = [http://www.lsac.org/docs/default-source/official-guide-2014/aba5814.pdf LSAC Official Guide 2018]
| logo =
}}
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore, Maryland.{{cite web|title=Law Schools: University of Maryland School of Law|url=http://www.martindale.com/xp/Martindale/Professional_Resources/Law_Schools/schl0446.xml|website=Martindale.com Professional Resources|access-date=January 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041114085913/http://www.martindale.com/xp/Martindale/Professional_Resources/Law_Schools/schl0446.xml|archive-date=November 14, 2004}} Founded in 1816, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States.
The law school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). It is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and has a chapter of the Order of the Coif honor society.
History
Maryland Law was founded in 1816 as the Maryland Law Institute.{{cite journal|url = https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/fac_pubs/1055/|title = David Hoffman: Life, Letters and Lectures at the University of Maryland 1821-1837|author = University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law|date = |journal = Faculty Scholarship|publisher = University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law|access-date = April 7, 2021|quote = David Hoffman was a prominent pioneer in the establishment of university-based legal education. He helped to found the University of Maryland Law School in 1816 and was its first professor. His A Course of Legal Study (1817) and Legal Outlines (1829) played a critical role in the development of law school curricula and provided guidance to hundreds of antebellum law students and attorneys.}} David Hoffman is credited with founding the institute, and in 1817 he published his legal course Hoffman's Course of Legal Study. The school began regular instruction in 1824,{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.law.umaryland.edu/about/ |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=www.law.umaryland.edu}} and it is the fourth oldest law school in the United States.{{Cite web |title=200 Years of Bold Leadership |url=https://www.law.umaryland.edu/news--events/celebrating-200-years/200-years-of-bold-leadership/ |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=www.law.umaryland.edu |quote="[T]he Maryland Law Institute . . . opened for regular evening instruction on Baltimore’s South St. in 1824. The institute is considered the fourth oldest law school in the United States."}} After the law school denied admission to black applicant Donald Gaines Murray on account of his race, in 1936 the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that the law school must admit him.[https://www.jbhe.com/chronology/ "JBHE Chronology of Major Landmarks in the Progress of African Americans in Higher Education"], JBHE.
In 2002, the law school moved into a facility in downtown Baltimore near the Inner Harbor and Oriole Park at Camden Yards.{{cite web|title=Faculty: Karen Rothenberg|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/faculty_profile.asp?facultynum=103|access-date=January 18, 2017|website=UM Carey Law}} In 2011, the law school received a {{USD|30 million}} donation from the W.P. Carey Foundation, the largest gift in the school's history. In response, the law school changed its name to the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.{{cite web|title=Carey Foundation Donates $30M to UMDLaw|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/about/features/carey/|access-date=January 18, 2017|website=UM Carey Law}}
Student body
File:UniversityofMarylandLawSchool 08 11.jpg
Maryland Law has approximately 650 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) program. The racial makeup of students in the J.D. program is approximately {{nowrap|68% white}}, with about 30% identifying as a minority race (and the remainder are unknown or did not specify). Around 72% of J.D. students are under 25 years old.{{cite web|title=Official Guide: 2014 ABA Data – University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law|url=http://www.lsac.org/docs/default-source/official-guide-2014/aba5814.pdf|website=LSAC.org|publisher=Law School Admission Council, Inc|access-date=January 18, 2017|date=2013}} There are more than 40 student organizations,{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/studentorg/index.asp|title=Student Life: Student Organizations|website=UM Carey Law|access-date=January 18, 2017}} four specialized legal centers,{{cite web|url=https://www.law.umaryland.edu/Programs-and-Impact/|title=Programs and Impact|website=University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law|access-date=April 16, 2019}} and five law journals.{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/academics/journals/|title=Academics: Journals|website=UM Carey Law|access-date=January 18, 2017}}
In 2019, Maryland Law enrolled 205 students into its first-year J.D. class, including 179 full-time students and 26 part-time students. The median LSAT score was 160, and the median undergraduate GPA was 3.66. The law school accepted approximately 36% of its applicants.
Rankings
The law school was ranked 51st by the U.S. News & World Report in 2023-2024. The 2023 edition ranked Maryland Law 6th in part-time programs, 6th in health care law, 13th in environmental law, 12th in dispute resolution, and 8th in clinical training.
==Bar passage and employment outcomes==
According to Maryland Law's official data reported to the American Bar Association, approximately 77% of Maryland Law graduates who took the bar exam for the first time in 2019 passed. In addition, 94% of 2019 J.D. graduates were employed in some capacity ten months after graduation.{{cite web |title=Maryland, University of - Employment Summary for 2019 Graduates |url=https://www.law.umaryland.edu/media/SOL/pdfs/ABA/ABA%20Placement%20Employment%20-%2004-24-2020%20FINAL.pdf |publisher=American Bar Association |access-date=14 April 2021}} These 2019 graduates became employed in a variety of contexts, including approximately 35% in judicial clerkships (4% federal clerkships and 31% state and local clerkships), 23% in government, 20% in private practice, 11% in business and industry, 5% in public interest, and 4% in education. For 2018 J.D. graduates who entered private practice within ten months of graduation, the median starting salary was $80,000.{{cite web |title=University of Maryland School of Law, Class of 2018 Summary Report |url=https://www.law.umaryland.edu/media/SOL/pdfs/ABA/Class%20of%202018%20NALP%20Summary%20Report.pdf |publisher=National Association for Law Placement |access-date=14 April 2021}}
Costs
During the 2019-2020 academic year, tuition and fees for full-time J.D. students were $32,808 for Maryland residents and $48,426 for out-of-state students. For part-time J.D. students, tuition and fees were $21,538 for Maryland residents and $31,704 for out-of-state students. The estimated total cost of attendance for J.D. students, which includes tuition and fees, living expenses, transportation expenses, book expenses, and health insurance, was $61,745 for full-time students who are Maryland residents, $79,277 for full-time out-of-state students, $45,123 for part-time students who are Maryland residents, and $56,972 for part-time out-of-state students.{{cite web|url=https://www.umaryland.edu/media/umb/oaa/academic-support/financial-assistance-and-education/documents/coa/JD.pdf|title=2019-2020 Estimated Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid: University of Maryland Carey School of Law|website=University Student Financial Assistance and Enrollment Services|publisher=University of Maryland, Baltimore|access-date=January 18, 2017}} In addition, 77% of students received a scholarship or grant from Maryland Law, including 78% of full-time students and 74% of part-time students.
Academics
=Curriculum=
== Core ==
The core curriculum at Maryland Law for J.D. students includes courses in civil procedure, constitutional law, torts, property, contracts, and criminal law, as well as a two-semester sequence of courses focusing on legal skills of analysis, research, writing, and oral argument. After completing these initial courses, students are required to complete additional coursework in constitutional law, ethics, and legal research, and satisfy experiential and writing requirements.{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.umaryland.edu/Current-and-Incoming-Students/Curriculum-Advising-and-Policies/|title=Curriculum, Advising, & Policies|website=University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law|access-date=April 16, 2019}} This core curriculum forms the basis for more specialized study through more than 150 elective courses, seminars, independent studies, simulations, clinics, and externships.
The LL.M. degree program is designed for students who have earned a prior law degree, either a J.D. degree from a law school in the United States or a law degree from a school in another country. Students must complete coursework in a specialty field and may choose to write a thesis. LL.M. students who did not earn a prior law degree in an American law school must take a course on introductory American law, but otherwise, no specific courses are required for LL.M. students.{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.umaryland.edu/Prospective-Students/LLM/Curriculum/|title=LL.M. Curriculum|website=University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law|access-date=April 16, 2019}}
==Specialty programs==
Maryland Law is home to several specialty programs that enable students to explore areas of interest through experiential learning and a specialized curriculum. The main specialty areas include:
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Business Law
- Clinical Law
- Cybersecurity and Crisis Management
- Environmental Law
- Health Care Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- International and Comparative Law
- Public Health Law
- Women, Leadership, and Equality
Students can focus in other areas as well, such as criminal law, dispute resolution, family law/child advocacy, general practice, jurisprudence/legal history, labor/employment law, administrative law, property/real estate/decedent's estates law, public interest law/community development, and tax law.
==Clinical law program==
Through the Cardin Requirement, named after Maryland Law alumnus U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin, each full-time day student in the J.D. program must gain hands-on legal experience by representing actual clients who would otherwise lack access to justice. Most students fulfill the Cardin Requirement through the Clinical Law Program,{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/specialty/clinic/index.asp|title=Maryland Law - Clinical Law|website=Law.umaryland.edu|access-date=April 12, 2018}} which provides free legal services to Maryland's poorest citizens each year.
More than 25 clinics{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/course_by_sched_info.asp?SchedTypeNum=7|title=Maryland Carey Law - Course Catalog Search|website=Law.umaryland.edu|access-date=April 12, 2018}} focus on a broad range of practice areas, including civil and criminal litigation, advice and counseling, and transactional work. Civil practice areas include environmental law, health, housing and community development, juvenile law and children, AIDS, and immigration. Criminal student attorneys often represent defendants in misdemeanor cases in Maryland's district courts, as well as work in the School of Law's community justice efforts. In addition to in-house clinical work, students may gain experience in public and private nonprofit externships in the Baltimore-Washington region.
==Initiatives==
In addition to formal specialty programs, the law school sponsors a variety of academic and public service initiatives. These initiatives enhance the educational and scholarly mission of the law school and also serve the community.{{cite web|url=https://www.law.umaryland.edu/Programs-and-Impact/Other-Initiatives/|title=Initiatives|website=University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law|access-date=April 16, 2019}}
- Agriculture Law Education Initiative
- Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice
- Leadership, Ethics and Democracy (LEAD) Initiative: In spring 2008, the Fetzer Institute made a three-year $1.6 million funding commitment to the School of Law to help it respond to these challenges and create a Leadership, Ethics and Democracy program (LEAD).{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/programs/initiatives/lead/|title=Maryland Carey Law - About the Moser Initiative|website=Law.umaryland.edu|access-date=April 12, 2018}}
- Legislation, politics, and public policy: The University of Maryland School of Law offers students an educational experience in the areas of legislation, public policy and public interest practice.{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/programs/initiatives/legislation/|title=Maryland Carey Law - Legislation, Politics, and Public Policy|website=Law.umaryland.edu|access-date=April 12, 2018}}
- Linking law and the arts: The University of Maryland School of Law, in conjunction with local arts organizations and as part of the "Linking Law and Arts" series, uses theater and art to help address complex legal, social, and public policy issues.{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/programs/initiatives/arts/|title=Maryland Law - Linking Law & the Arts|website=Law.umaryland.edu|access-date=April 12, 2018}} As part of their commitment to blending law and the arts, students and professors at Maryland Law produced a short film in 2010 about the handling of war tribunals at Guantanamo Bay titled "The Response" starring Aasif Mandvi.{{cite web|url=http://www.theresponsemovie.com/about/home.html|title=The Response - About the Movie|website=Theresponsemovie.com|access-date=April 12, 2018}} UMD Carey Law is also one of fewer than 10 law schools in the United States to offer a course in Visual Legal Advocacy, teaching students how to and encouraging them to incorporate cinema into their advocacy work.{{Cite web|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/faculty/conferences/conf24/abstract.html|title=UM Carey Law {{!}} Abstracts & Professional Biographies|website=Law.umaryland.edu|access-date=2015-06-09}}
- The Moser Ethics in Action Initiative The successor to the LEAD Initiative.
- Erin Levitas Initiative for Sexual Assault Prevention
=Dual-degree programs=
The law school offers several dual-degree options:{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/aboutus/dual_degree.asp|title=Academics: Dual Degree Programs|website=UM Carey Law|access-date=January 18, 2017}}
==Business==
Maryland Law has a combined J.D./{{abbrlink|M.B.A.|Master of Business Administration}} through:
- Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland College Park
- Merrick School of Business at the University of Baltimore
- Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University
==Public policy==
There are several dual-degree options in the field of public policy:
- J.D./{{abbrlink|M.P.P.|Master of Public Policy}} from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy
- J.D./{{abbrlink|Ph.D|Doctor of Philosophy}} through the University of Maryland Baltimore County School of Public Policy
- J.D./M.C.P. (Master of Community Planning) through the University of Maryland Urban Studies and Planning Program
==Health==
- J.D./Master of Public Health from the University of Maryland School of Medicine
- J.D./Master of Science in Toxicology Risk Assessment and Environmental Law from the University of Maryland School of Medicine
- J.D./Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Maryland School of Nursing (J.D./M.S.)
- JD/Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
==Law and society==
- J.D./Master of Arts in Criminal Justice through the University of Maryland College Park
- J.D./Master of Arts in Liberal Arts through St. John's College, Annapolis
- J.D./Master of Social Work through the University of Maryland School of Social Work (J.D./M.S.W.)
Campus
Maryland Law, including the Thurgood Marshall Law Library, occupies a complex that supports the school's programs integrating classroom and experiential learning. The facility opened in 2002 and contains three courtrooms, including the Ceremonial Moot Courtroom, where state and federal trial and appellate courts regularly sit in session to hear cases.{{Cite web |url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/dept/it/notebook_requirement.asp |title=Notebook Computer Requirement for the Entering Class |access-date=December 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050723030000/http://www.law.umaryland.edu/dept/it/notebook_requirement.asp |archive-date=July 23, 2005 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}
The Thurgood Marshall Law Library houses a collection of more than 495,000 volumes and equivalents accessible through the online catalog.{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/|title=Thurgood Marshall Law Library - University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law|website=Law.umaryland.edu|access-date=April 12, 2018}} A staff of 23, including 11 librarians, provides customized reference and consulting services to faculty and students. In addition to LexisNexis, Westlaw and Bloomberg Law, the library offers a legal and non-legal Web-based electronic databases.
The library is named after Justice Thurgood Marshall. Despite growing up in Baltimore, he was unable to attend Maryland Law because, in the 1930s, the school denied all African Americans admission. Marshall attended Howard University School of Law.{{Cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-08-20-1995232064-story.html|title=Marshall may not have tried to enroll in UM law school|last=Folkenflik|first=David|date=August 20, 1995|work=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=November 18, 2019}}
Publications
- Maryland Law Review
- Journal of Health Care Law & Policy
- Journal of Business & Technology Law
- Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class
- Journal of International Law
Notable alumni
{{main|List of University of Maryland School of Law alumni}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official|University of Maryland School of Law}}
{{UMB}}
{{University System of Maryland}}
{{Colleges and universities in Maryland}}
{{Law Schools of the Mid-Atlantic States}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Maryland School Of Law}}
Category:Educational institutions established in 1816
Category:1816 establishments in Maryland