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Widener University Commonwealth Law School

{{For|the Delaware school|Widener University Delaware Law School}}

{{Short description|Private law school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, US}}

{{Infobox law school

| name = Widener University Commonwealth Law School

| image =

| image_size = 200px

| alt =

| caption =

| motto =

| parent = Widener University

| established = {{start date and age|1989}}

| type = Private law school

| endowment =

| parent endowment = $91,000,000{{cite news |last1=Palochko |first1=Jaqueline |title=Which Pennsylvania college has the largest endowment? |url=https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-pennsylvania-college-endowments-20190131-story.html |access-date=19 November 2019 |agency=The Morning Call |date=1 February 2019}}

| dean = andré douglas pond cummings{{cite web |title=Widener University Commonwealth Law School announces new dean Dec 14, 2023 |url=https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/current-students/law-school/news/detail/1974/ |website=commonwealthlaw.widener.edu |publisher=Widener University Commonwealth Law School |access-date=31 January 2024}}

| city = Harrisburg

| state = Pennsylvania

| country = United States

| students = 316{{cite web |title=2018 ABA 509 Required Disclosures Widener Law Commonwealth |url=http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/Disclosure509.aspx |website=ABA Required Diclosures |publisher=American Bar Association |access-date=19 November 2019}}

| faculty = 15

| ranking = 159th (2024){{cite web |title=Widener University Commonwealth |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/widener-university-main-campus-03206 |website=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=28 Jan 2024}}

|bar pass rate = 53.75% (2023 first-time takers)

| website = [https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/ commonwealthlaw.widener.edu]

}}

Widener University Commonwealth Law School (Widener Law Commonwealth) is a law school located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and part of Widener University, a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of the university. It was founded in 1989 as an expansion of Widener University's law school in Wilmington.{{cite web |title=A Strong Community |url=https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/alumni-friends/a-strong-community/#:~:text=Since%201989%2C%20Widener%20University's%20law,Law%20Commonwealth%20since%20the%20beginning. |website=commonwealthlaw.widener.edu |publisher=Widener University Delaware Law School |access-date=25 August 2024}} It awards the Juris Doctor degree in its full-time and part-time programs and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).

History

The Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg was founded in 1989, as an expansion of Widener University's existing law school in Wilmington, Delaware. Anthony J. Santoro, who served as Dean of law from 1983 to 1992, felt that there was a need for legal education in Harrisburg, the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.{{cite news |title=Widener University celebrates the legacy of former law dean |url=https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/prospective-students/why-widener/news/detail/1883/ |accessdate=9 January 2020|date=September 11, 2019 |work=Widener University News}}

The law school became one of two law school campuses operated by Widener University.

On July 1, 2015, the two campuses separated into two distinct law schools that operate independently of each other, but remain part of the Widener University.{{cite news |last1=McKelvey |first1=Wallace |title=Widener University separates its Harrisburg and Delaware law schools |url=https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2015/03/widener_university_separates_i.html |access-date=19 November 2019 |agency=Penn Live |date=27 March 2015}} Each law school has its own dean, faculty, students, curriculum, and accreditation. The first Dean of the renamed Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg was Christian A. Johnson. The law school chose the name Commonwealth to reflect its mission and ties to the Pennsylvania government and in recognition of Pennsylvania as one of four commonwealths in the nation.{{cite news |last1=Blumenthal |first1=Jeff |title=Philadelphia-area law school takes unusual step, will split in two |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2015/03/27/widener-law-splitting-in-two.html |accessdate=9 January 2020 |work=Philadelphia Business Journal |date=27 March 2015}}

Campus

Located in Pennsylvania's capital of Harrisburg, the campus spans 19 acres and includes 4 academic and administrative buildings as well as recreation and parking areas. The law library houses significant regional legal collections.{{cite web |title=Widener University Commonwealth Law School |url=https://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/SchoolsABAData/SchoolPage/SchoolPage.aspx?sid=198 |website=LSAC Official Guide to Law Schools |publisher=Law School Admission Council |access-date=20 November 2019}}

Academics

The school offers the Juris Doctor as well as certificate programs.{{cite web |title=Certificate Programs |url=https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/current-students/academics/certificate-programs/ |access-date=19 November 2019}} It also offers two dual degree programs, a JD/Online Master of Business Administration with the Widener University School of Business Administration and a JD/Master of Library Science with Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

=Admissions=

For the class entering in 2023, the law school accepted 65% of applicants, with 30.98% of those accepted enrolling. The average enrollee had a 148 LSAT score and 3.34 undergraduate GPA.{{cite web |title= 2023 Standard 509 Information Report -Widener University Commonwealth Law School|url=https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/Disclosure509.aspx |website=abarequireddisclosures.org |publisher=American Bar Association |access-date= January 27, 2024}}

The law school offers several 3+3 early admissions programs with partner schools:

  • Widener University 3+3 Early Admission Program{{cite web |title=Law Admissions Partnership Programs {{!}} Widener Law Commonwealth |url=https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/prospective-students/admissions/how-to-apply/partnership-program/ |website=Widener Law Commonwealth |publisher=Widener University |access-date=7 January 2020 |language=en }}
  • Elizabethtown College Law Early Admission Program (LEAP){{cite web |title=Law Early Admissions Program |url=https://www.etown.edu/depts/interdisciplinary-programs/pre-law/leap.aspx |website=Elizabethtown College |access-date=10 December 2019}}
  • Wilson College 3+3 Early Admission Program{{cite web |title=Law school forges agreement with Wilson College that allows students to earn JD in six years |url=https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/prospective-students/why-widener/news/detail/1817/ |publisher=Widener University Commonwealth Law School |access-date=10 December 2019}}
  • Westminster College (Pennsylvania) 3+3 Early Admission Program{{cite web |url=https://www.westminster.edu/academics/majors-programs/law/3-3-law.cfm |website=Pre-Law |publisher=Westminster College |access-date=2 December 2021|title=Pre-Law / Academics }}

= Central Pennsylvania Law Clinics =

Widener Law Commonwealth operates the Central Pennsylvania Law Clinics (CPLC) which provide legal services to the local community. The CPLC runs four clinics:{{cite web |title=Central Pennsylvania Law Clinics {{!}} Widener Law Commonwealth {{!}} Harrisburg, PA |url=https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/current-students/academics/practical-learning-opportunities/civil-law-clinic/ |website=Widener Law Commonwealth |publisher=Widener University |access-date=7 January 2020 |language=en }}

  • Administrative Law Clinic
  • Consumer Law Clinic
  • Elder Law Clinic
  • Family Justice Clinic

= Dauphin County Bar Association =

Beginning in 2014, the law school created the a joint venture with the Dauphin County Bar Association, to create a legal incubator program. The program is housed within the Dauphin County Bar Association's office while Widener provides legal education and support. The program's mission is to allow new graduates the resources, space, and training needed to create new solo law firms which benefit the local community.{{cite web |title=Widener Incubator Program Helps Launch New Lawyers in Harrisburg · Widener Law Commonwealth {{!}} Harrisburg, PA |url=http://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/prospective-students/why-widener/news/detail/1728/ |website=Widener Law Commonwealth {{!}} Harrisburg, PA {{!}} Widener University |access-date=2016-01-24 |first=Widener Law Commonwealth {{!}} Harrisburg, PA {{!}} Widener |last=University}}{{cite web |title=Base · Law Office of Jason R Carpenter |url=http://jasoncarpenterlaw.com/ |website=Law Office of Jason R Carpenter |access-date=2016-01-24}}

= Bar pass rates =

Below are the Ultimate Bar Passage rates, i.e. percentage of graduates passing in two years, from the law school's ABA reports:{{cite web |title=Ultimate and First Time Bar Passage Widener Commonwealth Law School|url=http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/BarPassageOutcomes.aspx |website=abarequireddisclosures.org |publisher=American Bar Association |access-date=29 January 2024}}

  • 2020 graduating class: 87.89%
  • 2019 graduating class: 78.21%
  • 2018 graduating class: 90.00%
  • 2017 graduating class: 87.30%
  • 2016 graduating class: 95.65%
  • 2015 graduating class: 95.12%

The first-time bar passage rate for the 2022 graduating class was 47.87%.

Employment

According to the American Bar Association's Employment Reports, 62.24% of the law school's 98 person 2022 graduating class was employed in long-term bar examination passage required positions, i.e. as attorneys, with most of those graduates employed in firms of 1-10 attorneys, while 62.24% of the 2022 class was employed in some capacity in Pennsylvania, with one employed in a federal clerkship, and with 12 employed in state, local, or territorial clerkships.{{cite web |title=2022 Employment Summary Report Widener Commonwealth Law School|url=http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/EmploymentOutcomes.aspx |website=abarequireddisclosures.org |publisher=American Bar Association |accessdate=29 January 2024}} For classes graduating in 2019, preLaw Magazine recognized Widener Law Commonwealth as the #1 school in their Employment Honor Roll that considered employment for those with low LSAT and GPA scores that was not based on employment percentage or included top schools, but was based on a linear regression equation that best predicted a law school’s employment rate considering its students’ average LSAT score and undergraduate GPA.{{cite web |title=preLaw Magazine |url=https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/frame.php?i=671028&p=&pn=&ver=html5 |website=PreLaw Magazine |publisher=National Jurist |accessdate=17 September 2020}}

Notable alumni

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu Official website]

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{{Law Schools of the Mid-Atlantic States}}

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Category:Law schools in Pennsylvania

Category:Education in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Category:Widener University

Category:Universities and colleges in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Category:Educational institutions established in 1989

Category:1989 establishments in Pennsylvania