Southern University Law Center

Southern University Law Center
Seal[1]
Established	1947
School type	Public university
Dean	John K. Pierre
Location	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US
Enrollment	481 Full- and 248 Part-Time[2]
Faculty	71 Full- and Part-time[2]
Website	www.sulc.edu

Southern University Law Center, a campus of the Southern University System, opened for instruction in September 1947. It was authorized by the Louisiana State Board of Education as a Law School for blacks to be located at Southern University, a historically black college, and to open for the 1947-1948 academic session.

The Law Center offers full-time, part-time, and evening programs. For students who want to pursue the JD and MPA, the school offers a joint-degree program in cooperation with the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern. SULC's students learn two different systems of law: Louisiana is a civil law jurisdiction (in the tradition of France and Continental Europe), while law in every other state is based on the British common-law tradition.

A study-abroad program is offered in London, in which students take courses with international subject matter. SULC publishes two legal journals: its traditional Law Review and The Journal of Race, Gender and Poverty.

According to SULC's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 22.8% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners.^[3]

History

In 1946, Charles J. Hatfield, III, an African-American veteran of Louisiana, applied to Louisiana State University Law School, the only state school that offered a law degree. Although he was academically qualified, he was rejected because of his race, as the state system was segregated. Hatfield filed suit against the state for rejecting his application. While he did not win in court, the State Board of Education decided to found a law school for African Americans.^[4]

The State Board of Education responded by deciding at its January 10, 1947, meeting to found a law school at Southern University to serve African-American students, to open in September of that year. On June 14, 1947, the Board of Liquidation of State Debt appropriated $40,000 for the operation of the school. The Southern University Law School was officially opened in September 1947 to provide legal education for African-American students in the state. After 38 years of operation as a School of Law, the Southern University Board of Supervisors re-designated the school as the Southern University Law Center.

From 1972 to 1974, the law school dean was Louis Berry, a civil rights attorney originally from Alexandria, Louisiana.^[5]

Today, the law school is one of only two public law schools in the state. Its student body is the most diverse in the state of Louisiana.

Accreditation

The Law Center program is accredited by the American Bar Association, the Supreme Court of Louisiana, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Association of American Law Schools. It is approved also by the Veterans Administration for the training of eligible veterans.

Clinical program

The clinical education program at Southern University Law Center is ranked by the American Bar Association as 42nd out of 216 clinical education programs nationally. At Southern University Law Center, clinical education is available to third-year students but not required.

• Administrative/Civil Law Clinic
• Criminal Law Clinic
• Domestic Violence Clinic
• Elder Law Clinic
• Juvenile Law Clinic
• Low-income Taxpayer Clinic
• Mediation Clinic

Physical plant

Housed in the 93,400-square-foot (8,680 m²) A. A. Lenoir Hall, the Law Center's program of study is designed to ensure that students graduate with a comprehensive knowledge of civil law and common law. Though emphasis is given to the substantive and procedural law of Louisiana, with its French and Spanish origins, Anglo-American law is integrated into the curriculum.

Employment

According to SULC's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 22.8% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo-practitioners.^[3] SULC's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 39.8%, 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.^[6]

According to The Faculty Lounge in March 2013, 43.2% of the Class of 2012 was employed in full-time, long-term positions requiring bar admission; SULC ranked as 161st out of 197 law schools.^[7]

Costs

The total cost of full-time attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at SULC for the 2013-2014 academic year is $31,078 for Louisiana resident and $39,678 for non-residents.^[8] The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $122,502.^[9]

Recognition

• Ranking among the "Best Law Schools for Public Service" in 2012 by PreLaw Magazine.^[10]
• Ranking first among law schools awarding "Law Degrees With Most Financial Value at Graduation" in 2011 by U.S. News & World Report.^[11]
• Ranking fourth most popular law school by U.S. News & World Report.^[12]
• Ranking in the top ten among law schools for competitiveness and diverse faculty & student body in the 2000 edition of The Princeton Review: The Best Law Schools'.
• Ranking third among institutions awarding law degrees to African Americans by Black Issues in Higher Education (2000)
• Ranking first among accredited law schools in the country for women-friendliness in a Woman’s Guide to Law Schools]] (1999)
• Ranking in the top 20 percent of the nation’s accredited law schools in favorable student/faculty ratio (13:1)

Notable alumni

• Jody Amedee (ca. 1995) -- Louisiana state senator from District 18
• Mike Foster (2004) -- former Governor of Louisiana
• Rick Gallot — Tenth president of Grambling State University and Democrat member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature: House (2000-2012), Senate (2012-2016)^[13]
• Kip Holden (1985) -- Mayor of Baton Rouge (2005–present)
• Jeff Cox, judge of the 26th Judicial District in Bossier and Webster parishes since 2005^[14]
• Michael Owens Craig, judge of the 26th Judicial District Court since 2009^[15]
• Stephen Dwight (c. 2003) - Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 35 in Calcasieu and Beauregard parishes since 2016^[16]
• Cleo Fields (1987) - politician, former United State Congressman for Louisiana's 4th Congressional District 1993-1997, former gubernatorial candidate
• Stephanie A. Finley (1991), United States Attorney
• Randal Gaines — member of the Louisiana House since 2012 for St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes^[17]
• Hunter Greene — former state representative and family court judge in East Baton Rouge Parish
• John Michael Guidry, circuit court judge since 1997 and former member of both houses of the Louisiana legislature from Baton Rouge^[18]
• Jimmy Harris — African-American Democrat member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for New Orleans since 2016^[19]
• Marcus Hunter (2005) -- member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 17 in Ouachita Parish
• Edward C. James — member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 101 in East Baton Rouge Parish since 2012^[20]
• Faith Jenkins -- Miss Louisiana 2000, Miss America 2001 first runner-up, attorney, legal analyst, and TV personality.
• Edmond Jordan -- member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 29 in West and East Baton Rouge parishes since 2016^[21]
• Jay Luneau (1992) -- member of the Louisiana State Senate from Alexandria since 2016
• Sherman Q. Mack (1999) -- District 95 state representative^[22]
• Robert M. Marionneaux (1995) -- Louisiana State Representative from District 18 from 1996–2000, Louisiana State Senator from District 17 from 2000 to 2012.
• Jonathan W. Perry (1998) -- State representative from Vermilion and Cameron parishes.
• Taylor Townsend (Louisiana politician) (1989) -- Louisiana State Representative from the 23rd District.
• Rick Ward, III - Louisiana state senator from District 17; native and resident of Iberville Parish
• Meshea Poore—member of the West Virginia House of Delegates^[23]
• Terry Reeves - district attorney for Winn Parish (1991-2005)
• Jesse N. Stone, Jr. (1950) -- Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice, Chancellor of SULC 1971-72, President of SU System 1975-85, civil rights attorney, and political leader.
• Ledricka Thierry (2003) -- politician, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for St. Landry Parish since 2009^[24]
• Briana Westry-Robinson (2013) -- youngest African-American woman judge in Alabama's history.^[25]
• Alfred C. Williams (1977) -- Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for East Baton Rouge Parish since 2012; Baton Rouge attorney and former school board member
• Ebony Woodruff—state representative for Jefferson Parish since 2013^[26]

References

External links

• Southern University