Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Welcome

At Case Western Reserve University School of Law our innovative and visionary curriculum combines the best of classical legal education with cutting-edge experiential opportunities. Our rapidly expanding experiential program and our semester-long foreign study programs and externships prepare our students to be ready at graduation to hit the ground running. Our courses are taught by accomplished and nationally known scholars who are always available to our students. We are part of a world-class university where many of our schools and programs are at the top of their respective fields. We encourage our students to take advantage of all of these opportunities. Finally, while our reach is global, our home is Cleveland, an affordable and enjoyable setting to study law.

The Curriculum and Concentrations

Our students participate in CaseArc, our four-semester integrated lawyering skills program that coordinates experientially based instruction in fundamental lawyering skills with traditional classroom methods for teaching legal analysis. In this program, our students research and write memos and briefs, interview and counsel clients, draft and negotiate contracts, and experience how lawyers make deals happen, solve legal problems, make presentations to courts, and negotiate criminal or civil settlements.

Because we are part of a world-class research university, we offer our students 10 dual-degree options, including Management, Art History and Museum Studies, Legal History, Bioethics, Political Science, Social Work, Nonprofit Management, Public Health, Medicine, and Biochemistry. For students who wish to focus on a particular area of law, we offer 10 concentrations, including Law and Technology, Law and the Arts, Criminal Law, Business Organizations, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Health Law, International Law, National Security Law, Individual Rights and Social Reform, and Public and Regulatory Institutions.

In addition, our 200-plus courses and unique opportunities to participate in practice laboratories, clinics, externships at home and abroad, and semester-long study abroad almost anywhere in the world give our graduates the skills, judgment, experience, and confidence to practice twenty-first-century law and to deal with the challenges of an ever-changing world.

Academic Centers

The Academic Centers provide rich opportunities that stimulate learning, networking, and career development, and include first-year electives, special seminars and symposia, clinical opportunities, internships, and work and study-abroad opportunities. Our Law-Medicine Center was the first health law program in the country, offering a broad variety of courses and extracurricular opportunities to prepare our students for the rapidly evolving world of health care law. In addition to extensive international law course offerings, the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center helps students gain employment in the field of international law by providing summer, semester-long (for academic credit), and postgraduation international internship grants. The Cox Center also sponsors the highly successful Jessup Moot Court Team. The Center for Law, Technology, and the Arts teaches our students to counsel all types of creative clients, including inventors, musicians, visual artists, and athletes and then helps the students gain experience in cultural and technological organizations and law firms. Our Center for Business Law and Regulation offers a dynamic and comprehensive combination of curricular offerings and extracurricular programs in business law and regulation. Finally, our Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic provides our third-year students the opportunity to put their lawyering skills to work representing real clients in civil, criminal, and business matters.

Commitment to Career Success

We believe that the type and quality of services provided by a career services office are important to consider in choosing which school to attend. We pride ourselves on offering comprehensive general programming to the entire student body as well as personal attention to each student's individual career ambitions. Our Career Services Office programming provides our students with real job opportunities with leading employers coast to coast. Our aggressive approach to employer development and outreach has resulted in great job success for our graduates: a 91.6 percent employment rate for our class of 2010 (national average: 90.5 percent). More than 300 employers participate in our fall recruitment programs, which include on-campus interviews as well as interview programs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington, DC.

The University and Cleveland

We are part of a world-class university. Case Western Reserve University stands among the nation's foremost independent research institutions with an endowment of well over $1 billion. The law school is located on the university's campus in the heart of University Circle—a unique park-like setting that includes the Cleveland Art Museum, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, University Hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic, and the new home of the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art.

Unique neighborhoods are within walking distance of campus and offer students and young professionals modern and safe places to live, shop, dine, and socialize. Accommodations vary from hip and modern lofts and condos to fun college town apartments. Housing is also very affordable.

Cleveland is a world corporate center for leading national and multinational companies that specialize in transportation, insurance, retail, commercial banking, and finance. It is the headquarters for several of the nation's largest law firms and home to a number of foreign consulates. It is also a city of medicine with dozens of hospitals and medical centers with international reputations for outstanding patient care and contributions to medical research. Plus, opportunities for fun abound in Cleveland with our nationally recognized restaurant scene, the country's second-largest theater district, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, three professional sports teams, and the extensive and beautiful Cleveland Metroparks system.

Student Activities and Leadership

There are more than 30 student organizations reflecting the wide range of our students' interests, including the Black Law Students Association, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Federalist Society, National Lawyers Guild, Lambda Law Students Association, and Student Animal Legal Defense Fund. Our students contribute to the community through organizations such as Cultivating Connections, Street Law, and Big Buddies, in cooperation with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Our student organizations not only allow students the opportunity to explore legal interests with peers, but also provide a valuable proving ground for leadership skill development. Our student organization leaders have also taken leadership roles in their groups' national and regional organizations, and have the opportunity to represent Case Western at national and regional conferences. Our scholarly journals are the Case Western Reserve Law Review, the Journal of International Law, Health Matrix: Journal of Law-Medicine, and the Journal of Law, Technology, and the Internet. There is also ample opportunity for participation in moot court and mock trial competitions.

Admission and Financial Aid

The Admission Process—Our admission process is selective. Each applicant receives full-file review. The Early Decision program application deadline is November 30; applicants are notified by December 15. The regular admission process begins in December and concludes by May 15, at which time a summer waiting list is established. The application fee is waived for candidates who apply electronically.

Financial Aid and Scholarships—Each year, we offer academic scholarships ranging from partial to full tuition; leadership grants, awarded to students with unique backgrounds whose records demonstrate leadership qualities and who will enrich the diversity of the student body; interest area scholarships; and up to two Law-Medicine Fellowships, which provide a combination of scholarship aid and summer research fellowship.

Loan Repayment Assistance Program—We provide financial assistance for selected graduates who use their legal training to provide services that are in the public interest.

Visiting Case Western Reserve University School of Law

We offer many opportunities for prospective students to visit the law school. Just check our website to watch our video, check the schedule for the annual Open House, or schedule an individual visit (or all three of the above).

Applicant Profile

Case Western Reserve University School of Law

This grid includes only applicants who earned 120–180 LSAT scores.

Good  = Good Possibility

Possible  = Possible

Unlikely  = Unlikely