Elon University School of Law

Introduction

Elon University School of Law was established in 2006 at a dedication ceremony led by retired US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Excellence in the law through engaged learning and leadership development forms the center of the school's mission and purpose. The program of legal education at Elon Law prepares students to be not only successful lawyers who excel at the highest levels of the profession, but also global citizens who lead in solving challenges facing their communities, nation, and world.

Location

Elon University School of Law is located in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, the third largest city in North Carolina, with a regional population of about 1.5 million. The law school is located at the center of the area's legal community, including major law firms, government offices, and district and federal courts. The downtown area also provides a rich cultural environment, with restaurants, music venues, museums and theaters, a new minor league baseball stadium, and recreational facilities. All law students are provided free memberships to a new YMCA just a few blocks from the law school.

Advisory Board

The law school's advisory board includes prominent judges, attorneys, and business leaders who advise the university in shaping the vision for the school and its future development. The board is chaired by David Gergen, who held positions in the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. The board also includes two former North Carolina governors, three former North Carolina Supreme Court chief justices, a former president of the American Bar Association, and a former US ambassador.

Curriculum

The law school operates on a three-term model, with fall and spring semesters of 13 weeks and a winter term offering courses and practical experiences in leadership and the law. While at Elon, students take a wide array of required courses and electives, and each student selects at least one of four concentrations in their second year: Business, Litigation, Public Interest, and General Practice.

Leadership Emphasis

Over the course of the three-year program, Elon Law incorporates the best of leadership education through courses, community activities, and capstone experiences. Elon lawyers will begin their careers as knowledgeable, self-aware, skillful, and innovative professionals. Elon Law prepares its graduates to be not only successful lawyers who can excel at the highest levels of the profession, but also leading contributors to the well-being of the region, nation, and world. In addition to a rigorous core curriculum that allows students to develop extensive legal knowledge, taught by a faculty with a passion for innovative teaching, the school also provides students with in-depth skills training, teamwork experiences, opportunities for direct client engagement, and an innovative Preceptor Program through which experienced lawyers from a broad range of practice settings mentor law students. The Joseph M. Bryan Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series brings accomplished leaders from a variety of disciplines to Elon to share their experiences and perspectives.

Preceptor Program

More than 50 volunteer attorneys serve annually as preceptors to Elon's first-year law students. As professional advisors, they observe and provide feedback to students about their classroom performances and invite students to accompany them to observe trials, initial client interviews, depositions, and/or mediations. Through these experiences, students are mentored and guided in their professional development and entry to the legal profession.

Clinics

Two clinical programs at Elon Law put legal theory into practice, providing students with essential lawyering skills through casework management, research, writing, client interaction, and courtroom advocacy, while also helping individuals in need. Current clinical offerings include the Juvenile Justice Intervention and Mediation Clinic and a Wills Clinic. The Legal Aid Housing and Domestic Relations field placement program and externships in governmental, judicial, and public interest law offices provide students with additional opportunities to gain practical legal experience.

Engaged Learning and CELL

In addition to offering students extensive field-based experiences with practicing attorneys, judges, and business leaders, Elon law professors employ various methods of instruction, including Socratic, group presentations, projects, and problem method, actively engaging students in their studies. To facilitate the faculty's development as excellent teachers and their ability to tap students' potential for learning, the law school has established the Center for Engaged Learning in the Law (CELL).

Law Library

The depth and breadth of the Elon Law library collection compares favorably with other law schools and is considerably larger than typical academic law libraries at their earliest stage of development. Students may access a wide variety of digital and online databases from both on- and off-campus locations. The collection is designed specifically to support the four practice-area concentrations with additional emphasis in the areas of leadership and professional ethics. The library, like the rest of the law school building, is served by a wireless network with full, high-speed Internet access.

Facilities

The School of Law is located in the four-floor, 84,000-square-foot H. Michael Weaver Building, specially designed to support Elon's engaged approach to legal education. Elon Law is one of only a few schools in the nation to house a working court. The North Carolina Business Court uses the school's high-tech courtroom, and the court's offices are also located within the building, giving students the opportunity to observe and interact with judges and attorneys. The law school's facilities also include a clinical law center, tiered classrooms with extensive multimedia capabilities, a spacious and comfortable library, full wireless network access, and a coffee bar and welcoming common area for students.

Career Services

The Career Services Office provides professional development workshops and networking opportunities for students and alumni, coordinates on-campus interview sessions and résumé requests for employers, builds relationships with prospective employers of students and alumni, and schedules job fair participation nationwide. Ninety-five percent of the class of 2009 has secured legal employment, and students at Elon Law continue to have significant success in securing employment after graduation and in internship placements with judges, law firms, and other legal employers across the nation.

Admission

Each year, the law school seeks to enroll a talented and diverse class of approximately 130 students. The law school offers two decision cycles: early decision and regular decision. Early-decision applicants agree that, if offered admission, they will enroll at Elon Law. Early-decision candidates receive decisions by December 31. Regular-decision applications are accepted throughout the admission cycle and decisions on these applications are made on a rolling basis throughout this period, with most decisions made by the middle of April. Prospective students are encouraged to visit the school to speak with an admission professional, tour the law school with a student ambassador, and visit a class.

Financial Planning

Financial aid is available to law students in the form of scholarships and loans. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Merit scholarships are awarded based on applicants' potential for outstanding contributions to the law school, the legal profession, and society. Admitted applicants are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships. Need-based scholarships are based on the FAFSA information. Many law students participate in federal loan programs such as unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans and GradPLUS Loans.

Student Activities

A rich variety of student activities, organizations, and leadership opportunities make extracurricular life at Elon an excellent complement to classroom learning. Student activities at Elon Law cover a wide spectrum of academic interest areas, identity groups, political affiliations, sports, moot court activities, and service organizations.

In addition to the Elon Law Review, Moot Court Program, and Student Bar Association, there are over 20 active student organizations, including the Black Law Students Association, Federalist Society, Latin American Law Students Association, and Women's Law Association. The Moot Court Program is student run and coordinates intramural and national competitions, as well as participates in regional, national, and international competitions. The Student Bar Association, along with the student organizations, sponsor a range of professional, service, athletic, and social events.

Applicant Profile

Elon University School of Law

	GPA
LSAT Score	3.75+	3.50–3.74	3.25–3.49	3.00–3.24	2.75–2.99	2.50–2.74	2.25–2.49	2.00–2.24	Below 2.00
LSAT score 175–180	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 170–174	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 165–169	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 160–164	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 155–159	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 150–154	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 145–149	Possible	Possible	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 140–144	Possible	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 135–139	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 130–134	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 125–129	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 120–124	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely

Good  = Good Possibility

Possible  = Possible

Unlikely  = Unlikely