Texas Wesleyan University School of Law

Introduction

Established in 1989, the law school became part of Texas Wesleyan University in 1992 with a mission to provide excellence in legal education. The program emphasizes service to our diverse student body, our profession, and our community through outstanding teaching and scholarship, the development of innovative academic programs, and a commitment to public service, as well as by promoting the highest ethical standards in the practice of law. The law school is fully approved by the ABA and offers both full-time and part-time programs leading to the Juris Doctor degree. The law school is located in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, in close proximity to the legal and judicial communities. The Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex, with approximately 5.8 million residents, has rapidly grown to become one of the largest and most diverse metropolitan areas in the country, offering a relatively low cost of living, a growing economy, and extensive opportunities for professional advancement.

Student Body

Texas Wesleyan Law is committed to educating students of diverse backgrounds, varied life experiences, and differing educational perspectives. In its short but dynamic 20-year history, Texas Wesleyan School of Law has provided excellence in legal education to traditional full-time students as well as to accomplished nontraditional part-time students. The increasing rise in the quality of students is a reflection of our continued emphasis on service to a diverse student body, the profession, and the community.

Faculty

Texas Wesleyan Law has a highly qualified, energetic, accessible faculty. The members of the faculty hold degrees from the top law schools across the country and have diverse professional backgrounds and experience. They have served in a variety of high-level governmental positions, in the judiciary and state legislatures, and in law firms. Faculty members are talented and active scholars that have published numerous books and articles. The student-to-faculty ratio ensures that students have the attention they need, both inside and outside of the classroom.

Library and Physical Facilities

The law school boasts first-rate facilities, including spacious classrooms, well-designed courtrooms, an in-house law clinic, and an impressive library. Texas Wesleyan's law library contains more than 250,000 volumes and equivalents. The law library's mission is to support the educational, instructional, curricular, and research needs of the faculty, students, and staff. In addition to its law book collection, the law library subscribes to major online electronic legal information services, including LexisNexis, Westlaw, and legal research Internet sites. Complementing the library's book and electronic sources, an extensive collection of US Congressional documents, including full transcripts of all congressional hearings since 1970, is available on microfiche. The law library has 8 full-time librarians and a staff of 14 and is open 112 hours per week, 89 of which have reference services available.

Curriculum

Ninety (90) hours of academic course credit are required for completion of the Juris Doctor degree. Students may choose between full-time day, part-time day, or part-time evening courseloads. The part-time program and Texas Wesleyan's flexible scheduling make it possible for those with continuing business and family responsibilities to meet their obligations while obtaining a legal education. The law school offers over 115 courses divided among traditional law courses and advanced courses that provide training in a variety of specialized law areas. Students are required to complete a minimum of 30 hours of pro bono legal service and 3 credit hours of professional oral skills learning before graduation.

Skills Training

To help students develop necessary practical lawyering skills, Texas Wesleyan has developed a series of courses in its Juris Doctor curriculum—each called a practicum—in some substantive areas as well as in particular skills areas. The law school also offers a variety of externships with trial and appellate courts, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and law firms. For academic credit, students perform legal tasks and apply their academic studies to real client cases, gaining valuable insight into the operation of legal institutions. Texas Wesleyan also has an in-house legal clinic that functions as an actual law office where students represent indigent clients in court under the direction of a faculty supervisor. All skills programs are coordinated by a full-time professor.

The law school also prides itself on its ability to help students apply lessons learned in the classroom to real-world legal problems through the Equal Justice Program, a mandatory 30-hour community-related pro bono requirement that must be completed by every student before graduation. Students can fulfill this requirement in many ways, such as by volunteering with a public service agency or with a private attorney doing pro bono work. In addition, the school is committed to serving the community through a variety of programs, such as National Adoption Day, Street Law, and High School Law Day, in which students can gain legal experience while helping to address community legal needs.

Finally, the law school has added a new three-hour professional skills requirement. The requirement is intended to further enhance theoretical learning and reinforce practical lawyering skills. This requirement can be satisfied by completing coursework or participating in competitions that emphasize a student's oral skills. Examples of programming that will meet this requirement include Trial Advocacy, Mediation, Clinics, and moot court or mock trial competitions.

Student Life

Texas Wesleyan Law's student organizations provide a broad spectrum of opportunities for student involvement. Our enthusiastic law students engage in competitions and leadership activities at the state, regional, and national levels. Students have won numerous competitions in negotiations, mock trial, and recently, the national moot court championships in entertainment law and information technology and privacy law. Through membership in law student organizations, participants reap the benefits of professional contacts, social activities, and exposure to legal specialties. Our student organizations provide opportunities for students to engage in professional bar associations, legal specialties, networking opportunities, and public service projects. In addition, the Texas Wesleyan Law Review encourages legal scholarship on issues of interest to academicians, practitioners, and law students. The Law Review is published by student editors with a faculty advisor. Participation is limited to those who meet academic requirements and those who are selected through a writing competition.

Career Services

The Texas Wesleyan University School of Law Office of Career Services assists students, graduates, and employers in their mutual efforts to link those seeking legal positions with those providing legal employment opportunities. The Office of Career Services also supports students in securing part-time or temporary employment while attending law school. A range of services, such as one-on-one career counseling, résumé and cover letter review, career seminars, on-campus interviews, off-campus job fairs, and an online job bank are available to students and graduates. The Office of Career Services also provides numerous online and hard-copy career resources in the career planning library. The school is a member of NALP, the Association for Legal Career Professionals.

Expenses and Financial Aid

Texas Wesleyan Law offers a highly competitive and low private tuition cost. Tuition and general costs vary by courseload. For 2011–2012, annual tuition for full-time students was $28,000; for part-time students, $19,600. Fees were an additional $395 per semester. The law school works with individual students to provide the best financial aid package the student is eligible to receive. The financial aid package may include several types of assistance for financing a law school education, including scholarships, grants, employment opportunities, and loan programs. A majority of law students receive some form of financial assistance.

Admission

To be considered for admission, an applicant to Texas Wesleyan School of Law must hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university prior to matriculation. A Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score is also required. The law school offers full- and part-time programs, and new students are admitted only in the fall. The final deadline for applying is March 31; however, the School of Law reviews applications and awards scholarships on a rolling basis, so applicants are encouraged to apply early.

The admission committee will endeavor to determine the academic and professional promise of each applicant. Accordingly, the admission committee evaluates all factors relevant to an applicant's potential to be successful in meeting the academic standards of the Juris Doctor program, as well as his or her potential for success on the bar examination and in other professional endeavors. Traditional criteria, such as undergraduate academic achievement, LSAT performance, graduate studies, work experience, life experience, activities, honors, the personal statement, recommendation letters, and other experiences, are used in the admission evaluation process.

Applicant Profile

Texas Wesleyan University School of Law

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

	GPA
LSAT Score	3.75+ Apps	3.75+ Adm	3.50–3.74 Apps	3.50–3.74 Adm	3.25–3.49 Apps	3.25–3.49 Adm	3.00–3.24 Apps	3.00–3.24 Adm	2.75–2.99 Apps	2.75–2.99 Adm	2.50–2.74 Apps	2.50–2.74 Adm	Below 2.50 Apps	Below 2.50 Adm	No GPA Apps	No GPA Adm	Total Apps	Total Adm
LSAT score 170–180	2	1	1	1	1	1	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	7
LSAT score 165–169	2	2	6	6	2	1	6	6	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	19	15
LSAT score 160–164	21	18	14	13	17	14	19	16	11	8	11	2	9	2	1	0	103	73
LSAT score 155–159	19	17	59	54	74	66	63	45	55	42	32	11	27	4	3	1	332	240
LSAT score 150–154	47	41	76	65	126	89	130	90	98	61	70	22	53	5	5	2	605	375
LSAT score 145–149	34	5	49	14	81	14	100	15	75	7	45	0	45	0	9	0	438	55
LSAT score 140–144	10	0	28	0	34	1	49	1	51	0	35	0	50	0	8	0	265	2
LSAT score Below 140	4	0	10	0	9	0	30	0	25	0	27	0	32	0	5	0	142	0
Total	139	84	243	153	344	186	401	177	315	118	221	35	218	11	31	3	1912	767

Apps = Number of Applicants
Adm = Number Admitted
Reflects 99% of the total applicant pool; highest LSAT data reported.