University of Houston Law Center

Introduction

The University of Houston (UH) Law Center is located at the University of Houston, three miles south of downtown. The state-assisted UH Law Center, located in one of the nation's top 10 largest legal markets, is noted throughout the South and Southwest not only for its excellence, but also for its progressive and innovative approach to the teaching of law. The College of Law, the academic branch of the UH Law Center, is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and the American Association of Law Schools and has a chapter of the Order of the Coif, the national legal honorary scholastic society. The Law Center confers a Juris Doctor (JD) degree as a first degree in law and a Master of Laws (LLM) degree to students pursuing work beyond the JD degree.

Curriculum/Basic Program of Study

The first-year curriculum at the UH Law Center is prescribed. Students are also required to complete a course in professional responsibility, a practice-skills course, and one major piece of legal research and writing before graduation. While emphasis is placed on legal theory and the varying approaches to the law, there are many opportunities for hands-on learning.

Special Programs

The University of Houston Law Center emphasizes current legal and administrative problems confronting the region and nation, including intellectual property law, environmental law, energy law, tax law, health law, and international law. The UH Law Center is home to the Health Law and Policy Institute, a research and instruction center on interdisciplinary issues. The UH Law Center is also host to the Criminal Justice Institute; the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance; the Institute for Intellectual Property and Information Law; the Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Center; the Center for Children, Law, and Policy; the Blakely Advocacy Institute; the Center for Consumer Law; and the Program on Law and Computation.

Clinical Programs and Trial Advocacy

The UH Law Center offers a wide variety of opportunities to gain hands-on experience. The UH Law Center houses several clinics, which gives students practice opportunities in providing legal services to indigent clients. The available clinics include the civil practice clinic, consumer law clinic, criminal practice clinic, immigration clinic, mediation clinic, and transactional clinic. Students can also choose from among different areas of concentration, such as externships focusing on health or environmental law, or select an internship with a government agency or a court.

Practice skills courses, coordinated through the Blakely Advocacy Institute, are an integral part of the curriculum. Students can enhance their skills in trial, negotiation, pretrial, and appellate work through hands-on courses that simulate real-life situations. Several levels of courses are offered in civil and criminal advocacy. Intramural mock trial and moot court competitions are sponsored by the Advocates, an affiliated student organization. The institute also sponsors teams for criminal and civil interscholastic moot court and mock trial competitions, with UH Law Center students earning top honors in national and international competitions.

Activities

Extracurricular activities give voice to the diversity of the campus. Student groups represent special interests and provide important avenues to help law students succeed. Many arrange mentoring programs and match first-year students with second- or third-year students or working professionals. Others coordinate résumé-writing workshops, guest speaker forums, preregistration discussions of specific course offerings, or law-related charitable efforts that benefit the community.

The Student Bar Association (SBA) has input into every facet of student life at the UH Law Center. The SBA participates in the first-year orientation, organizes the annual charity Fun Run, aids in the selection of student representatives to sit on various faculty committees, and represents student attitudes and views both within and outside the UH Law Center.

Students are encouraged to become involved in one or more student organizations; to participate in the scholarly Houston Law Review, Houston Journal of International Law, Houston Journal of Health Law and Policy, Houston Business and Tax Law Journal, Environmental and Energy Law and Policy Journal, and the Journal of Consumer and Commercial Law; and to compete in tournaments ranging from moot court to mock trial, from mediation to negotiation.

UH Law Center students are active in a large number of student organizations, including the Association of Women in Law, Black Law Students Association, Hispanic Law Students Association, Asian Law Students Association, Outlaw (GLBT student organization), Lex Judaica (Jewish students), Muslim Law Students Association, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Christian Legal Society, Public Interest Law Organization, Health Law Organization, Intellectual Property Student Organization, Energy and Environmental Law Society, Federalist Society, International Law Society, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, Phi Delta Phi, Phi Alpha Delta, Delta Theta Phi, and Sports and Entertainment Law Organization.

Career Development

The Office of Career Development strives for a creative approach in its job search partnership with students. The First Year Initiative exposes first-year students to a comprehensive career education series that surveys dozens of career opportunities. Students in small groups actively gather the information they need to make informed decisions on their career plans.

The Office of Career Development also presents a variety of panel discussions, receptions, and seminars with members of the Houston legal community to assist students in understanding law career options. Topics covered include duties and responsibilities of a law clerk, judicial clerkship opportunities, solo practice, and nontraditional uses of a law degree.

The office provides individual assistance in résumé preparation and interviewing techniques for all students and alumni. The annual On Campus Interview Program for second- and third-year students seeking summer clerkships and permanent positions to commence upon graduation attracts approximately 100 prospective employers to the campus.

Admission

The UH Law Center enrolls full-time (day) students and part-time (evening) students beginning in the fall semester, which starts in August. There is no spring or summer admission.

Demonstrated academic ability and strong LSAT scores are not the only criteria for admission. Consideration is also given to background, achievements, honors, extracurricular activities, service to others, unique abilities, hardships overcome, advanced degrees, employment, and leadership. The UH Law Center is also committed to diversity, and the UH System Board of Regents recognizes and endorses the benefits of diversity in the university setting. The Admissions Committee will consider the following additional factors: cultural history, ethnic origin, and race. These and other elements may be addressed in a personal statement of up to three pages, double-spaced.

Applicant Profile

University of Houston Law Center

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

Apps = Number of Applicants
Adm = Number Admitted
Reflects 100% of the total applicant pool; highest LSAT data reported.