PO Box 830902
Lincoln, NE 68583-0902
Phone: 402.472.8333; Fax: 402.472.5185
E-mail: lawadm@unl.edu; Website: law.unl.edu
Founded in 1891, the University of Nebraska College of Law offers an excellent legal education at a reasonable cost. Large enough to offer a diverse curriculum, yet small enough to ensure that students are not lost in the crowd, Nebraska Law is a charter member of the AALS and is accredited by the ABA. It is located on the University of Nebraska's East Campus in the state's capital, Lincoln, which has a population of approximately 260,000 and offers a vibrant array of opportunities.
Nebraska Law's academic year runs from late August to early May. A two-day orientation before the beginning of the fall semester introduces first-year students to the college. Each incoming student is assigned a faculty advisor who can answer questions about law school, course selections, and career goals. The first-year curriculum is 18 credit hours the first semester and 15 credit hours the second semester. It includes international law, civil procedure, contracts, criminal law, legal writing, property, and torts. Courses in the second and third years are elective, with the exception of required courses in constitutional law, professional responsibility, a research seminar, and a professional skills course. The curriculum encompasses a broad range of subjects, and offers particular depth in the areas of litigation, alternative dispute resolution, taxation, environmental, employment, international, space and telecommunications, and corporate and commercial law. Students who wish to focus on a particular area of the law may pursue the Litigation Skills Program of Concentrated Study, the Intellectual Property Law Program of Concentrated Study, the Business Transactions Program of Concentrated Study, or the Solo Practitioner/Small Firm Practice Program of Concentrated Study. Students may also develop an individualized program of concentrated study in areas of law that are of particular interest.
The College of Law provides an Academic Resource Program for first-year students to assist them in developing and improving fundamental skills such as note taking, briefing cases, legal analysis, outlining, and writing examinations. The program provides weekly skills classes as well as a series of lectures and individual academic counseling.
Although completing the requirements for a JD degree normally takes three years, it is possible to graduate in two and a half years by attending summer school. The college offers no night classes and rarely accepts part-time students. Students receiving the JD degree are qualified to practice in any state upon passage of that state's bar examination.
In addition to establishing a solid foundation based on legal theory, students also need to develop practical skills to effectively represent clients and function as lawyers. Nebraska Law has offered courses that help develop such skills through "learning by doing" since the early 1970s. Professional skills-development courses offered include pretrial litigation, trial advocacy, appellate advocacy, mediation, negotiations, alternative dispute resolution, client interviewing and counseling, construction law, business planning, family law, and criminal law. These classes allow second- and third-year students to develop lawyering skills in simulated settings. The College of Law also offers students the opportunity to learn practical skills by handling real cases for actual clients in a clinical setting. In the Civil Clinic, third-year students represent clients in and out of court in matters such as bankruptcy, domestic relations, immigration, and landlord-tenant disputes. Students in the Criminal Clinic prosecute misdemeanor cases in Lancaster County. As part of the Entrepreneurship Clinic, students will advise start-up businesses on basic legal issues.
The college's interdisciplinary program in law and psychology is recognized as one of the finest in the nation. Nebraska Law also participates in eight other joint-degree programs and will work with students individually to design programs in disciplines not covered by a formal program. In each program, students will earn two degrees with fewer credit hours and in less time than if the degrees were pursued separately. The formal joint-degree programs include JD/MBA (Business), JD/MPA (Accounting), JD/PhD (Psychology), JD/MA (Political Science), JD/MCRP (Community and Regional Planning), JD/MA (Journalism), JD/MA (Social Gerontology), and JD/MPH (Public Health).
The Schmid Law Library has a collection of about 395,000 volumes and a full complement of the latest developments in information technology. The library provides seating for 335 students and has 14 group-study rooms, each with full access to power and fast data connections, both wired and wireless, for the best access to the Internet from any place in the library. The five professional librarians and the staff strive to create a service-oriented environment for legal research and scholarship. All these attributes combine to make the Schmid Law Library not only the largest, but the most effective, efficient, and friendliest law library in the region.
In addition to the library, Nebraska Law's classrooms, Hamann Auditorium, and Welpton Courtroom feature attractive decor, adjustable chairs, laptop compatibility, and state-of-the-art technology.
The Nebraska Law Review, published by a student editorial board, publishes leading articles from well-known authorities in their fields, as well as student notes and comments. Other extracurricular academic programs include the National Moot Court Competition, Client Counseling Competition, and National Trial Competition.
Students can become involved in over 25 activities and organizations, including the Student Bar Association, Women's Law Caucus, Black Law Students Association, Nebraska Entertainment and Sports Law Association, Equal Justice Society, Federalist Society, Student Intellectual Property Law Association, Multicultural Legal Society, and two national legal fraternities.
The College of Law operates its own Career Services Office for students seeking full-time employment or summer clerkships. The office provides students with a variety of placement-related services and also organizes on-campus interviews by private law firms, governmental agencies, corporations, and other potential employers. Students will also benefit from programs hosted by the Career Services Office on various areas of law, alternative legal careers, networking, and drafting and perfecting résumés and cover letters.
Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis. Students are required to have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, take the LSAT, and register with LSAC's Credential Assembly Service. In making its decisions, the Admissions Committee seeks to identify those individuals who have the ability to compete successfully in a rigorous academic environment. The major factors that the committee considers are the applicant's LSAT score and the applicant's undergraduate grade-point average. However, admission decisions are not simply a function of the numbers. The committee also takes into account any upward (or downward) trend in the applicant's academic performance over time, quality of the applicant's undergraduate institution, course of study, personal statement, work experience, graduate study, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, and other information supplied by the applicant.
Nebraska Law hosts a number of open houses and other campus visit programs throughout the year. Go to law.unl.edu/visit for more information.
The University of Nebraska College of Law has opted not to include a detailed applicant profile that isolates the undergraduate grade-point average and LSAT score for applied and admitted students. While these credentials are important, the Admissions Committee reviews all information supplied by the applicant and considers many factors beyond the LSAT score and undergraduate grade-point average in making admission decisions.