Tulane University Law School
The information on this page was provided by the law school.
Official Guide to ABA-Approved JD Programs
Its location in Louisiana, the country’s sole civil-law jurisdiction, gives Tulane a distinctive understanding of the interaction of different legal systems and is the foundation for Tulane’s world-renowned strength in international and comparative law. The unique exposure our students gain to both the common law of the Anglo-American tradition and the civil-law systems that dominate the rest of the globe is an increasingly powerful advantage in a world in which business, governance, and law practice are increasingly transnational.
The distinctively global perspective of Tulane Law is enlivened by a global student body, by Tulane-led academic programs in a half-dozen countries abroad, and by an international faculty whose scholarly distinction ranges from advising on constitutional design in Iraq, Egypt, and Tunisia, and legal barriers to Russian gas pipelines to Europe, to intercultural negotiation of legal and political conflicts.
Yet, Tulane Law pairs that global perspective with a deep commitment to its own community and to equipping students with the practical skills and judgment they need to make a difference in their careers. The first law school in the nation to require pro bono service of all students, Tulane is a leader in preparing students for practice through service to others.
An early leader in clinical legal education, Tulane Law offers eight live-client clinics, including our two newest, an Immigrant Rights Clinic and a First Amendment Clinic. We also offer students a growing array of creative experiential learning opportunities—including an intensive, one-week simulation of law practice through a Lawyering Skills Boot Camp, a Business Literacy Boot Camp for 1L students, and externships across the globe. We also offer a state-of-the-art Master of Jurisprudence in Labor & Employment Law program for human resource professionals.
This distinctive approach to legal education, both global in outlook and grounded through professional skills training in service to our own community, prepares Tulane Law alumni for leadership in their careers wherever their passions take them.
The JD Program
Curriculum
Tulane’s first-year program emphasizes developing core analytic and legal writing skills. Faculty teach required first-year courses in classes of approximately 75 students to encourage close participation in the give-and-take of Socratic discussion. Using the case method, students dissect judicial decisions, respond to professors’ and classmates’ questions and carefully consider competing arguments. First-year legal research and writing professors also teach small-section courses, in which students develop the writing strategies and skills to succeed in practice.
After the first year, students are free to design their own curriculum from an array of electives. Tulane offers specialized courses in conjunction with our certificate programs, which approximately one-third of students complete. Many students also earn academic credit through in-depth training opportunities outside the classroom. Some choose to hone their writing and editing techniques by joining one of our eight legal journals. Others compete in trial and appellate moot court teams to train in oral and written advocacy. Students acquire real-world experience in our law clinics and labs. Our clinics, Trial Advocacy course and boot camp skills-training program teach the students key skills to succeed in their future practice.
Areas of Study
Tulane is proud to offer distinctive programs in which students may earn a certificate of concentration: International and Comparative Law, Maritime Law, Environmental & Energy Law and Sports Law.
Beyond the certificate programs, Tulane holds core courses in alternative dispute resolution; constitutional law; consumer law; corporate and commercial law; civil law and procedure; criminal law and procedure; energy law; legal ethics and professionalism; family law; health law; labor and employment law; property and real estate law; administrative and regulatory law; state and local government procedure; tax law; and advanced legal writing. Faculty in both specialty and traditional areas of study are nationally and internationally recognized for their contributions to their fields. Upper-level students have the freedom to choose from our broad range of course offerings and can select any combination of classes.
Civil Law Program
Tulane Law’s capacity to teach the world’s two preeminent legal systems is one of its greatest strengths. Students who intend to practice in common law jurisdictions will find the same extensive course offerings at Tulane as at other national law schools. However, Tulane offers students who plan to practice internationally or in civil law jurisdictions an assortment of civil law classes not offered at most law schools. Students may take either common or civil law courses (or both!), and many take a mix of both to expand their legal knowledge and practice potential.
Journals
Students may earn academic credit for participation in one of seven law journals sponsored by or otherwise affiliated with Tulane Law School. The Law School’s eighth journal, the Tulane European & Civil Law Forum, is faculty-run.
Tulane Law Review
Founded in 1916 as the Southern Law Quarterly, the Tulane Law Review is published five times annually and is managed and edited by students of the Tulane University Law School. The Review is recognized as a preeminent forum for scholarly publication in the areas of Civil Law, Comparative Law, and Admiralty Law. The Review has a significant international circulation and is on a select list of minimum holdings for courts and law libraries in the United Kingdom. The Review maintains a wide European readership.
Tulane Maritime Law Journal
The Tulane Maritime Law Journal is a student-edited law journal published three times annually that includes scholarly works written by academics, practitioners, and students concerning current topics in Admiralty and Maritime Law. In addition, the Journal publishes annual sections in Recent Developments and International Law for the United States and the international community, as well as periodic symposia on relevant topical areas in the field and quantum and collision surveys every other year.
Tulane Environmental Law Journal
The Tulane Environmental Law Journal is a biannual legal periodical produced and edited by students at Tulane Law School with the support of faculty and administration. Established in 1988, TELJ has grown into one of the nation's premier publications in environmental law. TELJ features scholarly writings from students, professors, and practitioners on critical legal issues affecting the environment, energy production, and the natural world. Our journal is accessible to law students and legal professionals via Westlaw and Lexis.
Sports Lawyers Journal
The Sports Lawyers Journal is a national legal journal edited by Tulane law students and published by the Sports Lawyers Association (SLA). Every member of the SLA, currently nearly 1,500 practicing lawyers, professors, law students, and other professionals, receives the publication annually. Since the Journal is composed of articles authored by American, Canadian, and European law students, it provides a unique view of sports issues and an unparalleled opportunity for students to have their works published and read.
Tulane Journal of International & Comparative Law
The Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law was founded at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana as an outgrowth of that institution's historical tradition as a signpost in the academic world for international and comparative law. Published biannually, the Journal is dedicated to discussing and debating all facets of international law, from human rights to transnational commerce to the historical evolution of current global law.
Tulane Journal of Law & Sexuality
First published in 1991, the Tulane Journal of Law & Sexuality is the first student-edited law review in the country devoted solely to covering legal issues of interest to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community on a wide variety of subjects, including constitutional, employment, family, health, insurance, and military law. The Journal also publishes the winning article of the annual National LGBT Bar Association Michael Greenberg Student Writing Competition.
Tulane Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property
The Tulane Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property (JTIP) is a student-edited, subscription-based, scholarly publication of Tulane University Law School. JTIP examines legal issues relating to technology, including topics such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, antitrust, information privacy, computer law, constitutional law, contracts, torts, and all other policy implications of law and technology in our society.
Tulane European & Civil Law Forum
Published annually, the Tulane European & Civil Law Forum is dedicated to offering scholarly and timely articles, comments, case notes, and book reviews that preserve and advance the civilian tradition and strengthen Louisiana's links with Europe. The forum is faculty-run and faculty-curated.
Moot Court
Tulane University Law School Moot Court Program provides students of all experience levels with the opportunity to develop and sharpen oral and written advocacy skills.
Tulane Law Moot Court Program is one of the largest student-run organizations at Tulane University Law School and among the oldest programs of its kind in the nation. The Tulane Law Moot Court Program was founded in 1929 by a small group of Tulane Law students, including the legendary U.S. Fifth Circuit Judge John Minor Wisdom. Alumni include state and federal judges, members of Congress, U.S. Ambassadors, and state governors.
The Tulane Intraschool Competition offers an additional way for students to sharpen their oral advocacy skills. The competition is open to all 2L and 3L Tulane Law students. The annual 2L champion from each discipline receives a Bar Review scholarship. The annual two 3L Finalists in each discipline are engraved in the marble tablets in the large moot court room of the law school.
Mardi Gras Invitational Moot Court Competition
Tulane’s Moot Court Board, with the help of the Sports Law Society and the Sports Lawyers Journal staff, hosts the annual Mardi Gras National Moot Court Competition, the only annual moot court competition in the country that focuses on contemporary legal problems confronting the sports industry.
Academic Support
In the fall semester, all 1L students are invited to apply to an Academic Support Program, which allows students to take practice examinations written by the 1L faculty, receive a model answer written by the professor, and receive detailed and specific feedback from a student teacher. All first-year students receive these practice examinations and model answers. First year students also have the opportunity to take practice exams in the fall semester, one of which will be evaluated by their professor.
In the 1L spring semester, Tulane Law School offers additional academic support for students who would benefit from more focused attention in legal writing and analysis based on their first-semester grades.
We also offer additional instruction in English as a Second Language alongside our programming for international students.
The Dean Rufus Harris Peer Fellow Program
The Dean Rufus Harris Peer Fellow Program is designed to provide support to incoming 1Ls as they transition to law school. The Harris Fellow will work with a small group of incoming students to help them adjust to law school, to ensure they are aware of opportunities and resources that are available to them, and to help foster community and camaraderie at Tulane Law School. Each incoming 1L is assigned a Dean Rufus Harris Peer Fellow.
Student Life
Student Organizations
Tulane Law School has several student organizations to serve our vibrant student body. Emily Wojna-Hodnett is the Assistant Dean of Students, and her office is responsible for all student organizations at Tulane Law School. She can be reached at ewojna@tulane.edu.
The following student groups also provide academic, networking, career, and service opportunities and are open to all Tulane Law students:
Asian-Pacific-American Law Students Association
Black Law Students Association
Business Law Society
Christian Legal Society
Catholic Lawyers Association
Civil Law Society
Criminal Law Society
Federal Bar Association
Federalist Society
First-Generation Law Student Association
Immigration Law Society
International Law Society
Jewish Law Students Association
Maritime Law Society
Veteran's Society
OUTLaw (formerly Lambda Legal)
Public Interest Law Foundation
Real Estate Law Society
Sports Law Society
Technology and Intellectual Property Society
Tulane Law Running Club
Texas Law Society
Tulane Disability and Health Law Society
Tulane Entertainment & Art Law Society
Tulane Environmental and Energy Law Society
Tulane Law Space Law Society
Tulane Latinx Law Student Association
Tulane Law & Philosophy Society
Tulane Tax Law Society
VITA
Tulane Women in Law Society
Tulane National Lawyers Guild
American Constitution Society
Golf Club
Tulane Cannabis Law and Advocacy Society
Tulane Family Law Society
Career Placement and Bar Passage
Tuition and Aid
| Expense | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tuition |
$69,578.00
|
| Fees |
$5,138.00
|
| Expected Cost of Attendance |
$104,426.00
|
All candidates receive consideration for merit-based scholarship awards ranging from $7,500 to Full Tuition. Full Tuition awards are exceptionally rare as the Admissions Committee prefers to award funding to as many candidates as possible.
No special application is required for merit awards. While some questions in the application are listed as optional, candidates are encouraged to provide relevant responses to any applicable questions in order to be considered for the widest range of scholarship opportunities.
Need-based and credit-based loans require submission of the FAFSA. A loan repayment assistance program is also available to graduates working full time in eligible public interest employment.
Admission Decisions: Beyond the Numbers
Our admission process is based on a complete and holistic review of all of the information in each candidate’s file. Primary consideration is given to prior academic performance, along with the highest LSAT score. Tulane looks closely at subjective factors such as grade trends, rigor of course load, nonacademic activities, the student’s background and experience, barriers overcome, the personal statement, and optional letters of recommendation. The Law School processes applications for admission beginning in early September and announces decisions beginning in early January.