Georgia State University College of Law
The Georgia State University College of Law is a law school located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1982, it is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
Georgia State University College of Law | |
---|---|
Parent school | Georgia State University |
Established | 1982[1] |
School type | Public |
Dean | Leslie Wolf (Interim Dean)[2] |
Location | Atlanta, Georgia, US |
Enrollment | 461 (Full Time)[1] |
Faculty | 52 (Full- and part-time)[1] |
USNWR ranking | 67th (2020)[1] |
Bar pass rate | 85.4%[3] |
Website | GSU College of Law |
ABA profile | GSU College of Law |
In addition to the Juris Doctor degree, the college offers joint degree programs with other colleges at Georgia State University.
The college offers a full-time and a part-time program. The cost of tuition at GSU Law for the 2018-2019 academic year is $17,050 for residents and $36,659 for non-residents.[4]
History
As far back as the early 1970s, Georgia legislators and academic leaders debated establishing a new law school. The Georgia State University College of Law finally was sanctioned by the state’s Board of Regents in 1981 and Ben F. Johnson became its first dean.[5]
The college enrolled 200 students in its inaugural year, taught by six professors. Most students were part-time, and many took classes at night, because they had full-time jobs during the day. The college’s first seven graduates were hooded in December 1984.
By the end of its first decade, full-time faculty had grown to 31, nearly half of whom were women.
Rankings
Georgia State University College of Law is currently ranked as the 67th best law school by U.S. News & World Report (2019).[4] The College of Law also boasts a strong Health Law program (currently ranked 2nd nationally) and a large part-time program (ranked 13th nationally).[4] The school is ranked 42nd by Above The Law using metrics that focus more on student outcomes rather than inputs.[6] Additionally, GSU was named by Princeton Review in its 2013 edition of The Best 168 Law Schools.[7]
Tuition
The cost of tuition at GSU Law for the 2018-2019 academic year is $17,050 for residents and $36,659 for non-residents.[4]
Admissions
In 2016, incoming Georgia State law students had a median GPA of 3.41 and a median LSAT score of 158.[8]
Clinical programs
The school has a number of legal clinics, such as the Phillip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, which serves low-income taxpayers.[9]
Study abroad
The school operates the Summer Academy in International Commercial Arbitration, a five-week, six-credit hour study abroad program based in Linz, Austria.[10] the Buenos Aires Summer Program in Argentina (jointly sponsored with the Florida International University College of Law); and the Summer Legal and Policy Study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[11]
Employment
According to Georgia State's official 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 71.5% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[12] Georgia State's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 13.4%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2018 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[13]
Notable alumni
- Judiciary
- John "Trea" Pipkin III, J.D. 2005 - Judge, Georgia Court of Appeals
- Barbara Swinton, J.D. 1991 - Judge, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals[14]
- Cynthia J. Becker, J.D. 1987 - Judge, DeKalb County Superior Court.
- Bill Hamrick, J.D. 1991 - Superior Court Judge, Coweta Judicial Circuit; former member of the Georgia State Senate (D-30)
- Government
- Glenn Richardson, J.D. 1984 - Former Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives (2005-2010)
- Cynthia Coffman, J.D. 1991 - 38th Attorney General of Colorado
- Keisha Lance Bottoms, J.D. 1996 - 60th Mayor of Atlanta; former member of the Atlanta City Council[15][16]
- Steve Tumlin, J.D. 1988 - Mayor of Marietta, Georgia
- Curt Thompson, J.D. 1993 - Former member of the Georgia State Senate (D-5); former member of the Georgia House of Representatives (69th District)
- Rich Golick, J.D. 1997 - Current member of the Georgia House of Representatives (40th District)
- Trey Kelley, J.D. 2014 - Current member of the Georgia House of Representatives (16th District)
- Sam Park, J.D. 2013 - Current member of the Georgia House of Representatives (101st District)
- Matt Ramsey, J.D. 2005 - Former member of the Georgia House of Representatives (72nd District); House Majority Whip (2013-2016)
- Stephen Dickson, J.D. 1999 - 18th Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
- Nika Rurua, J.D. 2001 - Former member of the Cabinet of Georgia (country)
- Other notable alumni
- Claudia Brind-Woody, J.D. 1999 - IBM executive
- Stan Case, J.D. 1996 - News anchor of CNN Radio (1985-2011)
- Jimmy Faircloth, J.D. 1990 - Lawyer in Alexandria-Pineville, Louisiana, former executive counsel to Governor Bobby Jindal.[17]
- Emily Jacobson, J.D./MBA 2014 - Olympic saber fencer
- Notable faculty
- Paul A. Lombardo, Professor of Law - Senior Advisor to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues
- Thomas W. Thrash, Professor of Law (1986-1997) - Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
See also
References
- "U.S. News & World Report, Best Law Schools: Georgia State University". Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
- https://news.gsu.edu/2019/05/12/leslie-wolf-named-interim-dean-of-georgia-state-university-college-of-law/
- https://www.gabaradmissions.org/getpdfform.action?id=1661
- "U.S. News and World Report Law School Rankings".
- "Ben F. Johnson Jr". Georgia State University College of Law.
- "The 2019 ATL Top 50 Law School Rankings". Above the Law. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
- "2013 Princeton Review Best Law Schools". Archived from the original on 2012-12-03.
- "Phillip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic". Archived from the original on 2013-11-01.
- "SAIICA". Archived from the original on 2013-06-17.
- "Summer Legal and Policy - Rio".
- https://law.gsu.edu/files/2019/04/Updated_ABA_Summary_Report_for_Website.pdf
- https://www.lstreports.com/schools/gsu/
- office, Submitted by Governor Mary Fallin's. "Governor Mary Fallin selects Judge Barbara Swinton to fill vacancy on Oklahoma Civil Appeals Court". Norman Transcript. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
- Godwin, Becca J. G. "Who is Atlanta mayor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms?". ajc. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- Poole, Shelia; Stafford, Leon. "Keisha Lance Bottoms sworn in as the new Mayor of Atlanta". ajc. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- "Jimmy Faircloth (JD '90), executive counsel to Louisiana governor, to speak April 7". gsu.edu. April 2, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2015.