Belmont University College of Law
Parent schoolBelmont University
Established2011
School typePrivate
DeanAlberto Gonzales
LocationNashville, Tennessee, US
Enrollment276
USNWR ranking105th (2024) [1]
Bar pass rate94.29% (who sat for a bar examination within two years of their date of graduation)
Websitewww.belmont.edu/law
ABA profileBelmont Law

Belmont University College of Law is a private law school in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2011, the College of Law was accredited by the American Bar Association in 2013.[2]

History

Belmont University announced plans for the College of Law in 2009, with the first class beginning in 2011.[3] Belmont Law was accredited by the American Bar Association in 2013, making it the first new accredited law program in Tennessee in more than 50 years [2] and the first new law school in Middle Tennessee in nearly 100 years.[3] Belmont Law achieved American Bar Association accreditation in the earliest possible time allowed by accreditation guidelines.[2]

Curriculum

The college's curriculum includes the Juris Doctor (J.D.) with specialized certificate programs available in Criminal Law, Health Law, and Entertainment Law.[4] The College of Law curriculum focuses on creating practice-ready attorneys with a practicum requirement in each semester to help students become proficient in the "practice" of law.[5] These practicums give instruction in all aspects of the practice of law, such as legal writing, legal research, client interviewing, document drafting, litigation, negotiation, and more.[5]

In 2017, a dual JD/MBA program was launched, allowing students to take classes for both degrees concurrently and complete requirements for both degrees within three years.[6]

Facilities

Belmont Law Baskin Center
Belmont Law Baskin Center

The law school is located in the Randall and Sadie Baskin Center building, a 75,000-square-foot LEED Gold building atop a five-level underground garage.[7] The Randall and Sadie Baskin Center houses more than a dozen large classrooms, a trial courtroom, an appellate court room, faculty offices, student commons, and a two-story law library.[8]

Organizations and publications

Students can participate in local and national competitions through the Board of Advocates program, which includes mock-trial, moot-court, and transactional teams.[5]

The College of Law publishes four academic journals, the Belmont Law Review,[9] Criminal Law Journal,[10] Entertainment Law Journal, and Health Law Journal.[11]

Employment

Statistics for the class of 2018 indicate 96% of students are employed in some capacity, with 95% employed in bar-passage-required or J.D.–advantage positions.[12] Most graduates remain in state, with 89% employed in Tennessee.[13] Of those employed, 63% work at a law firm, 14.5% work in business or industry, 18.5% work in government or judicial clerkships, and 4% work in public interest.[13]

Belmont Law's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 6.4%, which reflects the percentage of the Class of 2018 that is unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a nonprofessional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[14]

Bar passage

On the July 2019 bar exam, 97.18% of Belmont Law's first-time test takers and 94.52% of its total takers passed,[15] the highest of any law school in Tennessee and 23.62% higher than Tennessee's 70.90% pass rate.[16] In 2018, 94.52% of Belmont Law's first-time test takers and 90.79% of its total takers passed the bar exam,[17] ranking 12th in the nation and 2nd in the state of Tennessee for bar passage.[18]

In 2023, the bar passage rate for first time test-takers was 93.4%, ranking 1st out of 5 programs in Tennessee.[19]

Costs

Tuition for the 2022-2023 school year is $48,660,[20] with 49% of students receiving scholarships.[21] Belmont Law ranks #104 in terms of highest tuition among full-time law students based on 283 tuition rates from 194 law schools, with in-state tuition counting separately.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Belmont University College of Law". usnews.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Belmont law program receives accreditation". Nashville Business Journal. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Belmont University announces College of Law". The National Jurist. October 19, 2009. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  4. ↑ "School Detail Information". Law School Admission Council. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "Legal Insight 2017". Newsweek. 2017. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Belmont launching joint JD/MBA". Nashville Post. April 10, 2017. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Belmont law building earns LEED Gold". Nashville Post. October 31, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  8. ↑ "School Detail Information". officialguide.lsac.org. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Belmont Law Review". Belmont Law Review. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Belmont Criminal Law Journal". www.belmontcriminallaw.com. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Belmont Health Law Journal". www.belmonthealthlaw.com. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Of Note: 17 May 2019". Nashville Post. May 17, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  13. 1 2 Hefner, April (May 16, 2019). "College of Law Announces Record Employment Rate for Class of 2018". Belmont University News & Media. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Belmont University". Law School Transparency. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  15. ↑ "July 2019 UBE TN School Statistics" (PDF). Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 17, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Belmont tops in bar passage". Nashville Post. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Notes: Vanderbilt, Belmont top bar exam result". Nashville Post. October 8, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  18. ↑ Zaretsky, Staci (October 3, 2019). "The Top 50 Law Schools By First-Time Bar Exam Pass Rates (2018)". Above the Law. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  19. ↑ Joslin, Stacey (October 10, 2023). "What schools have the best first-time bar passage rate?". Tennessee Bar Association. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Law School Overview". U.S. News & World Report.
  21. ↑ "BELMONT UNIVERSITY - 2018 Standard 509 Information Report" (PDF). American Bar Association Standard Disclosures. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 17, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Belmont University". Public Legal. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2019.

36°08′04″N 86°47′33″W / 36.13442°N 86.79257°W / 36.13442; -86.79257

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