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Revision as of 04:17, 6 September 2007 by Witzlaw (talk | contribs) (→Academics: Reflecting name change from ATLA to AAJ)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Nashville School of Law is an independent, night law school specializing in legal education for non-traditional and part-time students. The student body includes teachers, police officers, paralegals, insurance agents, doctors, business owners, factory workers, real estate agents, and other professionals. The school's faculty members are practicing lawyers and judges, including retired Justice Adolpho Birch and current Justice William C. Koch, Jr. of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
The school is located in a 33,000 square foot building at 4013 Armory Oaks Drive, just south of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Classes are held each night, Monday - Thursday, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:10 p.m. and 8:20 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., and at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Students admitted for the Fall term typically attend on Monday and Thursday nights, while students admitted for the Spring term attend on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Since the school's classes are held at night and on the weekends, the law course takes a minimum of four years to complete. Students must attend at least two nights/days each week in order to complete the course of study in four years. All students must complete 48 credit hours with a GPA of at least 2.25 to graduate. The top ten percent of each graduating class is inducted into Cooper's Inn, the school honor society, and recognized at graduation. The student who graduates at the top of the class is awarded the Founder's Award and receives a set of the Tennessee Code Annotated.
History
In the fall of 1911, Morton B. Adams, William P. Cooper, Lee Douglas, and Robert Selph Henry, then recent graduates of Vanderbilt University Law School, opened night law classes at the Y.M.C.A. for the benefit of those unable to attend law classes during the day. The law school has been in continual operation since that time. It was incorporated under the laws of the State of Tennessee in January 19, 1927. Since that date, the law school has conferred the Juris Doctor or Doctor of Jurisprudence degree on over 2,970 graduates. Until November, 1986, the school operated as the Nashville Y.M.C.A Night Law School, leasing its classroom space from the Downtown Y.M.C.A. On November 24, 1986, the school officially changed its name to Nashville School of Law. In 1990 the school moved to 2934 Sidco Drive, and in Fall 2005 the school moved into its new state of the art facility at 4013 Armory Oaks Drive.
The late James Gilbert Lackey, Jr. (1915-1987) served as Dean of the Law School and instructor in Contracts from 1946-1986. Upon his retirement, the faculty elected Honorable Joe C. Loser, Jr., Dean of the school. Judge Loser then retired from the Third Circuit Court of Davidson County, Tennessee after twenty years on the bench to become the fourth Dean in the school's history, accepting the duties and responsibilities of such office on August 23, 1986.
Admissions
Nashville School of Law enters two terms each year, in February and August, and operates on a "rolling admissions" basis, which means applications are processed at the time they are received. Applicants must have received, or will receive prior to matriculation, a Bachelor's Degree from a college or university on the approved list of the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges, or the equivalent regional accrediting association.
The admissions process includes an admissions index computed as follows by LSDAS: multiply the applicant's cumulative GPA, as determined by LSDAS, times ten plus 80% of the applicants LSAT score. Applicants with an index score below 140 are not accepted. The NSL school code for LSDAS is 1974. The applicant must also submit three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from someone in the legal field, and should describe any extracurricular activities during their undergraduate career or business accomplishments since college graduation. Applicants must also include an explanation of any prior arrests and/or any disciplinary action received from an educational institution. Nashville School of Law maintains a strict anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy, and provides assistance for disabled students.
In 2006-2007, NSL received 430 applicants. For the Fall 2006 term, 90 were enrolled for their first year class, the Median LSAT was 148, the Median GPA was 3.28, 5% of the applicants were minorities, 48% of the applicants were women, and 40 undergraduate schools were represented. For the Spring 2007 term, 86 were enrolled in the first year class, the Median LSAT was 146, the Median GPA was 3.15, 13% of the applicants were minorities, 45% were women, and 42 undergraduate schools were represented. The total enrollment for the year was 640 students.
Tuition and financial aid
Nashville School of Law's tuition is among the lowest of private law schools in the United States. For the 2007-2008 school year the tuition is $388.00 per credit hour. For the first year student taking the required 12 hours, this amounts to $4,656.00. Students may pay their tuition in full at registration for a 5% discount, or in monthly installments with no interest or additional charges. Also included in annual expenses is a $60.00 registration fee, a $60.00 Westlaw fee, and all other books and materials. As a private institution, NSL students are not eligible for government loans, although low interest loans are often available through banks, as well as a limited number of partial and full scholarships for second, third, and fourth year students, based on need and scholarship. Students seeking VA assistance must be enrolled 18 clock hours per week to be considered full time. No on campus living facilities are available, but students traveling a long distance to campus may find nearby accommodations available at a motel rate of approximately $50.00.
Academics
The law school provides a broad curriculum that challenges and develops students' analytical, communication and lawyering skills. The 48 credit hours required for the J.D. degree requires four years to complete, and several of the courses are designed to focus on practice in Tennessee. First Year students are required to take classes in Contracts and Sales, Introduction to Law and Legal Writing, Torts, Crimes, Constitutional Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure. Second Year students are required to take Evidence, Civil Procedure, Restitution and Remedies, and Property. Third and Fourth Year students take Wills, Estate Planning, Business Associations, Taxation, Advanced Legal Writing, Third and Fourth Year Moot Court, Negotiable Instruments, Secured Transactions, Constitutional Law, Conflicts of Law, Mortgages, and Domestic Relations. For 2006-2007 entering first year students, five elective credits, which vary from year to year, must be earned to complete the degree requirements.
The Nashville School of Law Library consists of 15,727 hard copy volumes and 2,171 volumes on CD ROM. All students have access to Westlaw research in the library at the computer lab, from any location in the facility through a wireless-enabled laptop, and from any other location with Internet access.
Nashville School of Law also sponsors mock trial tournament teams which participate in national moot court trial competitions. Students can also participate in the NSL Student Chapter of the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America), which meets on a regular basis.
Accreditation and bar passage data
Although Nashville School of Law has never applied for accreditation by the American Bar Association, reportedly in order to keep its tuition low and affordable for all its students, graduates may be admitted to practice in Tennessee as it is approved by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. Several members of the Tennessee judiciary received their legal training at the school. Indeed, the institution's current head, Dean Joe Loser, is an alumnus and served as a trial court judge in Nashville for two decades. During recent years, a merger with Tennessee State University was considered, but the proposal was abandoned by Nashville School of Law due to Tennessee's growing fiscal problems. Graduates might also take the bar exam and practice law in some other states, provided they gain the approval of the state's admitting authority based on the applicable legal education requirements.
Although the National Conference of Bar Examiners 2006 Statistics reports that only 58% of graduates of non-ABA accredited law schools taking the Tennessee bar exam passed (compared with an 80% passage rate for ABA-accredited schools), Nashville School of Law reports that their students have been very successful in passing the Tennessee Bar Exam. 68% of the 2005 graduates passed the Bar, and 86% of the graduates from 1995-2005 have passed the bar. Also, 100% of the 2005 NSL graduates seeking employment are currently employed, with 96% of those who passed the bar being employed in the legal field, and 4% in non-legal.
Criticisms of the School
Most criticisms of the school center around its non-accredited status. The average bar passage rate for graduates of NSL lags behind that of accredited Tennessee schools (68% vs. 82% in 2005), and several of the larger firms in Nashville refuse to hire students from unaccredited schools like NSL. These unaccredited schools typically accept non-traditional students whose grades and/or LSAT score are too low to enter an accredited school. The median LSAT score of the 2006 entering class was barely in the 30th percentile of the national average. LSAT Scaled Score Table
In the employment context, very few of NSL's students go on to jobs with law firms within the state. It is also widely suspected that NSL's self-reported employment statistics are inflated and grossly misleading. For example, NSL statistics include graduates who are currently working as paralegals, runners, and support staff as "employed in the legal field". The bulk of NSL students who eventually pass the bar go on to work in lower paying government jobs or as divorce, bankruptcy, or personal injury sole practitioners.
According to independent journalist c. d. "Sonny Boy" Norman, "because they cannot practice outside Tennessee, and because private law firms have no desire to take on under-qualified attorneys, the Nashville School of Law's graduates invariably enter public service."
Notes
- http://www.nashvilleschooloflaw.net/NSL%20Catalog%202006-2007%20Insert.pdf
- ^ Griffith, Amy (2007-06-18). "Law school on the cheap". Nashville City Paper. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
- norman, c. d. "Herald-Citizen sould have asked the ABA about the Nashville School of Law, not Bill Gibson". The Putnam Pit. Retrieved 2007-06-21.