The University of Tulsa College of Law is the law school of the private University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. US News & World Report ranks The University of Tulsa College of Law at #82 among all law schools in the United States. It is the only law school in the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and Eastern Oklahoma.
History
The University of Tulsa College of Law was founded by local attorneys in 1923, during Tulsa's oil boom. The law school was originally known simply as the Tulsa Law School and was independent of the University of Tulsa. Initially, classes took place in the Central High School building in downtown Tulsa, while the law library was in the Tulsa County courthouse, a few blocks away. The faculty consisted largely of Tulsa attorneys who practiced law during the daytime and taught classes at night. There were no full-time faculty.
Tulsa Law was formally absorbed by the University of Tulsa in 1943. A pioneering Tulsa attorney named John Rogers is credited with making this association. In 1949, the school moved into a downtown office building. In 1953, the school was accredited by the American Bar Association. During the 1950s and 60s, the library, classrooms and administrative offices were consolidated at a single location and full-time tenured and tenure-track research faculty were hired. The school became a member of the Association of American Law Schools in 1966. The name of the school was changed to the College of Law.
The college moved to its present location on the University of Tulsa campus in 1973, where it was housed in what was originally called John Rogers Hall. In May 2016, the university decided to remove the name of John Rogers from the law school's building, in response to increased controversy about Rogers' role in the founding of the Ku Klux Klan in Tulsa in the 1920s.
Academics
TU College of Law offers Juris Doctor programs for full-time and part-time students. TU Law also grants the degree of Master of Laws, or LLM, in the areas of Native American Law, Natural Resources and Energy Law, and International Law for foreign students. Additionally, the College of Law offers two online Master of Jursiprudence (MJ) degrees in Indian law and energy law. Students have the ability to obtain joint JD/MA degrees in a variety of fields including, history, English, psychology, as well as a joint JD/MBA, joint JD/MTAX, and joint JD/MS in geosciences, biological sciences, and finance. TU Law offers certificate programs in sustainable energy and resources law, Native American law, and health law.
The College also hosts a number of endowed lecture series which bring renowned scholars and jurists to campus:
- The John W. Hager Distinguished Lecture in Law has brought Lawrence Lessig, William Eskridge, Michelle Alexander and Harold Koh to speak at the College of Law in recent years.
- The Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture honors the pioneering attorney and early leader of Tulsa's black community (who was also the father of famed historian John Hope Franklin. This lecture series has brought Deborah Rhode, Jerry Kang and Alfred Brophy to speak at TU Law.
- The Stephanie K. Seymour Distinguished Lecture in Law is the only lecture series in the country established by former clerks to honor the judge for whom they served. This lecture calls attention to the scholarship of an untenured law professor whose dedication and passion mirror that of Judge Seymour.
The College of Law also has study abroad arrangements allowing students to study in Dublin, Ireland or London.
The University of Tulsa College of Law is a national leader in teaching scholarship and research in energy, environmental, and natural resources law and policy and Native American law.
Student-Edited Publications
- Tulsa Law Review, previously the Tulsa Law Journal from 1964-2001
- Energy Law Journal
Offerings and Facilities
The recently renovated Price & Turpen Courtroom at TU Law is state-of-the-art and serves multiple purposes including actual court proceedings. In 2012, the remainder of the College of Law was remodeled and updated in line with the courtroom and library. The College of Law's Library, the Mabee Legal Information Center, has been ranked among the best in amenities for students, and the entire university offers wireless internet connectivity.
The on-campus Boesche Legal Clinic offers students real-world experience under the supervision of clinical professors while providing pro bono legal services to disadvantaged populations. Clinics include the Immigrant Rights Project and the Lobeck Taylor Family Advocacy Clinic. Previous projects have centered on among the aged, American Indians, inter alia.
Employment
According to TU Law's ABA-required disclosures employment summary, 74.4% of the Class of 2014 obtained full-time, long-term, bar-passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners. The most popular destinations for TU Law graduates are Oklahoma and Texas.
Costs
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at TU Law for the 2015-2016 academic year is $58,496 (full-time). 100% of TU Law students received scholarships and/or tuition benefits in 2015.
The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $201,183 (however this figure does not account for merit or need-based aid).
Notable faculty
The notable current and former faculty of TU Law include:
- Larry Catá Backer â€" Cuban-American scholar of comparative law and international affairs
- Robert Butkin â€" Law professor and former State Treasurer of Oklahoma
- Nancy Feldman â€" Civil rights activist and civic leader
- Paul Finkelman â€" Legal historian (Finkelman was listed as one of the ten most-cited legal historians in Brian Leiter's survey of most-cited law professors by specialty from 2000-2007)
- Francis Russell Hittinger - Legal philosopher and theologian, member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
- Sven Erik Holmes - General Counsel of KPMG, former Federal District Judge for Northern District of Oklahoma.
- John S. Lowe - Energy law scholar
- Frank Pommersheim - scholar of Native American Law; serves as the Chief Justice for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Court of Appeals
- Melissa L. Tatum â€" Scholar of Native American law
- Joseph Wilson Morris â€" Federal District Judge for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, former General Counsel for Shell Oil Company
Notable alumni
References
External links
- Official website