Misplaced Pages

Belmont University College of Law
Parent school	Belmont University
Established	2011
School type	Private
Dean	Alberto Gonzales
Location	Nashville, Tennessee, US
Enrollment	276
USNWR ranking	105th (2024)
Bar pass rate	94.29% (who sat for a bar examination within two years of their date of graduation)
Website	www.belmont.edu/law
ABA profile	Belmont 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.

History

Belmont University announced plans for the College of Law in 2009, with the first class beginning in 2011. 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 and the first new law school in Middle Tennessee in nearly 100 years. Belmont Law achieved American Bar Association accreditation in the earliest possible time allowed by accreditation guidelines.

Curriculum

The college's curriculum includes the Juris Doctor (J.D.) with specialized certificate programs available in Criminal Law, Health Law, and Entertainment Law. 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. 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.

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.

Facilities

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. 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.

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. The moot-court team has won numerous competitions, including: National Champions of the 17th Annual Emory Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition, 2017, 2023 Regional Champions of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) National Appellate Advocacy Competition, National Champions of the 2018 Emory Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition.

The College of Law publishes two academic journals, the Belmont Law Review and the Belmont Law Journal (Dean Deborah Farringer merged the Criminal Law Journal, Entertainment Law Journal, and Health Law Journal into a single journal in the Summer of 2023.)

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. Most graduates remain in state, with 89% employed in Tennessee. 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.

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.

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, the highest of any law school in Tennessee and 23.62% higher than Tennessee's 70.90% pass rate. In 2018, 94.52% of Belmont Law's first-time test takers and 90.79% of its total takers passed the bar exam, ranking 12th in the nation and 2nd in the state of Tennessee for bar passage. Belmont's success has been attributed to the bar preparation course created by Jeff Kinsler, Belmont Law's founding Dean.

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

Costs

Tuition for the 2022-2023 school year is $48,660, with 49% of students receiving scholarships. 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.

References

1. "Belmont University College of Law". usnews.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
2. ^ "Belmont law program receives accreditation". Nashville Business Journal. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
3. ^ "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. ^ "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. "Law Moot Court Wins National Emory Civil Rights and Liberties Competition". www.belmont.edu. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
10. "Moot Court Team Advances to National Finals | Belmont University News & Media". February 28, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
11. "Belmont Law Moot Court Teams Place in ABA Appellate Advocacy Competition | Belmont University News & Media". March 23, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
12. "College of Law Moot Court Team Named National Champion at Tournament | Belmont University News & Media". October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
13. "Belmont Law Review". Belmont Law Review. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
14. "Belmont Criminal Law Journal". www.belmontcriminallaw.com. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
15. "Belmont Health Law Journal". www.belmonthealthlaw.com. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
16. "Belmont Criminal Law Journal". www.belmontcriminallaw.com. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
17. "Belmont Entertainment Law Journal". www.belmontentertainmentlaw.com. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
18. "Belmont Health Law Journal". www.belmonthealthlaw.com. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
19. "Of Note: 17 May 2019". Nashville Post. May 17, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
20. ^ Hefner, April (May 16, 2019). "College of Law Announces Record Employment Rate for Class of 2018". Belmont University News & Media. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
21. "Belmont University". Law School Transparency. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
22. "July 2019 UBE TN School Statistics" (PDF). Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 17, 2019.
23. "Belmont tops in bar passage". Nashville Post. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
24. "Notes: Vanderbilt, Belmont top bar exam result". Nashville Post. October 8, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
25. 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.
26. Kinsler, Jeff (August 24, 2018). "The Secret to 85% First-Time Bar Passage Rates". North Carolina Central Law Review. 40 (1): 92–121. SSRN 3232216 – via SSRN.
27. Joslin, Stacey (October 10, 2023). "What schools have the best first-time bar passage rate?". Tennessee Bar Association. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
28. Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. "July 2024 School Statistics - Re-Exam" (PDF).
29. Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. "JULY 2023 School Statistics - Re-examination" (PDF).
30. Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. "All Schools: Re-Exam Statistics July 2022 Exam" (PDF).
31. Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. "School Statistics - Re-Exam Statistics* July 2021 Exam" (PDF).
32. Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. "School Statistics - Re-Exam July 2020 Applicants OCTOBER ASSESSMENT" (PDF).
33. Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. "July 2019 UBE TN School Statistics - Retakes" (PDF).
34. American Bar Association. "Bar Passage Data Ultimate (Graduation Year)".
35. American Bar Association. "Bar Passage Data Ultimate (Graduation Year)".
36. "Law School Overview". U.S. News & World Report.
37. "BELMONT UNIVERSITY - 2018 Standard 509 Information Report" (PDF). American Bar Association Standard Disclosures. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 17, 2019.
38. "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

• Law schools in Tennessee
• Belmont University
• 2011 establishments in Tennessee