Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
Encyclopedia
The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law is an American Bar Association
accredited law school
and is the only law school in Memphis
, Tennessee
. The school has been associated with the University of Memphis
since the law school's formation in 1962. The school was named in honor of former University president Cecil C. Humphreys. It is also referred to as U of M Law, Memphis Law, or Memphis Law School.
was a major benefactor to the University of Memphis. When he died in 1966, Herff left the bulk of his estate in trust with the State of Tennessee for the benefit of the University. Among his Foundation's funding is the Herbert Herff Presidential Law Scholarships and the Herbert Herff Chair of Excellence in Law.
Prior to the law school's founding, there were several other law schools in Memphis, including Memphis Law School, and Southern Law School (not to be confused with Southern University Law Center
in Baton Rouge, LA), both of which subsequently merged with Memphis State University Law School. Memphis Law School existed as early as 1922 as the University of Memphis School of Law. Despite the names, neither Southern Law University nor the early University of Memphis School of Law had university connections, but rather offered part-time legal education programs, though both were approved by the State Board of Law Examiners.
The law school joined the Association of American Law Schools
(AALS) in 2001. Reflecting the law school's increased profile, the Tennessee Supreme Court
convened at the University of Memphis School of Law on November 4, 2010. In September 2012, the law school will celebrate its semicentennial.
Many students participate on moot court or mock trial teams or are involved with one of the school's law journals, the University of Memphis Law Review
(founded in 1970) and the Tennessee Journal of Practice and Procedure. In January 2011, the law faculty formally endorsed the formation of a second student-edited law review
, the biannual Mental Health Law and Policy Journal, which is the first law journal of its kind in the nation. Additionally, the school's Moot Court/Mock Trial program has sent seven teams in ten years to the national competitions.
in downtown Memphis. The new law school campus is more than twice the size of the old campus. Until purchased by the law school, a portion of the building had been serving as a post office
. Designed by Memphis firm Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects
, the new law school is located in the heart of Memphis' downtown. Tennessee's governor, Phil Bredesen
, has also lent his support and pledged forty-one million dollars in state funds for the move. Along with the purpose-specific interior redesign, the architect (Bill Nixon) oversaw structural renovations, including a $2 million seismic retrofit
. The move was officially announced on January 12, 2006, and it was anticipated that the downtown facility would be ready for classes January 2010.
As of Fall 2010, the new downtown campus is fully operational, with a dedication ceremony held on January 16, 2010. The 169,000-square-foot (4-acre) building originally housed the late 19th century U.S. Customs House. Built in the early 1880s, the Italianate Revival-style building opened in 1885. Over the years, the building has served as Memphis' main customs house, federal court house, and most recently, as a U.S. post office. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1980.
Among features preserved in the restoration are the old federal courtroom, which now serves as the law school's moot court
room. During the restoration, a number of architectural details were rediscovered, including a decorative ceiling and roof monitor. The South Wing of the law school serves as the Plough Law Library; the library occupies all five levels of the South Wing, and includes West-facing glass walls overlooking the Mississippi River
. The law library contains more than 250,000 volumes of books, journals and other legal materials. In addition, two of the building's 10 original security vaults will serve as study space and a small office.
In the North Wing, administrative and faculty offices are on the second and third floors. The first floor houses a student lounge, study areas, law student bookstore, and a Starbucks
cafe. The North Wing's lowest level contains the University of Memphis Legal Clinic, locker rooms and student organization offices. As a result of digital security measures, students, faculty and staff have 24/7
access to the law school, study rooms, and library.
Following the law school's move to the downtown location in 2010, it was ranked by the Princeton Review as a top 10 law school nationally for quality of life.
houses the Plough Foundation Law Library, which contains more than 270,000 volumes of books and microforms including statutes, court reports, digests, encyclopedias, treatises, loose-leaf services, periodicals, and government documents. The Law Library serves as a selective depository library for U.S. government publications since 1979. In addition to its own law library resources, students and staff also have access to the following libraries:
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
accredited law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
and is the only law school in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The school has been associated with the University of Memphis
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
since the law school's formation in 1962. The school was named in honor of former University president Cecil C. Humphreys. It is also referred to as U of M Law, Memphis Law, or Memphis Law School.
History
The law school was founded in 1962 as the Memphis State University College of Law. It gained ABA accreditation three years later in 1965. Former Memphis businessman Herbert HerffHerbert Herff
Herbert Herff was an American businessman and philanthropist.A civic and business leader in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1938 Herbert Herff raised the funds to establish the first blood bank in the U.S. South and only the fourth such facility in the entire country...
was a major benefactor to the University of Memphis. When he died in 1966, Herff left the bulk of his estate in trust with the State of Tennessee for the benefit of the University. Among his Foundation's funding is the Herbert Herff Presidential Law Scholarships and the Herbert Herff Chair of Excellence in Law.
Prior to the law school's founding, there were several other law schools in Memphis, including Memphis Law School, and Southern Law School (not to be confused with Southern University Law Center
Southern University Law Center
Southern University Law Center, a campus of the Southern University System, opened for instruction in September 1947. Its concept was born out of a response of a lawsuit by an African American resident, Charles J. Hatfield, III, seeking to attend law school at a state institution...
in Baton Rouge, LA), both of which subsequently merged with Memphis State University Law School. Memphis Law School existed as early as 1922 as the University of Memphis School of Law. Despite the names, neither Southern Law University nor the early University of Memphis School of Law had university connections, but rather offered part-time legal education programs, though both were approved by the State Board of Law Examiners.
The law school joined the Association of American Law Schools
Association of American Law Schools
The Association of American Law Schools is a non-profit organization of 170 law schools in the United States. Another 25 schools are "non-member fee paid" schools, which are not members but choose to pay AALS dues. Its purpose is to improve the legal profession through the improvement of legal...
(AALS) in 2001. Reflecting the law school's increased profile, the Tennessee Supreme Court
Tennessee Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the state of Tennessee. Cornelia Clark is the current Chief Justice.Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state legislature, the Tennessee Supreme Court appoints the...
convened at the University of Memphis School of Law on November 4, 2010. In September 2012, the law school will celebrate its semicentennial.
Academics
The law school has graduated more than 4,500 students since its inception, and it currently has approximately 460 students and twenty-three full time professors. It is consistently named an “excellent value” in legal education by National Jurist Magazine. Additionally, for the last two years, it has a top law school job placement rate in the state with over 98% of graduates being employed within nine months of graduation. The bar passage rate for the July 2006 exam was 92.4%, the highest of any law school in Tennessee and well over the state average of 79.8%. The school also has the highest bar passage rate in the State of Tennessee over the last 15 years. In the 2007 Back to School issue of preLaw, the University of Memphis Law School was ranked fifth in the list of "Best Value Law Schools."Many students participate on moot court or mock trial teams or are involved with one of the school's law journals, the University of Memphis Law Review
University of Memphis Law Review
The University of Memphis Law Review is a student-run legal journal. It is the main law review of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.A predecessor of the review, entitled Memphis State University Law Commentary began publishing a topically arranged loose-leaf in post binders in 1968. Its first...
(founded in 1970) and the Tennessee Journal of Practice and Procedure. In January 2011, the law faculty formally endorsed the formation of a second student-edited law review
Law review
A law review is a scholarly journal focusing on legal issues, normally published by an organization of students at a law school or through a bar association...
, the biannual Mental Health Law and Policy Journal, which is the first law journal of its kind in the nation. Additionally, the school's Moot Court/Mock Trial program has sent seven teams in ten years to the national competitions.
New downtown campus
Because of inadequate, old facilities, former Dean James Smoot positioned the law school for a move from its building on the University's main campus in East Memphis to a former customs house on the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
in downtown Memphis. The new law school campus is more than twice the size of the old campus. Until purchased by the law school, a portion of the building had been serving as a post office
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
. Designed by Memphis firm Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects
Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects
Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects is an architectural firm founded in 1975 by Lee H. Askew as Lee Askew and Associates, in 1982 called Askew Nixon Ferguson Wolfe, and received its current name and organization in 1998. The founders were Lee H. Askew, William B. Ferguson, William Nixon and Butch Wolfe...
, the new law school is located in the heart of Memphis' downtown. Tennessee's governor, Phil Bredesen
Phil Bredesen
Philip Norman "Phil" Bredesen Jr. was the 48th Governor of Tennessee, serving from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected Governor in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006. He previously served as the fourth mayor of Nashville and Davidson County from 1991 to...
, has also lent his support and pledged forty-one million dollars in state funds for the move. Along with the purpose-specific interior redesign, the architect (Bill Nixon) oversaw structural renovations, including a $2 million seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent experiences with large earthquakes near urban centers,...
. The move was officially announced on January 12, 2006, and it was anticipated that the downtown facility would be ready for classes January 2010.
As of Fall 2010, the new downtown campus is fully operational, with a dedication ceremony held on January 16, 2010. The 169,000-square-foot (4-acre) building originally housed the late 19th century U.S. Customs House. Built in the early 1880s, the Italianate Revival-style building opened in 1885. Over the years, the building has served as Memphis' main customs house, federal court house, and most recently, as a U.S. post office. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1980.
Among features preserved in the restoration are the old federal courtroom, which now serves as the law school's moot court
Moot court
A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...
room. During the restoration, a number of architectural details were rediscovered, including a decorative ceiling and roof monitor. The South Wing of the law school serves as the Plough Law Library; the library occupies all five levels of the South Wing, and includes West-facing glass walls overlooking the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The law library contains more than 250,000 volumes of books, journals and other legal materials. In addition, two of the building's 10 original security vaults will serve as study space and a small office.
In the North Wing, administrative and faculty offices are on the second and third floors. The first floor houses a student lounge, study areas, law student bookstore, and a Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
cafe. The North Wing's lowest level contains the University of Memphis Legal Clinic, locker rooms and student organization offices. As a result of digital security measures, students, faculty and staff have 24/7
24/7
24/7 is an abbreviation which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to a business or service available at all times without interruption...
access to the law school, study rooms, and library.
Following the law school's move to the downtown location in 2010, it was ranked by the Princeton Review as a top 10 law school nationally for quality of life.
Library facilities
The new law school campusUniversity of Memphis, School of Law campus
The University of Memphis, School of Law building is a 5-story former federal building, located in downtown Memphis. As of 2010, the building is owned entirely by the University of Memphis and houses its law school. It is located at the corner of Front Street and Madison Avenue...
houses the Plough Foundation Law Library, which contains more than 270,000 volumes of books and microforms including statutes, court reports, digests, encyclopedias, treatises, loose-leaf services, periodicals, and government documents. The Law Library serves as a selective depository library for U.S. government publications since 1979. In addition to its own law library resources, students and staff also have access to the following libraries:
- McWherter Library--the main University of Memphis library and its departmental branches;
- Shelby County Law Library, located on the third floor of the Shelby County Courthouse, two blocks away from the law school.
- Memphis Public LibraryMemphis Public LibraryThe Memphis Public Library is a public library serving Shelby County, Tennessee.The library has 800,000 items in its holdings, and has 19 branches scattered throughout the city of Memphis and surrounding areas....
, Cossitt Branch Library, located adjacent to the law school.
Notable alumni
- Bernice B. DonaldBernice B. DonaldBernice Bouie Donald is a Federal Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Senate confirmed her in a 96–2 vote on September 6, 2011. She received her commission on September 8, 2011....
(JD '79), U.S. District Court Judge, nominated by President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to the Sixth Circuit Court of AppealsUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Kentucky* Western District of Kentucky...
in Cincinnati - James Dale ToddJames Dale ToddJames Dale Todd is a United States federal judge.Born in Scotts Hill, Tennessee, Todd received a B.S. from Lambuth College in 1965, a Master of Combined Sciences from the University of Mississippi in 1968, and a J.D. from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1972. He was...
(JD '72), U.S. federal judge - Jim Kyle (JD '76), member of the Tennessee Senate
- Stanley Thomas AndersonStanley Thomas AndersonStanley Thomas Anderson is a United States federal judge.Born in Lexington, Tennessee, Anderson received a B.S. from the University of Tennessee in 1976 and a J.D. from the University of Memphis School of Law in 1980...
(JD '80), U.S. federal judge - Carol ChumneyCarol ChumneyCarol J. Chumney is a Tennessee politician, legislator, and was an unsuccessful candidate to become mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. She also held the fifth seat on the Memphis City Council.- Biography :...
(JD '86), Tennessee politician - Stu GrimsonStu GrimsonA. Stuart Grimson is a former Canadian ice hockey forward. Grimson played in the National Hockey League from 1989 to 2002. During this time, he played for the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings,...
(JD '05), former professional hockey player - John S. Wilder, Tennessee politician
- Avron FogelmanAvron FogelmanAvron B. Fogelman is an American businessman and real estate developer. He was a former part owner of the Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals as well as several Memphis-based sports teams.-Early life:...
, Memphis real estate developer
Memphis Law in popular culture
- In the 1997 Hollywood film The Rainmaker (1997 film)The Rainmaker (1997 film)The Rainmaker is a 1997 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Matt Damon. Coppola wrote the script, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by John Grisham....
, Rudy Baylor (played by Matt DamonMatt DamonMatthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
) is a graduate of University of Memphis, School of Law.