J. Reuben Clark Law School
Encyclopedia
The J. Reuben Clark Law School (JRCLS) is a professional graduate school located in Provo, Utah
at Brigham Young University
. Founded in 1973, the school is named after J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
—former U.S. Ambassador, Undersecretary of State, and LDS Church General Authority
—and its charter dean was former U.S. Solicitor General
Rex E. Lee
. The school offers traditional J.D.
and LL.M. degrees, as well as five joint-degree
programs. BYU Law ranks among the top graduate programs in the country, and is particularly renowned for its low tuition and high placement rate in Article III federal
judicial clerkships
. The law school is a member of the Association of American Law Schools
, and is accredited by the American Bar Association
.
Rex E. Lee
was the first dean of the School. The JRCLS Building was completed and dedicated in 1975, and the School graduated its first class in 1976. The School has since graduated more than 5,000 students.
Law Library occupies the north wing of the law building and houses a collection of over 450,000 volumes and volume equivalents in paper and microform. The library provides its law students with 470 individually assigned study carrels, 17 group study rooms, a reading room for quiet study, and a popular reading and conversation room. The library also has two classrooms where library faculty teach legal research and writing classes, familiarizing students with specific types of legal research and with library holdings. The National Jurist ranks the Howard W. Hunter Law Library as the 11th best law library in the country.
and LL.M. (Comparative Law) programs, as well as four joint-degree
programs: a JD/MBA in conjunction with the Marriott School of Management
(MSM), a JD/MPA administered by the Romney Institute of Public Management within the MSM, a JD/MAcc overseen by the School of Accountancy
within the MSM, and a JD/EdD in association with the David O. McKay School of Education
. The LL.M. is a one-year program for foreign lawyers leading to a master's degree in Comparative American Law. Established in 1988, the LLM program is designed specifically for attorneys from foreign countries who intend to return to their home countries upon graduation, and applicants must have a law degree or certification from an institution located outside the U.S. to participate in the program.
The student-to-faculty ratio at BYU Law is about 18 to one. The current faculty includes seven former United States Supreme Court clerks, the current president of the Association of American Law Schools
, an Undersecretary of the Interior, and several world-renowned constitutional, property, religious freedom, and family law scholars. The school hosts several events each year, including the World Family Policy Center / United Nations Conference (July), the International Law and Religion Symposium (October), and the Orrin G. Hatch
Distinguished Trial Lawyer Lecture Series (November).
Students at BYU Law publish four law journals: the BYU Law Review, the BYU Journal of Public Law, the BYU Education and Law Journal, and the BYU International Law & Management Review.
s ranking of the nearly 200 law schools in the United States fluctuates between 30th and 44th in the country. The most recent edition of U.S. News & World Report
Best Grad Schools ranked BYU Law
Recent editions of the Princeton Review "Best Law School" rankings name the law school
Recent Leiter’s Law School Rankings placed the law school
The National Jurist named BYU Law School
In 2011 Malcolm Gladwell
, in the New Yorker
, ranked BYU Law School #2 in the nation.
In 2009, the incoming class had a median GPA of 3.73 and a median LSAT score of 165. Based on these numbers, the J. Reuben Clark Law School ranks 12th in the nation for GPA and 25th in the nation for LSAT admissions standards.
, Trial Advocacy, and various other student-edited publications. For extracurricular activities, students may choose from more than 30 student-run and professional associations, including the American Constitution Society, the Federalist Society
, the Student Bar Association
, and the Minority Law Students Association.
Of particular note is the J. Reuben Clark Law Society
, which is an organization of law school students and graduates consisting of 65 professional and 125 student chapters throughout the world. Although students and graduates of the J. Reuben Clark Law School are de facto members of the Society, there is no requirement to attend the Law School or to be a member of the LDS Church. The organization currently claims 14 U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judges, 18 U.S. District Court Judges, 4 U.S. Attorneys, 6 U.S. Senators (including the Senate Majority Leader), 9 U.S. Congressmen, dozens of legal officers in Fortune 500
companies, and over 100 State Supreme Court, Appellate Court, and District Court judges. The Society holds an annual conference for students and practicing attorneys. Prior conferences have been held in Arizona, featuring former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
, and at the Harvard Law School
.
, Dee V. Benson, Cole Durham
, Larry Echohawk
, Frederick Gedicks
, Michael Goldsmith
(1951-2009), James D. Gordon III
, Thomas B. Griffith
, Bruce C. Hafen
, H. Reese Hansen
, Dale A. Kimball
, Thomas R. Lee
, Mike Lee, Cheryl A. Preston, James Rasband
, Brett Scharffs
, Lynn Wardle
, and Kevin J. Worthen
.
, three U.S. Congressmen
, several Senior Advisor
s to the President of the United States
, nine U.S. Attorneys
, and a number of Fortune 500
corporate counselors. Other notable alumni include Michael R. Fordham ('96), an executive at J.P. Morgan Chase, and NFL Hall-of-Famer
Steve Young ('94).
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
. Founded in 1973, the school is named after J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark
Joshua Reuben Clark, Jr. was an American attorney, civil servant, and a prominent leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Born in Grantsville, Utah Territory, Clark was a prominent attorney in the Department of State, and Under Secretary of State for US president Calvin Coolidge...
—former U.S. Ambassador, Undersecretary of State, and LDS Church General Authority
General authority
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church...
—and its charter dean was former U.S. Solicitor General
United States Solicitor General
The United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Solicitor General, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 2011 and sworn in on June...
Rex E. Lee
Rex E. Lee
Rex Edwin Lee from St. Johns, Arizona was a Constitutional lawyer, a law clerk for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White, and the United States Solicitor General under the Reagan administration. He argued 59 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court...
. The school offers traditional J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
and LL.M. degrees, as well as five joint-degree
Double degree
A double-degree program, sometimes called a combined degree, conjoint degree, dual degree, or simultaneous degree program, involves a student's working for two different university degrees in parallel, either at the same institution or at different institutions , completing them in less time than...
programs. BYU Law ranks among the top graduate programs in the country, and is particularly renowned for its low tuition and high placement rate in Article III federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
judicial clerkships
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
. The law school is a member of 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...
, and is accredited by the American Bar Association
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...
.
History
On March 9, 1971 the Brigham Young University Board of Trustees announced that a law school would be established at the university. Just two-and-one-half years later the opening ceremonies were held on August 27, 1973. Classes were initially held down the street from the current building in an old Catholic school building, affectionately referred to as "St. Reuben's" by the students. Former U.S. Solicitor GeneralUnited States Solicitor General
The United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Solicitor General, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 2011 and sworn in on June...
Rex E. Lee
Rex E. Lee
Rex Edwin Lee from St. Johns, Arizona was a Constitutional lawyer, a law clerk for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White, and the United States Solicitor General under the Reagan administration. He argued 59 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court...
was the first dean of the School. The JRCLS Building was completed and dedicated in 1975, and the School graduated its first class in 1976. The School has since graduated more than 5,000 students.
Campus
The nearly 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) JRCLS building is located on the east side of the BYU campus. The building's five floors contain eleven classrooms, three seminar rooms, a student commons area, a student lunchroom, spaces for student organizations and activities, a large computer lab, and a computer training room. The Howard W. HunterHoward W. Hunter
Howard William Hunter was the fourteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1994 to 1995. His nine month presidential tenure is the shortest in the history of the Church...
Law Library occupies the north wing of the law building and houses a collection of over 450,000 volumes and volume equivalents in paper and microform. The library provides its law students with 470 individually assigned study carrels, 17 group study rooms, a reading room for quiet study, and a popular reading and conversation room. The library also has two classrooms where library faculty teach legal research and writing classes, familiarizing students with specific types of legal research and with library holdings. The National Jurist ranks the Howard W. Hunter Law Library as the 11th best law library in the country.
Academic offerings
The JRCLS offers traditional J.D.Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
and LL.M. (Comparative Law) programs, as well as four joint-degree
Double degree
A double-degree program, sometimes called a combined degree, conjoint degree, dual degree, or simultaneous degree program, involves a student's working for two different university degrees in parallel, either at the same institution or at different institutions , completing them in less time than...
programs: a JD/MBA in conjunction with the Marriott School of Management
Marriott School of Management
The Marriott School of Management is a business school located in Provo, Utah at Brigham Young University , a private university in the United States owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
(MSM), a JD/MPA administered by the Romney Institute of Public Management within the MSM, a JD/MAcc overseen by the School of Accountancy
BYU School of Accountancy
The School of Accountancy at Brigham Young University is a department within the Marriott School of Management. The school offers one bachelor's degree and one master's degree.-History:...
within the MSM, and a JD/EdD in association with the David O. McKay School of Education
David O. McKay School of Education
The David O. McKay School of Education operates one of the largest teacher preparation programs in the nation. The school specializes in improving learning and teaching in the school as well as in the home, church and community worldwide. The McKay School is located on the southwest end of Brigham...
. The LL.M. is a one-year program for foreign lawyers leading to a master's degree in Comparative American Law. Established in 1988, the LLM program is designed specifically for attorneys from foreign countries who intend to return to their home countries upon graduation, and applicants must have a law degree or certification from an institution located outside the U.S. to participate in the program.
The student-to-faculty ratio at BYU Law is about 18 to one. The current faculty includes seven former United States Supreme Court clerks, the current president of 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...
, an Undersecretary of the Interior, and several world-renowned constitutional, property, religious freedom, and family law scholars. The school hosts several events each year, including the World Family Policy Center / United Nations Conference (July), the International Law and Religion Symposium (October), and the Orrin G. Hatch
Orrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...
Distinguished Trial Lawyer Lecture Series (November).
Students at BYU Law publish four law journals: the BYU Law Review, the BYU Journal of Public Law, the BYU Education and Law Journal, and the BYU International Law & Management Review.
Rankings and Honors
BYU Law School's placement in the U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
s ranking of the nearly 200 law schools in the United States fluctuates between 30th and 44th in the country. The most recent edition of U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
Best Grad Schools ranked BYU Law
- 5th for "Law Degrees With Most Financial Value at Graduation"
- 7th in Federal Judicial Clerkship Placement
- 10th for Graduates with the Least Debt
- 17th in Legal Writing
- 42nd in the Country Overall
Recent editions of the Princeton Review "Best Law School" rankings name the law school
- 8th in the Country Overall
- 10th for Best Academic Experience
- 16th for Best Teaching Faculty
- 21st for Most Selective Admissions
Recent Leiter’s Law School Rankings placed the law school
- 13th in United States Supreme Court clerk placement over the last 10 years.
- 25th in Admissions Selectivity
The National Jurist named BYU Law School
- 2nd in the 2010 "Best Value Law Schools" ranking, which weighs schools' bar pass rate, nine month employment rate, and average income against cost of attendance and average indebtedness after graduation.
In 2011 Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
, in the New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, ranked BYU Law School #2 in the nation.
Admissions
Admission to the JRCLS is highly competitive. Successful applicants usually have exemplary grades, high standardized test scores, and unique records of non-academic achievement. Many admitted students have graduate and doctoral degrees in a wide range of academic disciplines, and most have spent time abroad. Entering students graduated from over 70 different undergraduate colleges and universities in 11 countries and nearly 40 states.In 2009, the incoming class had a median GPA of 3.73 and a median LSAT score of 165. Based on these numbers, the J. Reuben Clark Law School ranks 12th in the nation for GPA and 25th in the nation for LSAT admissions standards.
Job placement
For the 2008 graduating class, 87% of graduates were employed at graduation and 98% were employed within nine months of graduation. The average starting salary for BYU Law graduates in private practice is $120,500, placing BYU at #18 in the nation for highest post-grad compensation. All alumni may participate in the BYU Law School Alumni Association.Organizations
BYU Law students may participate in a wide variety of organizations while attending law school and after graduation. Co-curricular programs include Law Review, Moot CourtMoot 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...
, Trial Advocacy, and various other student-edited publications. For extracurricular activities, students may choose from more than 30 student-run and professional associations, including the American Constitution Society, the Federalist Society
Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply the Federalist Society, is an organization of conservatives seeking reform of the current American legal system in accordance with a textualist and/or originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution...
, the Student Bar Association
Student Bar Association
Student bar associations are student organizations that exist at many laws schools in the United States. Student bar associations take their name from bar associations, which are professional bodies of lawyers....
, and the Minority Law Students Association.
Of particular note is the J. Reuben Clark Law Society
J. Reuben Clark Law Society
The J. Reuben Clark Law Society is an organization of lawyers and law school students consisting of over 65 professional and 125 student chapters throughout the world. It is named in honor of J. Reuben Clark the former Ambassador to Mexico and Under Secretary of State. Although alumni and...
, which is an organization of law school students and graduates consisting of 65 professional and 125 student chapters throughout the world. Although students and graduates of the J. Reuben Clark Law School are de facto members of the Society, there is no requirement to attend the Law School or to be a member of the LDS Church. The organization currently claims 14 U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judges, 18 U.S. District Court Judges, 4 U.S. Attorneys, 6 U.S. Senators (including the Senate Majority Leader), 9 U.S. Congressmen, dozens of legal officers in Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies, and over 100 State Supreme Court, Appellate Court, and District Court judges. The Society holds an annual conference for students and practicing attorneys. Prior conferences have been held in Arizona, featuring former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
, and at the Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
.
Faculty
Faculty have included Kif Augustine-AdamsKif Augustine-Adams
Kif Augustine-Adams is the Charles E. Jones professor of law at Brigham Young University 's J. Reuben Clark Law School....
, Dee V. Benson, Cole Durham
Cole Durham
Cole Durham is an American educator. He is Susa Young Gates University Professor of Law and Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School...
, Larry Echohawk
Larry EchoHawk
Larry EchoHawk is an attorney and legal scholar. On May 20, 2009, EchoHawk joined the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama as the head of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. He served as Attorney General of Idaho from 1991 to 1995.-Biography:EchoHawk was raised in Farmington, New...
, Frederick Gedicks
Frederick Gedicks
Frederick Mark Gedicks is an expert on religion and law, especially the role of religion in public life. He is a professor of law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University .- Biography :...
, Michael Goldsmith
Michael Goldsmith
Michael Goldsmith was a law professor at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School.- Early life and education :Michael Goldsmith was born March 6, 1951 in Tel Aviv, Israel and immigrated to the United States of America with his family in June 1955...
(1951-2009), James D. Gordon III
James D. Gordon III
James D. Gordon III is an American legal academic who has also held administrative positions at Brigham Young University .As a young man Gordon served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy....
, Thomas B. Griffith
Thomas B. Griffith
Thomas Beall Griffith is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Before his appointment to the bench he was Senate Legal Counsel, the chief legal officer of the United States Senate...
, Bruce C. Hafen
Bruce C. Hafen
Bruce Clark Hafen is an American attorney, academic and religious leader. He was a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of the LDS Church from 1996 to 2010. During that time he served in several assignments. He served as Area President in Australia/New Zealand, as well as the Europe Central...
, H. Reese Hansen
H. Reese Hansen
H. Reese Hansen is an American legal academic. To date he is the longest serving dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University having served as dean from 1989 until 2004....
, Dale A. Kimball
Dale A. Kimball
Dale A. Kimball was confirmed as a judge for United States district court for the District of Utah by the United States Senate on November 24, 1997....
, Thomas R. Lee
Thomas Rex Lee
Thomas Rex Lee is a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, confirmed on July 19, 2010. He is the son of Rex E. Lee.- Early life, education, and career :...
, Mike Lee, Cheryl A. Preston, James Rasband
James Rasband
James Rasband is currently the dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University . He is also the Hugh W. Colton Professor of Law....
, Brett Scharffs
Brett Scharffs
Brett Gilbert Scharffs is the Francis R. Kirkham professor at the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University and the associate of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies located at the same school....
, Lynn Wardle
Lynn Wardle
Lynn D. Wardle is Bruce C. Hafen Professor of Law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University . He specializes in family law, constitutional law, and bioethics.- Biography :...
, and Kevin J. Worthen
Kevin J. Worthen
Kevin J. Worthen is the Advancement Vice President at Brigham Young University, and the former Dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School.- Biography :...
.
Alumni
In its short history, the JRCLS has produced a number of distinguished alumni, including: two judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, seven U.S. District Court judges, one U.S. SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, three U.S. Congressmen
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, several Senior Advisor
Senior Advisor
In some countries, a Senior Advisor is an appointed position by the Head of State to advise on the highest levels of national and government policy. Sometimes a junior position to this is called a National Policy Advisor...
s to the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, nine U.S. Attorneys
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
, and a number of Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
corporate counselors. Other notable alumni include Michael R. Fordham ('96), an executive at J.P. Morgan Chase, and NFL Hall-of-Famer
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
Steve Young ('94).