Miles Law School
Encyclopedia
Miles Law School is a state accredited law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...

 located in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

. It is independent of Miles College
Miles College
Miles College is a historically black college founded in 1898. It is located in Fairfield, Alabama, which is six miles west of Birmingham, Alabama. It is a private liberal arts institution of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church...

.

Miles Law School was founded on August 26, 1974. Among the founders were Bishop C. A. Kirkendoll of the C.M.E. Church, Dr. W. Clyde Williams, former president of Miles College
Miles College
Miles College is a historically black college founded in 1898. It is located in Fairfield, Alabama, which is six miles west of Birmingham, Alabama. It is a private liberal arts institution of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church...

, former Alabama Judge and state Senator J. Richmond Pearson, and Morris Dees
Morris Dees
Morris Seligman Dees, Jr. is the co-founder and chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center , and a former direct mail marketeer for book publishing. Along with his law partner, Joseph J...

, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...

. Graduates of the law school include former Birmingham Mayor Carole Smitherman
Carole Smitherman
Carole Catlin Smitherman is a Birmingham City Councilor. Smitherman served briefly in 2009 as the 31st Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama....

 and Alabama State Senate President Pro Tempore Rodger Smitherman
Rodger Smitherman
Rodger Mell Smitherman is a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 18th District since 1995. He is also a member of the Alabama Sentencing Commission....

.

Program of Study

The school offers a four year part-time evening program. Graduates of the law school receive the Juris Doctor
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...

.

In July 2009, Miles Law School's passage rate for the Alabama Bar
Alabama State Bar
The Alabama State Bar is the integrated bar association of the U.S. state of Alabama.The Alabama State Bar was established in 1923 and is part of the 1975 Alabama Code, §§ 34-3-1 to 34-3-89....

 Exam was 0% for first timers and 13.3% for repeats. By comparison, Alabama's other law school passage rates were: University of Alabama
University of Alabama School of Law
The University of Alabama School of Law located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a nationally ranked top-tier law school and the only public law school in the state. In total, it is one of five law schools in the state, and one of three that are ABA accredited.The diverse student body, of approximately...

 (95.3% and 66.7%), the Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...

 (91.3% and 100.0%), Jones School of Law (90.7% and 0%), and Birmingham School of Law
Birmingham School of Law
The Birmingham School of Law is a state accredited law school located in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1915 by Judge Hugh A. Locke, a judge of the Chancery Court and president of the , the Birmingham School of Law offers a part-time program of study in which graduates receive the Juris Doctor ...

 (54.2% and 34.8%).

Accreditation

Miles Law School is not 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...

. However, graduates are eligible to take the Alabama Bar Exam pursuant to the authority granted by the Alabama Legislature
Alabama Legislature
The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the Alabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Alabama Senate, with 35 members...

 and the Alabama Supreme Court
Alabama Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of an elected Chief Justice and eight elected Associate Justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six year terms. The Governor of Alabama may fill vacancies when they occur...

.

Notable alumni

  • Bobby Singleton
    Bobby Singleton (politician)
    Bobby D. Singleton is a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 24th District since a special election in January 2005. Previously he was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 2003 through 2005....

    , a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate
  • Carole Smitherman
    Carole Smitherman
    Carole Catlin Smitherman is a Birmingham City Councilor. Smitherman served briefly in 2009 as the 31st Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama....

     (b. 1952), a Birmingham City Councilor and former Mayor
  • Rodger Smitherman
    Rodger Smitherman
    Rodger Mell Smitherman is a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 18th District since 1995. He is also a member of the Alabama Sentencing Commission....

    (b. 1953), a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate
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