University of Baltimore School of Law
YOU ARE ...
law.ubalt.edu/admissions
CURIOUS University of Baltimore School of Law / 3
INSPIRED
Inspiring tomorrow’s lawyers. Greetings from the UB School of Law! We’re proud to introduce you to our school, to the rigorous, fast-paced legal education we provide and to our state-of-the-art law center in which that education takes place. Our extraordinary, light-filled building makes a physical statement about this law school’s vision for the future: We aim to prepare students for the 21st-century legal marketplace, and we continue to innovate to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving profession. For 90 years, the University of Baltimore School of Law has been graduating excellent, practice-ready lawyers. That excellence is recognized nationwide: This year, our clinical program was No. 17 in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of law schools, while our part-time J.D. program climbed from No. 29 to No. 23. Our world-class faculty guides students through a thorough study of legal doctrine and contemporary legal theory. Meanwhile, from an early stage of their careers here, UB students confront the real-world challenges of legal practice by participating in our clinics and externships throughout the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., region. The UB School of Law will train you to write, reason and advocate as an attorney. A UB legal education will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to attain your professional goals and to help expand access to justice in our community and around the world. Thank you for your interest in the UB School of Law. Please visit us, feel free to ask us questions and take the time to find out if UB is the right law school for you.
Ronald Weich Dean
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“ The University of Baltimore School of Law is a very strong community—unlike anything I’ve experienced in the past. From the students to the faculty to the staff, everybody is interested in helping you achieve your goals and get a strong footing in the Baltimore-D.C. legal community.”
Natalie Krajinovic, J.D. ’15 law clerk, John H. Denick & Associates While at UB: international student from Ontario, Canada; legal intern, International Rights Advocates; legal intern, John H. Denick & Associates
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INVOLVED
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Set your foundation. University of Baltimore School of Law faculty will teach, mentor, inspire and guide you. With distinguished credentials and wide-ranging experience, they are scholars, judges and practitioners dedicated to you and to your legal education. That education will take place in the John and Frances Angelos Law Center, a LEED Platinum-certified model of innovative architecture. You will learn the law in energizing classrooms full of natural light and leading-edge technology. These dynamic spaces enhance engagement and collaboration among students, faculty and staff, producing leaders in the legal community. Ground your legal education in year one, then pursue a customized course of study to meet your career goals. YEAR ONE AT UB: Your first-year curriculum includes the following courses: • Civil Procedure I * • Constitutional Law I • Contracts I and II • Criminal Law * • Introduction to Advocacy • Introduction to Lawyering Skills * • Law in Context (choice of courses) • Property • Torts *
* See the fact box on page 7.
For more information about your first year, visit law.ubalt.edu/firstyear.
Your UB School of Law education begins in your first year with a firm grounding in the doctrinal and theoretical foundations of law. In subsequent years, you can focus your studies through one of our nine concentrations or six dual-degree programs. Each concentration requires you to participate in at least one experiential course or activity, through which you’ll apply what you’ve learned in the classroom to a real-world setting. Dual-degree programs allow you to take an interdisciplinary approach to the law while working toward an additional graduate degree. Need more options? Combine courses to build your own, individualized curriculum. CONCENTRATIONS
Estate Planning A concentration in estate planning focuses on methods to dispose of estates by will, life insurance and inter vivos arrangements while considering resulting tax and administrative problems. In this concentration, you will learn estate law and gather and analyze facts to plan and draft wills, trusts and related documents. You can gain practical experience in courses such as the Planning for Families and Seniors Workshop.
Business Law
Family Law
The business law concentration allows you to enroll in courses ranging from taxation and banking to international trade and finance. You’ll apply your classroom learning to one of several experiential courses, such as the Community Development Clinic or the Attorney Practice Externships.
The family law concentration focuses on marriage, divorce and custody. You will learn about support obligations in the family, intrafamily litigation, separation agreements, premarital controversies, the legal position of married women, intrafamily tort liability, child custody, adoption, alimony, property disposition and jurisdiction. Apply the concepts you’ve learned in class to your work in the Bronfein Family Law Clinic or the Mediation Clinic for Families.
Criminal Practice A concentration in criminal practice expands upon what you learn in the required survey class in criminal law, allowing you to explore
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constitutional, evidentiary and procedural issues. You have multiple options to gain experience in the practice of criminal law, including the Criminal Practice and Innocence Project clinics and a range of externships. You can also take a seminar—a limited-enrollment course with a maximum of 20 students per section—that allows you to focus on current issues related to criminal law.
Intellectual Property
Real Estate Practice
J.D./M.S. in Criminal Justice
The intellectual property concentration includes courses that focus on trade secrets, patents, copyrights and trademarks. Coursework also addresses the policies underlying the protection of intellectual property and compares the different ways intellectual property can be used to shelter commercial interests in technology and the arts. You can fulfill the experiential requirement with an externship or by participating in a moot court team related to the field.
The real estate practice concentration offers in-depth study of various issues in real estate law. Core courses cover land use and real estate finance. From there, you can choose from such electives as construction law, environmental law and local economic development. Participating in the Community Development Clinic allows you to practice the skills you learn in the classroom and to gain experience in real estate law.
The joint Juris Doctor/M.S. in Criminal Justice program combines the Juris Doctor with study of the criminal justice system. Since criminal justice students come from many backgrounds— including law enforcement, field administration, planning, research and casework—you will gain insight into the criminal justice system from your classmates as well as from faculty.
International Law The international law concentration focuses on the nature and sources of international law; procedures for handling disputes; sanctions; the roles of individual, state, regional and world organizations; the law of the sea and space; and an analysis of current challenges. You can choose from a range of experiential options in this concentration, which can involve completing an externship, becoming a student fellow in the Center for International and Comparative Law or participating in the Immigrant Rights Clinic.
Litigation and Advocacy The litigation and advocacy concentration focuses on the tools needed for a successful career in the courtroom. In required courses, you will learn about federal and state rules of evidence, the process of litigation, and how to counsel clients and craft written and oral advocacy. Elective courses allow you to examine more in-depth issues, and a range of clinical offerings encourages you to apply what you’ve learned in the classroom.
Public Service A concentration in public service allows you to select one of two subspecialties: public interest and individual rights or government service and regulatory institutions. Each subspecialty includes an externship or a clinical requirement, such as the Innocence Project or Saul Ewing Civil Advocacy clinics.
Learn more about your concentration options at law.ubalt.edu/concentrations. DUAL-DEGREE PROGRAMS
J.D./LL.M. in Taxation If you have an interest in taxation, you can pursue both a Juris Doctor and a Master of Laws in Taxation at the UB School of Law. The LL.M. degree can be earned by taking as few as 15 additional credits in the graduate tax program.
J.D./MBA Through this joint program, you can earn a Juris Doctor and a Master of Business Administration degree in an integrated sequence of courses over three to four years. The MBA program, offered jointly by UB’s Merrick School of Business and Towson University, is accredited by AACSB International. Online MBA courses provide flexibility and convenience.
J.D./M.S. in Negotiations and Conflict Management This dual Juris Doctor/M.S. in Negotiations and Conflict Management provides you with in-depth understanding of what conflict is, why it happens and how to manage it. The M.S. program in UB’s College of Public Affairs will teach you how to facilitate understanding, mitigate destructive aspects of conflict, and mediate and implement structured resolutions.
J.D./M.P.P. or Ph.D. in Public Policy This dual degree is ideal if you are interested in using your law degree to influence public policy. The graduate program is offered at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and is accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration. Learn more about dual-degree programs at law.ubalt.edu/dualdegree.
J.D./M.P.A. The Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration program is ideal if you want to work in federal, state or local government agencies as well as in nonprofit or quasi-governmental organizations. The M.P.A. program in UB’s College of Public Affairs is accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration. Online M.P.A. courses provide you with flexibility and convenience in this dual-degree program.
FACT: In your first semester, skills training is integrated into your criminal law, torts or civil procedure course. In Introduction to Lawyering Skills, you will study legal analysis, writing and research skills as you learn about a particular area of the law in a class of roughly 20 students taught by fulltime faculty.
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Put your legal education to work. FIRST SUMMER, FIRST HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE At UB, opportunities for practical experience are woven throughout your education, beginning with your first summer. UB’s Experience in Legal Organizations (EXPLOR) program places you in a legal setting during the summer after your first year of law school. For more than 20 years, EXPLOR students have worked in government agencies, judges’ chambers, law firms and publicinterest and nonprofit organizations, where they gain valuable legal experience. Flexible hours allow you to work and attend summer classes if you wish. WORK WITH REAL CLIENTS We’re serious about preparing practice-ready attorneys. That’s why during your legal education here, you are required to complete at least 6 experiential learning credits, which allow you to gain experience while earning your law degree. Three credits must come from work in a clinic or an externship, helping real clients with real legal issues. The other 3 credits may come from work in a second clinic or an externship, but you can also earn them by participating in a moot court or mock trial team (see page 19) or by taking a workshop or simulation course. More information about UB’s clinical law program is available on pages 16-17. Externships are supervised by a licensed attorney or judge in the workplace and are combined with a classroom component. The class allows you to discuss your experiences and observations with your classmates. Hands-on learning is central to the UB School of Law’s curriculum. We seek to ensure that each graduate is ready to make the transition from law student to law practitioner.
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Examples of field placements at which UB students have gained real-world experience: • Acton Mobile (in-house corporate counsel) • Alexander & Cleaver • Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office • Conti Fenn & Lawrence • Cowie & Mott • DLE Agency • Elville and Associates • Fedder and Garten • Frost & Associates • Funk & Bolton • Hermina Law Group • House of Ruth Maryland • John H. Denick & Associates • Maryland Disability Law Center • Maryland Office of the Attorney General • Maryland Office of the Public Defender • Maryland State Ethics Commission • Maryland state trial and appellate courts • Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service • Medifast (in-house corporate counsel) • Miller & Zois • Scarlett, Croll & Myers • Silverman| Thompson |Slutkin| White • Social Security Administration • Stahl & Block • TD Ameritrade (in-house corporate counsel) • Transamerica (in-house corporate counsel) • U.S. Department of Justice • U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland • U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission • Wase, Wase & Grace • Whiteford, Taylor & Preston • Women’s Law Center of Maryland
GAIN ADDITIONAL LEGAL EXPERIENCE UB School of Law students are ambitious. Often, they seek practical experiences beyond for-credit options such as externships or clinics. Some of our day students work part time while carrying a full course load; class schedules allow you to work up to two full days a week. We want you to gain as much legal experience as
possible while you’re in law school and to work with organizations that are meaningful to you. In fact, as your legal education progresses, you can combine day and evening classes to create a customized law school experience that matches your specific goals and ambitions.
UB SCHOOL OF LAW GRADUATES CONSISTENTLY OUTPERFORM THE STATE PASSAGE RATE FOR FIRST-TIME TAKERS OF THE MARYLAND BAR EXAMINATION
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“ At the end of my EXPLOR summer internship, the firm asked me to continue working in the fall for academic credit through the attorney externship program. Afterwards, I continued at the firm as a parttime paralegal. The EXPLOR program opened the door to a great relationship and work experience.” Maame Amponsah current law student While at UB: legal intern, The Law Offices of Erika E. Cole; 2015-16 managing editor, Journal of Land and Development; participant in winter 2014 study abroad in Curaçao B.S., MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY, ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
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STAT: In summer 2015, 150 students participated in the UB School of Law’s EXPLOR program.
DEDICATED
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“ I interned at a boutique law firm that specializes in encryption technology. It sounds complicated, but you don’t have to know the ins and outs of computer science to protect the interests of the clients. I was able to immediately use what I learned in my first year of law school during my summer with Thomsen and Burke, and I was asked to stay on through the next year.” Roman Rachuba current law student While at UB: legal intern, Thomsen and Burke; intern with Judge Marvin J. Garbis of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland; legal intern, Johns Hopkins University Technology Ventures; president, Intellectual Property Law Society B.S., UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND
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“ Dean Weich and Assistant Dean of Law Admissions Zavrotny helped me attain my externship with Senator Booker. I worked on the REDEEM Act, bipartisan legislation that seeks to overhaul the nation’s criminal justice system. It was a very rewarding experience.”
Caylin Young current law student While at UB: legal intern with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.); intern with Judge Clayton Greene Jr. of the Maryland Court of Appeals; 2015-16 national chair, National Black Law Students Association B.S., HAMPTON UNIVERSITY, HAMPTON, VIRGINIA
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STAT: During the 2014-15 academic year, 130 students participated in the UB School of Law’s externship program.
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Clinical education: studentattorneys representing clients. Under Maryland Rule 16, our clinic students are allowed to represent clients with the supervision of our world-class clinical faculty. When you enroll in the clinical program, you’ll learn to be a lawyer in a way you couldn’t through classroom work alone. You will meet with clients, research their cases and plan how best to help them reach their goals. CLINICS AT THE UB SCHOOL OF LAW As a student in The Bob Parsons Veterans Advocacy Clinic, you will help veterans obtain benefits and you’ll assist them with other servicerelated legal needs. In 2014-15: Student-attorneys in The Bob Parsons Veterans Advocacy Clinic represented veterans filing claims with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, including initial disability compensation claims and appeals. Students also represented veterans before the military service departments in discharge upgrade cases, in medical evaluation board and physical evaluation board cases, and in cases involving claims for Traumatic Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance benefits. Projects included providing education and legal counseling at homeless shelters, drafting legislative initiatives, filing amicus curiae briefs and working with other law schools to provide veterans with better access to care and resources. Bronfein Family Law Clinic students learn multidimensional lawyering through litigation, legislative advocacy and community education. You will serve as a lawyer for the clinic’s clients, who seek civil protection orders in cases of domestic violence, and will be involved in family matters, including divorce, child custody, child adoption and child support. In 2014-15: Bronfein Family Law Clinic studentattorneys represented low-income clients in civil domestic-violence cases and divorce, child custody, child support, adoption and paternity matters. In addition, students conducted legal research and provided testimony in support of 10 bills 18 / law.ubalt.edu
introduced in the Maryland General Assembly. They also worked on two community-based projects to help victims of sex and labor trafficking as well as people filing petitions for civil protective orders. The Community Development Clinic provides a wide variety of transactional legal services to and advocacy for historically underserved communities in Baltimore. You will provide legal representation about matters including business formation, operations and financing, land use and real estate acquisition to community associations, nonprofit organizations and small-business owners. In 2014-15: Community Development Clinic student-attorneys worked with the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland to assist Baltimoreans at risk of losing their homes. Under current law, homeowners can lose their homes to private investors if even small amounts are owed for property taxes or water bills. That practice is the subject of pending reform legislation in the Maryland General Assembly and has attracted local and national media attention. The Criminal Practice Clinic offers you the opportunity to practice criminal law in Maryland’s trial courts. In 2014-15: Student-attorneys in the Criminal Practice Clinic prosecuted and defended people in criminal cases in more than a dozen jurisdictions across Maryland. Cases involved drug possession, DUI, domestic violence and disorderly conduct and were heard by judges and masters. Several students also participated in a jury trial.
In the Disability Law Clinic, you will represent patients in involuntary civil commitment hearings within the Sheppard Pratt Health System. You will engage in client interviews and counseling, medical record file review, and case preparation and development. Representation culminates with an administrative hearing. In 2014-15: Disability Law Clinic clients included children with post-traumatic stress disorder and adults with schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. Student-attorneys assisted clients exhibiting dangerous behavior to themselves or to others and advocated for less restrictive forms of intervention and the need for inpatient care. Other cases involved communitybased treatment options, medication noncompliance and voluntary admissions. Students learned about the role of the lawyer and gained interviewing, counseling and trialadvocacy skills. Immigrant Rights Clinic students represent low-income immigrants in Immigration Court, in Maryland District Court and before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services. Caseloads are diverse, as are the clinic’s clients. During your clinical experience, you will touch on many areas of immigration practice—asylum law, trafficking protection, protection for battered immigrants, family reunification and naturalization—while representing clients from all over the world. In 2014-15: Immigrant Rights Clinic studentattorneys litigated asylum and other immigration and related family law cases while also providing legal information to underserved immigrant communities from Baltimore to the Eastern Shore. Clinic student-attorneys won several asylum cases in 2015 for clients from Rwanda to Jamaica. The students also won judgments in multiple family court proceedings that put teenage clients from Central America on the path to permanent residence in the United States—and to safety after years of danger in their home countries.
The students interviewed clients and witnesses, investigated evidence, researched the law, wrote legal briefs, assembled filings and appeared in court. As a student in the Innocence Project Clinic, you will defend people who claim they have been wrongly convicted. You will review records, interview clients and witnesses, conduct legal research, devise investigative strategies, draft pleadings and argue motions with supervision from a criminal defense attorney. You will develop an understanding of the post-conviction process and of issues such as eyewitness identification, forensic evidence and police interrogation methods. In 2014-15: Student-attorneys in the Innocence Project Clinic helped secure the exoneration of a man serving a life sentence for conspiracy to commit murder by identifying the actual perpetrators, who subsequently were prosecuted and convicted in federal court. As a student in the Mediation Clinic for Families, you will collaborate with the court system and with a variety of Maryland legal organizations. You will represent clients in the mediation process, co-mediate family law disputes and engage in projects designed to improve the practice of family mediation. In 2014-15: Student-attorneys in the Mediation Clinic for Families gave a presentation to detainees in the Baltimore City Detention Center to help them work through the challenges that confront people returning to their families after incarceration. In fall 2014, a student-attorney was the first UB student to represent a client using the Collaborative Practice Model, in which parties and attorneys agree they will make every effort to resolve the case without using litigation to decide contested issues of property distribution, child access and child support. The student-attorneys worked with a variety of financial and childdevelopment experts to arrive at an agreement satisfactory to both parties.
In the Saul Ewing Civil Advocacy Clinic, you will represent low-income clients in civil litigation. Caseloads are diverse, touching on many areas of civil practice, including housing, consumer rights, education and public benefits. Under faculty supervision, you will engage in the full range of activities involved in representing clients in litigation. The clinic also takes part in law reform projects to enhance civil legal policy and practice affecting low-income families and children. In 2014-15: Student-attorneys in the Saul Ewing Civil Advocacy Clinic won numerous cases in trial, appellate and administrative courts, where they defended clients against wrongful evictions and debt-collection proceedings and helped secure public assistance and fair wages. They also litigated civil rights and civil liberties issues involving antidiscrimination statutes and the First Amendment. Tax Clinic student-attorneys represent low-income taxpayers in federal tax disputes. Cases involve administrative controversies before the IRS and litigation in federal courts. You will be responsible for all aspects of representing clients, including interviewing and counseling clients, developing case strategy, engaging in fact investigation and discovery, drafting documents, negotiating with adversaries, and conducting hearings and trials. You may also appear at U.S. Tax Court in Baltimore to assist unrepresented taxpayers. In 2014-15: In February, student-attorneys counseled several petitioners at two hearings. At one, a student-attorney tried a case involving multiple issues. After trial, the student counseled her client and negotiated a settlement with the attorney for the IRS. To learn more about the clinical program, visit law.ubalt.edu/clinics.
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Build skills doing what you love. The UB School of Law’s centers are designed to help you customize your legal education and allow you to pursue work you’re passionate about while enriching your knowledge of the law. Our centers foster academic leadership, community engagement and advocacy for innovative legal policy. By participating in a center’s work, you will help effect positive change in the legal system. You’ll also have the opportunity to enhance your oral advocacy and writing skills by competing for a spot on one of the law school’s oral advocacy teams or by joining a student-run journal. CENTERS Center on Applied Feminism: The center works with students to apply the insights of feminist theory to create social change and to reform law. In addition to a yearly conference and regular colloquia on emerging legal areas that intersect with feminism, the center helps students plan for careers in feminist advocacy. In 2014-15: The center hosted a roundtable discussion that brought together advocates from across the mid-Atlantic region who are applying a human-rights approach to the problem of human trafficking. As a result, a network has been formed to share information and to engage in problemsolving. The center also held the Eighth Annual Feminist Legal Theory Conference, “Applied Feminism and Work.” The keynote speaker was Chai Feldblum, a commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who discussed the challenges to gender-based equity in the workforce. Center for International and Comparative Law: The center offers fellowships to those students most active in the international law concentration. These fellows participate in projects involving human rights, national security and international trade. The center has many active projects overseas, including partnerships in Brazil, China, India, Israel, the Netherlands, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. In 2014-15: The center celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2014 with a conference on international courts that attracted leading judges and scholars from around the world. Many participants contributed papers that will
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be published by Cambridge University Press. U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) gave the 2015 Stead Lecture on international human rights in conjunction with a symposium organized by the University of Baltimore Journal of International Law. Center for the Law of Intellectual Property and Technology: The center promotes research, education and legal practice in three intertwined areas of law. One aspect of the center’s focus is intellectual property law, including copyright law, patent law, trade secret law and trademark law. The center also examines and publicizes legal issues stemming from the use of cuttingedge technologies. Finally, it supports the use of technology to understand the law. In 2014-15: The center’s April conference, “PostGrant Procedures at the Patent Office: Timely Cure or New Disease?” convened experts from government, industry, the judiciary, private practice and academia to discuss the roles that post-grant proceedings play in the innovation economy. Paul Michel, former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, gave the keynote presentation. Center for Medicine and Law: The center focuses on legal issues affecting contemporary medicine and health care. To support these efforts and in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine, the center operates The Johns Hopkins University/UB School of Law collaborative program in Medicine and the Law. This educational partnership features lectures at both universities and a trial simulation course, in which law students interact with medical residents while building oral and written advocacy skills.
In 2014-15: The center’s faculty have filed amicus briefs in cases dealing with the intersection of health care and intellectual property law and have testified before Congress on related matters. The center is also working to create a “hands-on” course to be offered to both medical and law students through The Johns Hopkins University’s medical clinics. Center for Sport and the Law: The center sponsors academic symposia, generates scholarship and engages in community partnerships. It provides students with enhanced understanding of the legal structures and institutions that shape various athletic contexts and of the field’s increasingly complex university compliance requirements. In 2014-15: The center held its annual symposium in February. Sponsored by the Baltimore Orioles, it featured prominent sports agents, including National Football League agent Tom Condon, J.D. ’81, as well as sports law attorneys and college athletic department representatives. The center continued its partnership with local colleges and universities, as numerous UB law students served as NCAA compliance interns at schools such as The Johns Hopkins University; Coppin State University; and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The center also announced a new partnership with the Bowie State University Department of Athletics.
Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts: Working to foster collaboration between the UB School of Law and the courts, the center promotes family justice reform, including the concept of a Unified Family Court system. The center is committed to ensuring that the practice of family law in Maryland, the nation and the world improves the lives of children and families and the health of communities. In 2014-15: The center hosted its Seventh Annual Urban Child Symposium, “Violence and the Urban Child: What Can We Do?” in April. The symposium attracted national scholars and focused on approaches to minimize children’s exposure to and commission of violence. The center also published “A Comprehensive Approach to Truancy for Baltimore City: A Roundtable Discussion.” ADVOCACY TEAMS AND COMPETITIONS Advocacy teams and competitions accustom you to the etiquette and environment of a courtroom while sharpening the skills you need to build a convincing argument. The UB School of Law offers two types of advocacy activities: Moot Court Teams UB sponsors more than a dozen moot court teams. Students who participate in these teams build their written and oral advocacy skills by composing briefs and making appellate oral arguments in regional and national competitions. The Byron L. Warnken Moot Court Competition is held each year to select students for UB’s moot court teams.
Trial Teams Trial teams conduct full trials in a competitive atmosphere. Students who participate in these teams learn how to present a case to a jury using persuasive trial tactics. UB sponsors teams in four trial competitions: • American Association for Justice Student Trial Advocacy Competition • American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law Employment Litigation Student Trial Advocacy Competition • National Black Law Students Association Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition • National Trial Competition. JOURNALS As a member of a student-run law journal, you will gain experience researching, writing and working closely with your peers. Journal members solicit articles from law faculty across the country and also write comments on topics of their own choosing. Students are selected to participate based on a writing competition and a minimum GPA specified by each journal. You can earn as many as 8 academic credits by participating in a journal. • University of Baltimore Law Review • University of Baltimore Law Forum • Journal of Land and Development • Journal of International Law To learn more about a specific journal, visit law.ubalt.edu/academics/publications. University of Baltimore School of Law / 21
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“ The Saul Ewing Civil Advocacy Clinic allowed me to gain experience as a practicing attorney in a variety of civil matters. The client that stuck with me the most was a man who had a debtcollection suit filed against him. He was so grateful I was able to get the case dropped that he wrote me a thank-you note and attached it to a bottle of wine that I keep on my desk to this day.” Andrew Bonic, J.D. ’12 assistant chief counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Baltimore Field Office While at UB: student-attorney, Saul Ewing Civil Advocacy Clinic Since law school: Bonic began his career as a judicial law clerk in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City before becoming director of government affairs for the Maryland Multi-Housing Association. He accepted his current position with the Department of Homeland Security in 2014.
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At the crossroads of a vibrant legal community. Living and studying in Baltimore will expose you to diverse legal opportunities, including an extensive range of government and nonprofit organizations in Maryland and in Washington, D.C., only an hour away. No matter what type of law you want to practice, you’ll find your best legal education right here. Your UB School of Law education will teach you to appreciate all angles and perspectives on issues and to work with others to achieve the best possible results. You can gain experience in numerous ways: working within legal organizations while in school, doing pro bono work, joining student groups and organizations, and participating in programming sponsored
by the law school. The UB School of Law is committed to bringing members of the legal community to campus for panel discussions, symposia and mentoring while also placing you with practitioners in the field to ensure you get a dynamic, interactive and well-rounded legal education.
The main entrance to UB’s John and Frances Angelos Law Center is just one block south of Baltimore’s Penn Station, which is served by Amtrak and Maryland’s MARC train system. The Light Rail’s University of Baltimore-Mount Royal stop is two blocks from the Angelos Law Center, and the State Center Metro stop is four blocks from campus. The Jones Falls Expressway (I-83), which runs through the heart of Baltimore, has two exits at the University.
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albany: 330 miles boston
hartford: 312 miles
providence
200 M I L E S
15 0 M I L E S
100 M I L E S
new york city: 187 miles harrisburg 50 M I L E S
philadelphia: 102 miles
university of baltimore
washington, d.c.: 41 miles alexandria: 46 miles
richmond
norfolk
STAT: In 2014, 20.7 percent of the UB School of Law’s graduating class secured a judicial clerkship in a state trial, state appellate or federal court. The national average for such placements is 9.2 percent, as reported by the National Association for Law Placement.
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“ The alumni network from the University of Baltimore is very strong, especially in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area. The alumni networking events are great for meeting people with different experiences and for really making connections. For instance, I met an alum who works for the Securities and Exchange Commission, a regulator I deal with a lot in my securities litigation practice.” Ashley Bashur, J.D. ’09 senior associate, WilmerHale, Washington, D.C. While at UB: intern with Judge Irma S. Raker, formerly of the Maryland Court of Appeals Since law school: Bashur has worked at WilmerHale since she graduated from UB. She began as an associate in the litigation department before being promoted to senior associate in January 2013. Around the same time, she moved into the Securities Litigation and Enforcement practice group, where she specializes in securities enforcement.
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STAT: About one-third of judges currently serving the state of Maryland are UB School of Law alumni.
Recent UB School of Law graduates are employed by the following organizations and many others: • Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services • Council Baradel • Court of Appeals of Maryland • Court of Special Appeals of Maryland • Delaware Department of Justice • District Court of Maryland • DLA Piper • Duane Morris • Eccleston and Wolf • Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. • Homeless Persons Representation Project • House of Ruth Maryland • Kramon & Graham • Law Office of Laura E. Burrows • Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos • Maryland Circuit Courts • Maryland Disability Law Center • Maryland Legal Aid • Medifast • Miles & Stockbridge • Niles, Barton & Wilmer • Office of the Public Defender • Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City and Baltimore County • Pessin Katz Law • Saul Ewing • Semmes, Bowen & Semmes • Silverman | Thompson | Slutkin | White • Sinclair Broadcast Group • T. Rowe Price • Textron • U.S. Department of Justice • Venable • Women’s Law Center of Maryland
Put your law degree to work. Become part of the network. Baltimore is home to a large, active legal community willing to support you as you embark on a legal career. Roughly 2,800 UB School of Law alumni live or work in Baltimore. If you include all of Maryland and Washington, D.C., nearly 10,000 UB law alumni are nearby. Many enthusiastically mentor UB law students and enjoy watching new generations of UB-trained lawyers succeed. Many students pursue a legal education with the intention of practicing law. These students dream of advocating for clients in court, helping individuals complete an estate plan or providing legal advice in business transactions. Others may not ever intend to practice law but know a law degree will further their career goals. A UB School of Law education will prepare you for whatever career path you choose. Of class of 2014 graduates, 52.4 percent found employment in positions for which bar admission was required. An additional 25.6 percent of the class of 2014 found employment in positions for which a J.D. was required or preferred by the employer. The national average for graduates landing J.D.-advantage positions is 14.8 percent. Alumni from the UB School of Law are employed in business and industry, in legislative and other government positions, and in regulatory and policy analysis positions. Employment data are collected annually by the UB Law Career Development Office. Additional employment data can be found at law.ubalt.edu/career.
TEN-MONTH SURVEY OF 2014 GRADUATES Total number of graduates Number of graduates who reported Percentage of reporting graduates employed
314 313 88.2%
PRACTICE SETTING Academic 1.1% Business or industry 21.0% Judicial clerkships 20.7% Private practice 38.8% Government 13.4% Public interest 4.7% Unknown 0.3% TYPE OF POSITION Bar passage required 52.4% J.D. advantage 25.6% Other professional 8.0% Nonprofessional 1.9% Pursuing an additional full-time degree 0.3% Unemployed—seeking employment 8.9% Unemployed—not seeking employment 2.6% Unknown 0.3%
The employment information presented is self-reported by UB School of Law graduates. We regularly collect employment information from our most recent graduating class, following guidelines established by the National Association for Law Placement and the American Bar Association.
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88.2 PERCENT OF REPORTING CLASS OF 2014 GRADUATES ARE EMPLOYED*:
*99.7 percent of class of 2014 graduates reported on their employment status.
TEN-MONTH SURVEY OF 2014 GRADUATES
number of graduates: 314 number of graduates reported: 313
percentage of reported graduates employed: 88.2%
PRACTICE SETTING
public interest: 4.7% unknown: 0.3% government: 13.4%
academic: 1.1% business or industry: 21.0%
private practice: 38.8% judicial clerkships: 20.7%
TYPE OF POSITION: BREAKDOWN OF REPORTING CLASS OF 2014 GRADUATES
bar passage required: 52.4%
j.d. advantage: 25.6%
What is J.D. advantage? The National Association for Law Placement defines it as “a category of jobs for which bar passage is not required but for which a J.D. degree provides a distinct advantage.”
other professional: 8.0%
nonprofessional: 1.9% pursuing an additional full-time degree: 0.3% unknown: 0.3%
unemployed—seeking employment: 8.9% unemployed—not seeking employment: 2.6%
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“ I found two internships through connections at the law school. For my position with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, I was first recommended by another student, and then Assistant Dean for Law Career Development Jill Green went out of her way to reach out to me and say, ‘I think you would be a great candidate for this position.’ She was also instrumental in helping me obtain an internship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.” Philip Motsay current law student While at UB: legal intern, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland; legal intern, Office of the Maryland Attorney General; staff editor, University of Baltimore Law Review B.S., TOWSON UNIVERSITY, TOWSON, MARYLAND
University of Baltimore School of Law / 31
You’re ready for UB. What’s next? Just a few steps stand between you and the beginning of your law career. GETTING STARTED • Visit the Law School Admission Council online at www.lsac.org. There, you’ll find our application, information about the LSAT and a guide to the law school application process.
• First-year and transfer applicants are required to register for the Credential Evaluation Service. • Applicants for all programs are encouraged to apply through LSAC. If you need to use a paper application, you may download the 2015 application at law.ubalt.edu/applynow. • The School of Law admits students on a rolling basis. First-year applications are accepted for the fall semester only.
Scholarships for Maryland Residents You are automatically considered for Maryland Higher Education Commission scholarships if you complete the FAFSA by May 1, are a Maryland resident and meet need-based requirements.
Scholarships for Academic Excellence
FALL 2015 ENTERING CLASS*
Upper-level students who excel academically in law school are eligible for scholarships through the Royal Graham Shannonhouse III Honor Society.
Day Program Median GPA: 3.315 Median LSAT score: 152 Gender: 47% male | 53% female Median age: 23
Learn more about these scholarships at law.ubalt.edu/scholarships.
Evening Program Median GPA: 3.2 Median LSAT score: 150 Gender: 45% male | 55% female Median age: 28
Ethnicity Asian: 3.5% American Indian/Alaskan Native: 1.5% Black: 18.5% Caucasian (non-Hispanic): 68% Hispanic: 4.5% Identify with two or more ethnicities: 0.5% Not specified: 3.5% Students come from 93 undergraduate institutions and from 17 states. *data as of Aug. 7, 2015
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SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS At the UB School of Law, we offer scholarships and grants to as many of our most qualified applicants as possible. Roughly 64 percent of fall 2015 admitted applicants were offered a scholarship or grant. The average offer to admitted applicants was $14,000 for Maryland residents and $17,000 for students from out of state. For the fall 2015 entering class, 53 percent of enrolled students received scholarships or grants.
VISIT US The Office of Law Admissions can help you explore the opportunities offered by the UB School of Law. Schedules for classroom visits and counseling appointments can be found at law.ubalt.edu/admissions.
University of Baltimore School of Law Office of Law Admissions 1420 N. Charles St. Baltimore, MD 21201 lawadmissions@ubalt.edu 410.837.4459
Mark Scurti, J.D. ’91 associate judge, Baltimore City District Court While at UB: cofounder of OUTLaw, a student organization that promotes education and awareness about the legal issues facing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community Since law school: Before Scurti opened his own practice—which he ran for 15 years—he worked for two law firms. He was appointed to the Baltimore City District Court by then-Gov. Martin O’Malley in September 2013.
“ I applied to the University of Baltimore because of the evening program that was offered. My professional career at that time had been in hotel sales and marketing with limited growth opportunities, and I knew that I wanted to learn and do more. My experience at UB reassured me that I had made the right decision in changing careers and especially the right choice in selecting UB.” University of Baltimore School of Law / 33
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University of Baltimore School of Law Office of Law Admissions 1420 N. Charles St. Baltimore, MD 21201 lawadmissions@ubalt.edu 410.837.4459