SMU Dedman School of Law, commonly referred to as SMU Law School or Dedman School of Law is a prominent professional graduate law school located in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in February 1925. SMU Law School is located on the picturesque campus of Southern Methodist University, renowned for its classic Collegiate Georgian architecture. The school was renamed Dedman School of Law in February 2001 in honor of its benefactors, the late Robert H. Dedman, Sr. and his wife, Nancy.
Academic profile
SMU Dedman School of Law offers Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees. The school offers two joint degree programs, a J.D./M.A. in Economics and a J.D./M.B.A. The J.D./M.A. in Economics is offered in connection with the SMU Department of Economics in Dedman College and the J.D./M.B.A. is offered in connection with the Cox School of Business.
The SMU Dedman School of Law was one of the more selective law schools in the United States in 2008.
Programs and resources
Dedman Law publishes five law journals: The SMU Law Review, The International Lawyer, Journal of Air Law and Commerce, Law and Business Review of the Americas, and the SMU Science & Technology Law Review. Dedman Law offers a summer program at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, numerous international programs, and Underwood Law Library. Dedman Law offers several law clinics for upper-division students: the Child Advocacy Clinic, Civil Clinic, Criminal Justice Clinic, Federal Taxpayers Clinic, Consumer Advocacy Project, Small Business Clinic & Trademark Clinic, Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women, Innocence Clinic, Patent Law Clinic, and Vansickle Family Law Clinic.
Underwood Law Library
SMU’s Underwood Law Library is the largest private academic law library west of the Mississippi River. Its collections include approximately 665,000 law-related volumes and equivalents, ranking the library among the top 20% of law libraries in the United States. The subject area strengths of the Underwood Law Library’s collections are: taxation, securities, corporate law, labor law, air and space law, commercial and banking law, constitutional law, and law and medicine.
Rankings
In 2016, SMU Dedman School of Law was ranked 45th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
Employment
According to SMU's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 69.6% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. SMU's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 14.2%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.
Dedman School of Law holds top local and national rankings in job placement. All rankings based on statistics provided to the American Bar Association (ABA) by the 201 ABA accredited law schools for the class of 2014(unless noted otherwise).
- #1 Among Texas law schools’ placement for permanent, full-time jobs requiring bar passage and professional jobs where a JD is an advantage, that were not funded by the law school.
- #10 "Which Schools Produce the Most Super Lawyers?" â€" National Jurist, Fall 2015
- #18 "Which Law Schools are Worth Getting Into? Best Law Schools for Employment" â€" Huffington Post, July 2014
- #21 in the U.S. for "best law schools to make a connection and get a job" â€" Business Insider, 2015
- #28 2016 "Go-To Law Schools" for sending the highest percentage of 2015 graduates to the largest 100 law firms â€" National Law Journal, March 2016
- #29 Top 50 law schools with a methodology focusing primarily on employment data, large firm placement, federal clerkship placement and tuition/cost â€" Above the Law
Costs
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at SMU for the 2014-2015 academic year is $66,757. The average amount borrowed for law school by members of the 2014 graduating class was $124,617.38. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $259,552.
Notable faculty
- Bryan Garner
- Paul Hardin III
- A. Kenneth Pye
Notable alumni
- Keith Bergelt, former U.S. Diplomat and CEO of Open Invention Network
- Michael Boone, founder of Haynes and Boone, LLP
- Jane J. Boyle is a district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- Angela Braly, former President and Chief Executive Officer for WellPoint, Inc (now Anthem Inc)
- Raleigh Brown - member of the Texas House of Representatives; Texas State District Court judge in Abilene
- Jeff Cox (Legal Law Masters in Taxation) - judge since 2005 of the Louisiana 26th Judicial District Court of Bossier and Webster parishes
- Floyd D. Culbertson, Jr. - mayor of Minden, Louisiana 1940-1942; lawyer in Texas and Oklahoma, 1952-1989
- Robert H. Dedman Jr. former CEO of ClubCorp
- Robert H. Dedman Sr. founder of private club network ClubCorp, Inc. and the law school’s co-benefactor
- Craig T. Enoch is a former associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court
- Gerald J. Ford noted Texas banker and businessman
- David C. Godbey - federal judge
- Rusty Hardin is an American attorney and head of the Houston law firm Rusty Hardin & Associates, P.C
- O.H. "Ike" Harris, Texas State Senator
- Nathan Hecht is the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court
- Todd Ames Hunter, Texas State Representative
- Ray Hutchison (B.A. '57, J.D. '59) - former state representative and partner in Vinson and Elkins in Dallas; husband of U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
- Jerry Jones, Jr. is the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of the Dallas Cowboys
- S. M. Krishna is an Indian politician who served as Minister of External Affairs of India
- Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. - Justice, Supreme Court of Missouri
- Barbara M.G. Lynn - Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- Robert B. Maloney - federal judge
- Bagir Manan - Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indonesia
- Robert Mosbacher, Jr. is an American businessman, founder of BizCorps
- Harriet Miers White House Deputy Chief of Staff, White House Counsel for George W. Bush
- Lawrence E. Meyers - Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals since 1993; resides in Fort Worth
- John Ratcliffe is an American politician who serves as the Congressman for Texas's 4th congressional district
- Trevor Rees-Jones founder and chairman of Chief Oil & Gas
- Joseph Guy Rollins, Jr. ('41) - Houston lawyer
- Robert Rowling founder of TRT Holdings, the holding company of Omni Hotels & Resorts and Gold's Gym
- Edward B. Rust, Jr. chairman and chief executive officer of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
- Rick Scott American businessman, politician and 45th Governor of Florida
- Kenneth Sheets (J.D. 2004) - Dallas attorney and Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 107 in Dallas County since 2011
- Lamar S. Smith is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 21st congressional district
- Helmut Sohmen chairman of BW Group and a former Hong Kong legislator
- William Steger - Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- Tsai Hong-tu is a Taiwanese businessman and banker
- Leslie Ware founded PanOptisIP
References
External links
- Official website
