SMU Dedman School of Law

Southern Methodist Law

The SMU Dedman School of Law is one of two law schools in Dallas and is widely considered to be among the finest law schools in the Southwest region. Located on a lush tree-lined campus in what is regarded as the most prestigious section of Dallas, SMU Law provides its students with a wonderful setting in which they can pursue their legal education. Upon graduation, these students enjoy tremendous job prospects in Texas--especially in Dallas--and most choose to begin their law careers within the state. For applicants hoping to do the same, SMU Law should be near the top of the list.

History

The Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University was established in 1925. In 2001, it was renamed in honor of Dallas benefactors Nancy and Robert H. Dedman, Sr., and their family. The Dean of the law school is Jason P. Nance, who is also a Judge James Noel Dean and Professor of Law. The law school has a national and international reputation for training prominent lawyers in law and business.

The SMU Law faculty is highly respected for its contributions to the law. The faculty has a variety of strengths, including business and corporate law, international law, intellectual property, energy law, and family law and advocacy. In addition, their students have many opportunities to gain practical legal experience through our clinics and projects. Their Underwood Law Library is also one of the country's largest private academic law libraries. The alums include prominent individuals such as justices on the Texas Supreme Court, members of the U.S. Congress, an ambassador, a governor, and foreign ministers.

Admissions

The Dedman School of Law is a great place to get your legal education. The curriculum is rich, and you get opportunities for practical experience. It's also in a close-knit learning community where you can engage in intellectual conversation. The Dedman School of Law is a great place to get your legal education. They have been training lawyers for nearly 100 years and have a reputation for producing some of the best in the business. The regular decision for application and supporting materials will be due on March 1. The decision notification will be at the end of April.

Statistics

Admissions Stats
Class of:	2020-2021	2021-2022
25th - 50th - 75th percentile LSAT	156 - 162 - 164	158 - 163 - 164
25th - 50th - 75th percentile GPA	3.44 - 3.73 - 3.84	3.43 - 3.76 - 3.89
Acceptance rate	40.8%	33.4%
Applications received	1847	2334
Acceptances	753	780
Matriculants	328	345

SMU has a 1L class size of 226. Out of the 2,334 people who applied, 780 were offered admission. 224 out of 780 applicants offered admission were accepted, meaning that 28.72% of those offered admission ended up attending the school. The median LSAT at SMU is 163, and the 25th percentile LSAT is 158. The median GPA is 3.76, and the 25th percentile GPA is 3.43.

Application Deadline

The regular decision deadline is March 1. If you take the February LSAT, your application and all supporting materials must be received by March 1 to be considered. You will be informed by the end of April. If you want to apply for a late decision, your application will be reviewed on a space-available basis. Applications are completed as received, and decisions are made shortly after that.

Application Process

In order to apply to law school, you must submit an electronic application, as well as a CAS report. Your file will not be reviewed until all required materials have been received. Letters of recommendation are optional, but if you choose to submit them, we will only accept up to three. You can submit your letters of recommendation through the CAS Letter of Recommendation Service.

Transfers

The traditional first-year law curriculum at another law school may be completed by a student in order to be eligible to apply for admission with advanced standing at Suffolk University Law School. A student who has been excluded from or who is on probation at another school will not be admitted. Admission is selective. Applications for transfer are reviewed for fall, spring, or summer admission. To read a fantastic article about transferring, click here.

Tuition and Expenses

Legal education at SMU can be expensive, but the school offers scholarships and loan options to help students finance their education. These financial options are essential investments in your future, and SMU is committed to helping you afford this investment. The Law, J.D. program has different rates for students who take 1-8 hours, 9-11 hours, or 12-17 hours. Students who take more than 17 hours will be charged $26,257 plus an additional $2,020 per credit hour taken over the 17-hour limit. This rate also includes the general student fee.

Cost of Attendance

The estimated cost of attendance for the 2022-2023 school year at SMU Dedman School of Law includes tuition and living expenses. The law school has set a maximum loan amount available to students for living expenses.

Tuition and Living Expenses 2022 - 2023
Housing/Meals	$18,389
Personal/misc.	$4,000
Transportation	$2,848
Books and supplies	$2,000
Loan fees	$1,270
Total non-tuition allowances	$28,507
Tuition	$54,090
General Fees	$6,968
Total allowances	$88,238

A student may also borrow to pay for costs not covered by scholarships. This means that a student with no scholarship could borrow the total tuition amount below. In contrast, a scholarship recipient could borrow an amount equal to the total below minus the scholarship amount.

Scholarships and Loans

The Scholarship Committee awards scholarships to entering first-year students based on academic achievement and potential, as well as life experiences. The Committee uses the available funds to attract students who will enhance SMU Dedman School of Law with their skills and experiences. All applications completed by the regular decision deadline are automatically considered for academic scholarships. Scholarships for full-time students are typically awarded based on an outstanding undergraduate record and a strong performance on the LSAT.

Private Scholarship Opportunities:

The Charles and Peggy Galvin Endowment Fund was established in 1979 to provide scholarships for students based on merit. Approximately three students per entering class are awarded the prestigious Hutchison Scholarship, which covers the total cost of tuition and fees. The Luce Scholarship is also a full-tuition, four-year scholarship awarded to one student per year. The Dedman School of Law Impact Scholarship provides a full-tuition, three-year scholarship for an incoming law student with demonstrated leadership abilities from an economically or educationally underserved community with a preference for a first-generation college student. Selected students will also have the opportunity to mentor one-on-one with prominent attorneys to provide them with advice and guidance during their law school experience. There is no separate application required to receive any of these scholarships.

The Sumners Foundation Scholarship:

The Sumners Foundation Scholarship covers tuition, fees, and a stipend for living expenses and textbooks. The Sumners Foundation selects between four and six outstanding students to receive these scholarships each year. If you are a permanent resident of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, or Texas, you may apply for a Sumners Foundation Scholarship. SMU and the Sumners Foundation have worked together to change the name of this scholarship program to reflect better their unwavering commitments to diversity, inclusion, and excellence.

The Sarah T. Hughes Scholarship:

The Sarah T. Hughes Scholarship is offered by the Dallas Bar Foundation that covers the total cost of tuition and fees for outstanding students of color each year. You must complete the separate SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION to be considered for the scholarship. Your scholarship application must be completed and on file with the Dallas Bar Foundation by February 15. To be admitted to the JD program by February 15, you must complete an application for admission by January 15.

Law School Culture

The law school is committed to having a diverse student body, 32 percent of the 2021 incoming class are students of color and approximately 50 percent are female. We also boast these student organizations which are active within the law school and the community: Black Law Students Association (BLSA), Hispanic Law Students Association (HLSA), Asian/Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA), South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA) and OUTLaw Students Association. Visit the Office of Diversity and Inclusion for more information.

Pre-Law Scholars Program

The Pre-Law Scholars Program is a selective program open to a limited number of students each year admitted to SMU as undergraduates. Participants in the program who meet certain conditions will be guaranteed admission into SMU Dedman School of Law after they graduate from SMU. The selection process for the scholars is based on the overall quality of the student's application to SMU, and no additional application or essay is required. Once admitted to the Pre-Law Scholars Program, invitations to join are sent out after regular decisions are made.

Academics & Curriculum

The University of Texas at Dallas offers many opportunities for students to get involved in academics. These include centers and institutes such as the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center, the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation, and the Robert B. Rowling Center for Business Law and Leadership. These centers offer unique opportunities for students to get involved in research, scholarship, and leadership development.

Conferences, Symposia, & Lecture Series

Each year, SMU Dedman Law hosts a variety of presentations, distinguished speakers, academic conferences, and symposia on various topics of national and international relevance. Faculty, alums, and students participate in these events, where important topics are discussed and debated.

SMU Law Journals

The journals are staffed by second and third-year law students guided by faculty advisors and community members serving on the Boards of Advisors. These students solicit, edit, and publish over 150 articles each year. In addition, the journals host several symposia events each year, bringing together legal scholars and practitioners from across the globe.

Study Abroad in Oxford

SMU Dedman School of Law offers, in association with University College, an annual program at University College. The program includes a tour of “Legal London,” as well as a visit to the U.K. Supreme Court. This program is part of SMU’s strong tradition of training lawyers from the U.S. and abroad to practice law in a global environment. Over 650 law students have participated in this summer program since its inception. Students earn five hours of credit by taking one course taught by an SMU professor and one Oxford-style tutorial taught by an Oxford tutor. Participants live and take their meals at historic University College, Oxford. The 2020 Oxford program will begin on Monday, June 29, 2020, and run through Saturday, August 1, 2020. As in the past, the number of students enrolled in the program will be small. Thirty-six students will be accepted to attend the program. The small class sizes encourage a sense of community and allow active participation of all students. Enrollment has varied in recent years from 32 to 36 students. The program is limited to students enrolled in SMU Dedman School of Law.

The curriculum at SMU law school is rich in substantive courses and practical skills training. This provides their students with a broad range of specialized knowledge in areas such as antitrust, bankruptcy, commercial, corporate and securities, employment, environmental, health care, financial institutions, intellectual property, international, litigation (including alternative dispute resolution), real estate, and tax law. Additionally, public law offerings are vast, covering topics such as administrative law, constitutional law, criminal law, civil rights law, and international public law. The clinical and externship programs offer many opportunities for students to apply their classroom learning in practical settings and see how the law affects both individual clients and society as a whole.

Clinics

The Dedman School of Law clinics provide students with opportunities to serve the community and specialize in various areas of law. These clinics are essential to our mission to provide excellent legal education and public service. The clinics allow students to develop professional responsibility and skills in a natural world setting.

Externships

SMU's Externship Program provides students with the opportunity to gain practical experience by working in legal settings under the supervision of a mentor-attorney and law faculty member. With three distinct programs, nearly 200 students each year can participate in our Corporate Counsel, Federal Judicial, and Government & Public Interest Externships, allowing students to gain legal work experiences in non-profits, courtrooms, local and federal government agencies, and corporate counsel offices.

Moot Court

The Board of Advocates is a student-led organization that promotes practical experience in written and oral advocacy through various competitions throughout the school year. The BOA coordinates intramural mock trials, moot court, negotiation, client counseling, and mediation competitions open to all SMU law students. These competitions are judged by local practitioners and members of the law faculty. The BOA also sponsors student teams for state, national, and international interscholastic mock trials, moot courts, negotiation, client counseling, and mediation competitions.

Public Service

The public service graduation requirement encourages students to gain hands-on experience and professional development by allowing them to help meet the needs of the community for free legal service. There are relationships with over 90 different public interest organizations in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, so students have ample opportunity to find an organization that coordinates with their interests.

Simulated Learning

Simulation courses, such as trial advocacy, contract drafting, real estate practice, small business representation, patent prosecution, and patent litigation, provide opportunities for students to learn and practice the skills they need to be successful in their chosen field. These courses are designed to give students a realistic experience that will help them better understand the challenges they may face in their professional life.

Quality of Life

Dallas is a city in the United States experiencing a lot of economic growth. Many excellent restaurants, shopping centers, and entertainment districts are located throughout the city. The weather is moderate, and the cost of living is low, making Dallas a great place to live. Many sports teams are also located in Dallas, making it a fun place to live year-round.

SMU's location in University Park, a prestigious neighborhood of Dallas, contributes to the high quality of life students enjoy at the university and the law school. The law school facilities are self-contained and located on the beautiful, green university campus, and have recently been updated through extensive renovations. Law students enjoy a newly built parking garage and dining hall at the law school and have access to the larger SMU campus's many facilities, including childcare, housing options, and fitness centers. Law students praise housing available on campus, and off-campus housing options are affordable and suitable close to the law school. In terms of nightlife, law students enjoy the variety of bars, clubs, and restaurants typically available in large metropolitan cities such as Dallas and participate in weekly happy hours arranged by the Student Bar Association. Traffic can be avoided through the use of Dallas's efficient public transportation system, and safety is rarely an issue at or around the law school.

The SMU Libraries and the Dedman School of Law's Underwood Law Library offer various services to students. The libraries provide access to resources such as books, journals, and databases and offer research assistance. The Dedman School of Law's Underwood Law Library is also home to the George W. Bush Presidential Center and the Meadows Museum.

Employment Prospects & Bar Passage

Southern Methodist Law

JD graduates from Southern Methodist University make a median of $100,000 if they work in the private sector. If they go into the private sector, they can expect to make $64,246. 75% of law graduates from Southern Methodist University go directly to work for law firms, while 3.2% clerk for a judge. 3.7% of graduates go into public interest. 85.2% of Southern Methodist University graduates pass the bar on their first try.

The information provided in the NALP reports includes the average and median salaries for different types of employment and a statistical range. The percentage of graduates who do report salary information varies from year to year. When considering salary information, prospective students should remember that the high and low ranges of reported salaries vary by employer sector.

Synopsis

Applicants with a fondness for Texas and the Southwest should give the SMU Dedman School of Law serious consideration. The school is among the finest in the region, and offers its students great job prospects in Texas and its neighboring states. While at SMU, most will likely enjoy a high quality of life that comes about in part as a result of the beautiful university campus on which the law school is situated.

Contact Information

Southern Methodist University
Dedman School of Law
Admissions Office
3300 University Blvd.
Carr Collins Building, Suite 331
Dallas, Texas 75205
Main Number: 214-768-2550
Fax Number: 214-768-2549
Email: lawadmit@smu.edu

https://www.smu.edu/Law/Admissions

Summary

Established	1925
Location	Dallas, Tx
Dean	Jason P. Nance
2022 US News Ranking	58th
LSAT Median Score	163
GPA Median Score	3.76
Bar Passage Rate	85% (2022)
Employment Rate	56%% (2022)
Cost	$54,090
Average Debt	$153,503
Application Deadline	March 1, 2023

Forum and Discussion

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Law School Admissions Forums
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Reference

https://www.smu.edu/law
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