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University of Nebraska College of Law
At Nebraska Law, they focus on developing inclusive leaders who strive for justice, work to solve problems and act with integrity. Their students receive a world-class legal education and work with professors who actively address real-world issues through legal research, scholarship, and programming.
Contents
History
The University of Nebraska College of Law was established in 1891 when the University's Board of Regents voted to take over the private, two-year-old Central Law College and incorporate it into the University system. The first classes were offered in the fall of 1891 under the direction of Dean Manoah B. Reese. In 1893, Reese was replaced by Roscoe Pound, credited with revolutionizing legal education by making academic legal study the primary means of preparation for law practice. He introduced the case method of legal studies, instituted 'practice courts,' and raised admission requirements by requiring a high school diploma for entrance. Pound's successor in 1907 was George P. Costigan, Jr., who served as the dean until 1909 when William B. Hastings replaced him. Hastings facilitated the move of the College from University Hall, where classes had been conducted since 1891, to the new College of Law building at 10th and "R."
Admissions
There is no place quite like Nebraska, and their law school is the perfect place to prepare you to be a leader inclusive of all. Nebraska Law offers a Big Ten legal education, resulting in high bar passage rates and employment rates at a low tuition cost. The faculty and staff at Nebraska Law will help you reach your goals and positively impact your community.
Statistics
| Admissions Stats | ||
| Class of: | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 |
| 25th - 50th - 75th percentile LSAT | 153 - 156 - 159 | 155 - 158 - 161 |
| 25th - 50th - 75th percentile GPA | 3.37 - 3.63 - 3.9 | 3.38 - 3.64 - 3.95 |
| Acceptance rate | 66.2% | 62.6% |
| Applications received | 690 | 797 |
| Acceptances | 457 | 499 |
| Matriculants | 101 | 107 |
In 2022, 797 people applied to the University of Nebraska's law school, and 499 were offered admission. Out of the 499 people offered admission, 158 accepted, meaning that the law school had a yield of 31.66%. The median LSAT at the University of Nebraska was 158, and the 25th percentile LSAT was 155. The median GPA was 3.64, and the 25th percentile GPA was 3.38.
Application Requirements
You don't need any specific undergraduate courses or majors to apply to Nebraska Law. You must have your bachelor's degree to begin your first year of law school, but you can complete only some of the requirements for a bachelor's degree before applying. You must register for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). Once you've applied and completed all the necessary components of CAS, the University of Nebraska College of Law will receive your law school report from LSAC. This report will include you LSAT scores, LSAT writing sample, a summary of academic work, copies of all postsecondary transcripts, and letters of recommendation.
You will need to collect the following information, your current and permanent addresses, all institutions you have attended, all employment (beginning with the most recent), military information (if applicable), family or emergency contact information, and character and fitness information. This includes any tickets, citations, charges, or arrests you have been involved in (other than minor traffic violations), any disciplinary action taken against you by a postsecondary school, and if you have ever attended law school.
Application Deadline
The University of Nebraska College of Law accepts applications from September 1 to March 1. The admissions committee reviews applications on a rolling basis, and it is recommended that you apply as early as possible. The University of Nebraska College of Law does not participate in a binding Early Action/Early Decision program.
Transferring
The College of Law accepts applications from students who wish to transfer from other law schools. To be eligible, students must have completed at least one year, but less than two years, of law school and be able to re-enroll in their previous school. Generally, transfer students are given credit for their classes at their previous school if they received a grade of "C" or better. However, these grades will not be computed into the student's law school GPA for class standing or Order of the Coif eligibility. No credit is given for courses taken Pass/Fail at the previous law school. If the student did not take any course, or its equivalent, required by the College of Law, they would need to take and pass the course or its equivalent at the College of Law.
Cost of Attendance
The tuition for the 2022-23 academic year at the College of Law is $406 per credit hour for residents of Nebraska and $1,094 per credit hour for non-residents. In addition to tuition, students will pay estimated University fees of $664 each semester and a Law College fee of $1,050 each semester. First-year students take 15 credit hours in both the first and second semesters. First-year Tuition and estimated fees for a resident is $15,648. First-year tuition and estimated fees for a non-resident are $36,288. Upperclass students take an average of 15 credit hours each semester, although full-time upper-class students can take between 12 and 18 hours each semester. A total of 93 credit hours is required to graduate.
Please Note: The costs above are only estimates and are subject to change. Please consult the University of Nebraska's website for the most accurate and up-to-date tuition information. Source: https://law.unl.edu/admissions/jd-admissions/tuition-and-financial-aid/cost-attendance/index.shtml
Student Budgets 2022-2023 First Year JD Student Budget
| Resident Student | |||
| Resident Hall | Off-Campus | Living with Parents | |
| Tuition & Fees | $15,648 | $15,648 | $15,648 |
| Room & Board | $13,350 | $13,350 | $6,200 |
| Books & Supplies | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Personal Expenses | $1,458 | $1,458 | $1,458 |
| Transportation | $2,192 | $2,192 | $2,192 |
| Loan Fee Unsub/Grad Plus | 162/448 | 162/448 | 162/448 |
| Non-Resident Student | |||
| Tuition & Fees | $36,288 | $36,288 | $36,288 |
| Room & Board | $13,350 | $13,350 | $6,200 |
| Books & Supplies | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Personal Expenses | $1,458 | $1,458 | $1,458 |
| Transportation | $2,192 | $2,192 | $2,192 |
| Loan Fee Unsub/Grad Plus | 162/448 | 162/448 | 162/448 |
| TOTAL | $55,898 | $55,898 | $48,748 |
Financial Aid
The University of Nebraska College of Law offers a variety of scholarships and federally sponsored loans to help finance legal education. The total amount of financial aid, including academic scholarships, opportunity scholarships, and loans, cannot exceed the estimate of student expenses for the academic year. The University of Nebraska Financial Aid Office sets this estimate each year.
Scholarship
The College of Law offers scholarships to incoming and upper-class students. When awarding scholarships, the committee considers various factors, including academic credentials, economic or educational disadvantages, academic promise, past or present military service, and commitment to providing legal services to underserved communities. The college awards scholarships to enhance diversity in the student body. No separate application is required to be considered for a scholarship, but students are welcome to include an optional diversity statement if applicable.
Schmid Family CASNR Scholarships
The Schmid Family Scholarship is for students and graduates of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources who are admitted to Nebraska Law’s 3+3 or traditional JD program for legal studies at the University of Nebraska College of Law. These scholarships provide full tuition and fees scholarships to CASNR students.
Duane W. Acklie Honor Scholarship
The Duane W. Acklie Honor Scholarship is half tuition and fees awarded to select applicants who graduated from a Nebraska high school or have a parent or grandparent who graduated from a University of Nebraska system school. Preference is given to students from rural parts of Nebraska (outside Lincoln and Omaha) and students with financial needs. Applicants must apply and be admitted to Nebraska Law and apply online for the Acklie Honor Scholarship by no later than November 15th. Successful candidates must pay their first and second deposits by January 1st, 2023.
Public Interest Scholars Program
The Public Interest Scholars Program at Nebraska Law is designed to identify and support students who demonstrate dedication to public service. The program provides financial assistance, mentoring, and unique programming and networking opportunities to help these students become leaders within the Nebraska Law community and the public interest legal community.
Standing Bear Scholarship
The Standing Bear Scholarship is a full tuition and fees award given to Native American students admitted as full-time students to Nebraska Law. This scholarship is named in honor of the Ponca Chief Standing Bear and commemorates the importance of the fundamental human rights guaranteed under our constitution.
Employment Prospects & Bar Passage
Graduates from the University of Nebraska who complete a JD make, on average, $70,000 annually if they work in the private sector. If they enter the private sector, they can expect to make an average of $60,000. More than half of law graduates from the University of Nebraska immediately work for law firms, while 6.1% clerk for a judge. Another 12.3% go into public interest work. Almost all (92.7%) graduates pass the bar on their first try.
Academics and Curriculum
At Nebraska Law, their students can create their own unique academic experience. Their students can pursue their passions through concentrations and have the flexibility to customize their coursework through clinics, externships, and other electives. This focus on individualization alongside their core legal classes makes a Nebraska Law education unlike any other institution. For example, several joint degree programs, such as JD/MBA or law and political science, are available. Students can also participate in professional activities such as Law Review or Moot Court.
First Year Curriculum
- Contracts
Law 501/G; 5 credit hours
The basic principles governing the creation, interpretation, and enforcement of private agreements.
- Torts
Law 503; 4 credit hours
The legal protection that is given to someone in civil proceedings against someone else interfering with their security is known as tort law. Tort law governs the various types of claims that can be made by a person who has been harmed, such as intentional wrongdoing, negligence, and strict liability. Tort law is based on theoretical principles that aim to protect victims and provide them with a remedy for their injuries.
- Criminal Law
Law 508/G; 3 credit hours
The purpose of substantive criminal law is to establish rules that dictate when a person is criminally liable for their actions and provide a framework of defenses that can be used to protect people from criminal liability. The general principles and doctrines that underlie this area of law are essential to understand, as they can help to inform decisions about individual cases.
- Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research
Law 513/G; 3 credit hours
The main focus of this course is to help students develop solid legal research and writing skills. Writing is the primary way lawyers communicate, so it's essential to be effective when writing. In addition to teaching research and writing skills, we will discuss professionalism and ethics. This will help students make informed decisions and behave ethically in their professional lives.
- Property
Law 505/G; 5 credit hours The course may include problems in the areas of possession, gifts of personal property, bona fide purchasers of personal property, estates in land, landlord and tenant law, the modern land transaction, controlling the use of land, easements, licenses, and equitable servitudes, and constitutional limitations on the power of government to restrict individual economic liberties.
- Civil Procedure
Law 516/G; 4 credit hours
An introduction to the theory and practice of litigation in federal and state courts. It covers topics such as jurisdiction, pleading, joinder, discovery, motion practice, the right to trial by jury, and appellate review.
- International Perspectives in the U.S. Legal System: Practicing Law in a Global Legal Environment
Law 518/G; 3 credit hours
This course will help students understand how international law affects traditional first-year courses in the United States and how to handle the inevitable treaty and foreign law issues that can arise in the practice of law. The course will cover the sources of international law and the relationship between international law and the U.S. legal system. It will also include an overview of conflict of law rules, a survey of differences and similarities in major legal systems worldwide, and a comparative examination of how foreign legal systems regulate other areas of law studied in the first year.
- Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research
514/G 3 credit hours
The focus of this course is to help students develop their legal research and writing skills. Writing is a lawyer's most commonly used skill, so it is important to be effective. To communicate like a lawyer, one must also be professional and ethical in their choices. This course introduces students to professionalism and the skills necessary to make ethical decisions.
Joint Degree Programs
The dual degree programs at Nebraska School of Law offer an excellent opportunity for students to expand their studies. These programs allow students to pursue a J.D. simultaneously with a Master of Arts or doctorate. This is an excellent option for highly ambitious and dedicated students who want to complete two degrees faster than if they pursued each degree individually.
Externships
Nebraska Law announced a new field placement (externship) program for students in the spring of 2023. The Director of Externships leads the new program and allows students to gain course credit for work completed outside the college in professional settings. Placements vary from non-profits to government, military, law firms, and businesses. In short, these placements offer students practical experiences that can help them apply their learning in a natural life setting, with support from both classmates and faculty.
Cambridge Study Abroad Program
Downing College at Cambridge University offers a unique opportunity for law students to gain new perspectives on the legal field. This program allows participants to learn from some of the world’s most respected legal scholars and professionals. This program is an excellent option to expand your legal knowledge.
Quality of Life
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law is located in Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln is the capital of the state of Nebraska and its second-largest city. The city provides all the excitement and amenities that one would expect from the second-largest city in Nebraska. It's not as big as NYC or Chicago, but there are plenty for college (or law) students to do if they want to look. Despite the Huskers' recent fall from national football prominence, college sports fans will always be able to root for a perennial contender.
Lincoln, Nebraska, is a great place to live if you want the big city feel and the comfort of a close-knit community. You can find various housing options in Lincoln, from modern apartments to pet-friendly houses and the cost of living is lower than the national average. Lincoln and Omaha (45 minutes away) offer plenty of job opportunities, and Lincoln also has 130 miles of biking and running trails. Lincoln's community is tight-knit, allowing various interactions with alumni. The schools are also strong in Lincoln, and plenty of kid-friendly entertainment options exist.
The Nebraska State Capitol offers many opportunities for law students. Students can work with state senators to propose new legislation, advocate for policy change, and testify in legislative hearings. Law students also have the opportunity to get summer and part-time employment with agencies such as the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office and the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services. Additionally, externship opportunities allow students to earn credit while gaining practical experience working with judges and government agencies.
Synopsis
The University of Nebraska College of Law has been preparing leaders to impact their communities for over a hundred years positively. Their alums are public interest lawyers, lawmakers, public defenders and prosecutors, judges, and other client-serving professionals who use their skills and knowledge to make a difference. The faculty and staff at the College of Law are dedicated to providing their students with opportunities for experiential learning and a curriculum that will give them the skills they need to be successful leaders. They are committed to producing individuals who have integrity and serve others with distinction.
Contact Information
University of Nebraska
College of Law
Admissions Office
172 Ross McCollum Hall
P.O. Box 830902
Lincoln, NE 68583-0902
Email: lawadmissions@unl.edu
Phone: (402)472-8333 / (800)742-8800
Fax: (402)472-5185
https://law.unl.edu/apply/
Summary
| Established | 1891 |
| Location | Lincoln, NE |
| Dean | Richard E. Moberly |
| 2022 US News Ranking | 78th |
| LSAT Median Score | 158 |
| GPA Median Score | 3.64 |
| Bar Passage Rate | 92% (2022) |
| Employment Rate | 67% (2022) |
| Cost | $36,288 Resident Hall $15,648 Off-Campus | $36,288 Off-Campus |
| Average Debt | $72,008 |
| Application Deadline | March 1, 2023 |
Forum and Discussion
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Reference
University of Nebraska College of Law
https://law.unl.edu/
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