The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four public law schools in New England. As of 2020, it enrolled 488 students.
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Background
Founded in 1921 as the Hartford College of Law, the law school is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. In 1948 it affiliated with the University of Connecticut, now ranked among the top 25 public research universities nationally. The law school's Collegiate Gothic-style buildings were constructed in 1925, with the exception of the Thomas J. Meskill Law Library, which was completed in 1996. The campus housed the Hartford Seminary until 1981 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Academics
In addition to the Juris Doctor (JD) degree, the law school offers several joint degrees, combining a Juris Doctor degree with a Master of Laws, Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Affairs Administration, Master of Public Health, or Master of Social Work. UConn Law offers LLM degrees in Energy and Environmental Law, Human Rights and Social Justice, U.S. Legal Studies and Insurance Law—the only LLM program in insurance law in the United States. UConn Law also offers the SJD (Doctor of the Science of Laws) degree and a professional certificate in corporate and regulatory compliance.
JD and LLM candidates may pursue certificates in Corporate and Regulatory Compliance, Energy and Environmental Law, Human Rights, Intellectual Property, and Tax Studies. JD candidates may also earn certificates in Insurance Law and Regulation, Law and Public Policy, and Transactional Practice. LLM candidates may also pursue a certificate in Financial Services or one of four Foundational Certificates in U.S. Law.
In addition, UConn Law offers 19 clinics and field placement programs that provide hands-on, practical training to upper-level students who earn up to 10 credits for their work. These clinics include Animal Law, Asylum and Human Rights, Energy and Environmental Law, Children's Advocacy, Criminal, Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Law, Mediation, U.S. Attorney's, and Tax clinics. Seminars in a multitude of different substantive areas are available to upper-level students for about 3 credits. Internships and field work are available to upper-level students. Research positions are open to upper-level students under the direction of a faculty adviser.
Library
The 120,000-square-foot (11,000 m2) Thomas J. Meskill Law Library is one of the largest law libraries in the country and houses the most comprehensive collection of insurance materials in the country. The Law Library has access to hundreds of electronic databases, including Westlaw, Lexis and Bloomberg. It has five classrooms, 12 group study rooms, an adaptive technology study room, a meditation room, a café, two student lounges, and 285 study carrels, with total seating for 964. The Law Library works closely with the University of Connecticut Libraries, which form the largest public research collection in the state of Connecticut. The main library is the Homer D. Babbidge Library at the Storrs campus.
Law journals and publications
UConn Law students produce four scholarly journals: the Connecticut Law Review, the Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal, the Connecticut Insurance Law Journal, and the Connecticut Journal of International Law.
The Connecticut Law Review is the oldest, largest, and most active student-run publication at the School of Law.
The Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal is a student-run biannual law review published by the school. It was established in 2001 and is abstracted and indexed in HeinOnline. Every fall, the journal hosts a symposium on issues related to public interest law.
The Connecticut Journal of International Law is a biannual student-edited law review covering international and comparative law. It has published by the school since 1985. The journal sponsors an annual symposium. It is abstracted and indexed in EBSCO and ProQuest databases as well as in HeinOnline.
The Insurance Law Review is a quarterly law review covering insurance law. It was established in 1994. The journal is abstracted and indexed in HeinOnline, EBSCO and ProQuest databases, the Index to Legal Periodicals & Books, and the Emerging Sources Citation Index.
Admission
According to the University of Connecticut's official 2021 ABA-required Standard 509 Information Report, the university offered admission to 28.79 percent of JD applicants. For the 2021 first-year class, the University of Connecticut School of Law received 1,754 completed applications and offered admission to 505 applicants, of which 144 enrolled.
Employment
91.61% of UConn Law's Class of 2017 passed a bar examination within two years.
Ten months after graduation, 90.4% of the Class of 2019 was employed, with 72% obtaining Bar Passage Required employment (employment as an attorney). University of Connecticut's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 9.6%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2021 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.
Faculty
Thirteen members of the full-time faculty hold doctoral degrees. Notable faculty members include:
Loftus Becker, Professor Emeritus
Robert L. Birmingham, Professor of Law
Timothy Fisher, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law
James Kwak, Professor of Law
Peter Lindseth, Olimpiad S. Ioffe Professor of International and Comparative Law
Thomas Morawetz, Tapping Reeve Professor of Law and Ethics
Steven Wilf, Anthony J. Smits Professor of Global Commerce
Notable alumni
Bethany J. Alvord, 1982, Judge of the Connecticut Appellate Court
Elizabeth B. Amato, 1982, senior vice president at United Technologies Corporation
Bessye Anita Warren Bennett, 1973, the first African American woman to practice law in Connecticut
Francisco L. Borges, 1978, former Connecticut State Treasurer and managing partner of Landmark Partners
Leonard C. Boyle, 1983, Deputy Chief State's Attorney (Operations) for the State of Connecticut; Chief, Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut (1999-2004); Commissioner of the State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety (2004-2007); Director of the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center (2007-2009)
Natalie Braswell, 2007, Connecticut State Comptroller (2021-present); first African American to serve in that office
Vanessa Lynne Bryant, 1978, U.S. District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
Justin Clark, 2004, Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Director of Public Liaison.
Eric D. Coleman, 1977, Deputy President pro tempore in the Connecticut Senate.
Joe Courtney, 1978, U.S. Representative for Connecticut's Second District
Alfred V. Covello, 1960, Senior U.S. District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
Bill Curry, 1977, political analyst and journalist; two-time Democratic nominee for Governor of Connecticut; White House advisor in the administration of Bill Clinton
Deans of the School of Law
1921—1933 George Lilliard
1932—1933 Farrell Knapp
1933—1934 Thomas A. Larremore
1934—1942 Edward Graham Biard
1942—1946 Laurence J. Ackerman
1946—1966 Bert Earl Hopkins, J.S.D.
1966—1967 Cornelius J. Scanlon (interim)
1967—1972 Howard R. Sacks
1972—1974 Francis C. Cady (interim)
1974—1984 Phillip I. Blumberg
1984—1990 George Schatzki
1990—2000 Hugh C. Macgill
2000—2006 Nell Jessup Newton
2006—2007 Kurt A. Strasser (interim)
2007—2012 Jeremy R. Paul
2012—2013 Willajeanne F. McLean (interim)
2013—2020 Timothy Fisher
2020— Eboni Nelson