University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law

Overview ²

Founded in 1915, the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law is one of the world’s leading law schools. We have a 100-year history of graduating successful lawyers, and now we are shaping the next century of legal education.

Like the rugged Tucson landscape that surrounds our campus, we’re built to take on challenges. We’re rooted in tradition, but not bound by convention. We value diversity of thought, background, experience, and culture in every dimension of the law school experience.

Arizona Law is the only law school where you can earn a degree at any stage of your education, from undergraduate through doctoral. We provide more access to law school—and pathways into the law—than any school in the world.

Student-Faculty Ratio ³

9.8:1

Admission Criteria ⁴

	LSAT	GPA
25th-75th Percentile	155-163	3.19-3.75
Median*	161	3.57

The above LSAT and GPA data pertain to the fall 2016 entering class.

Director of admissions	Cary Lee Cluck
Application deadline	July 15

Law School Admissions details based on 2016 data.

*Medians have been calculated by averaging the 25th- and 75th-percentile values released by the law schools and have been rounded up to the nearest whole number for LSAT scores and to the nearest one-hundredth for GPAs.

Admission Statistics ⁵

Approximate number of applications	1392
Number accepted	480
Percentage accepted	34.5%

The above admission details are based on 2016 data.

Law School Cost ⁶

Tuition and fees Full-time:	$25,525 per year (in-state) $30,025 per year (out-of-state)
Room and board	$11,500
Books	$1,200
Miscellaneous expenses	$8,350

Class Ranking and Grades ⁷

Class Ranking

First-Year Class Ranking

The first-year class shall not be ranked until the end of the academic year. Advanced-admissions students are ranked with the students they take first-year classes with.

Second and Third-Year Class Ranking

The second- and third-year classes shall be ranked at the end of each semester. No new rankings are calculated following the summer or winter semesters. Students may be added or removed from a particular class ranking under special circumstances (such as students pursuing a dual-degree, transfers, or leaves of absence). Advanced admissions students who graduate in two years remain in the rankings for the purpose of ranking the three-year students that they entered law school with.

The College of Law employs the following letter grading system:

A	4.00
A-	3.667
B+	3.333
B	3.000
B-	2.667
C+	2.333
C	2.000
C-	1.667
D+	1.333
D	1.000
D-	0.667
E	0.00

Mandatory Plus and Minus Grades

Under the mandatory grading system described above:

1. A grade of A+, E+, or E- may not be awarded;


2. The grades of D+, D, and D- reflect varying degrees of unsatisfactory work. A grade of E reflects work that is so unsatisfactory as not to merit credit for the course.


3. For purposes of raising grades on the basis of class participation, an instructor’s discretion is limited to raising a grade by one grade increment only. For example, a B- may be raised only to a B and a B+ only to an A-.

Incomplete Work

A grade of I may be awarded if a student has not completed all the course work required for a grade. The grade of I may not be awarded if the student is expected to repeat the course; in such case, a grade of E or F shall be awarded. A grade of I is not calculated in GPA but shall be automatically changed to a final grade of E or F unless removed by a final grade within one year after the I is given. A student who receives a grade of I in a course may not audit or repeat the course before removing the incomplete. A student with an incomplete will not be placed on the Dean’s List even if the requirements are met.

Pass/Fail

In-house clinics may be graded on a graded or pass/fail basis; placement clinics (i.e., clinics where students primarily work with an attorney outside of the College of Law) shall be graded on a pass/fail basis.

Grade Normalization (Curve)⁸

The following rules apply with respect to class grade distributions at the Law College:

1. Mandatory Curve for First Year Classes. Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), grades must be distributed in the following manner: 15 percent A's, 15 percent A-'s, 25 percent B+'s, 25 percent B's, 10 percent B-'s, and 10 percent C+'s or lower.


2. Permitted Deviations From Mandatory Curve for First Year Classes. Faculty may not deviate more than plus or minus 2.5 percent from the mandatory grade curve prescribed above, except in extraordinary circumstances. Additionally, the combined number of As and A-s awarded must be 30 percent of the total grades awarded, plus or minus 2.5 percent, and the combined number of B+s, Bs, and B-s awarded must be 60 percent of the total grades awarded, plus or minus 2.5 percent. For example, a professor can give out anywhere between 12.5 percent and 17.5 percent As. But if the professor gives out 16.3 percent As, he or she can only give out between and 12.5 percent A-s (the minimum allowed) and 16.2 percent A-s (because any higher would be above 32.5 percent combined As and A-s. Faculty who believe that extraordinary circumstances justify a deviation of more than 2.5 percent for a particular class may seek permission to do so in writing, explicitly stating the reasons for the request, from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Unless the grades are accompanied by written approval signed by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Registrar may not record grades that deviate except as permitted in this section.


3. First-Year Classes Excepted from the Mandatory Curve. Fall semester Legal Process, Analysis, and Writing classes shall be graded on a pass/fail basis. Spring semester Legal Process, Analysis, and Writing classes, Introduction to Legal Research, and upper-level courses offered to first-year students as electives shall be graded as upper-level classes, described below.


4. Upper-Level Classes. For all upper-level classes other than substantial paper seminars and other courses excepted by this handbook or by a duly-passed faculty resolution, the target mean grade point average shall be 3.35. If the mean falls above or below the target mean, it shall in no event be greater than 3.5 or less than 3.2. Faculty may not deviate from this requirement except in extraordinary circumstances. Faculty who believe that extraordinary circumstances justify a mean grade point average that falls outside the prescribed range may seek permission to deviate in writing, explicitly stating the reasons for the request, from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Unless the grades are accompanied by written approval signed by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Registrar may not record grades that deviate from the grade point average prescribed in this paragraph.


5. Courses Exempt from Any Mandatory Curve or Mean. There is no mandatory mean GPA for substantial papers, in-house clinics, or graded fellows (such as writing fellows). Students who sign up for a substantial paper seminar under LAW 696N are not graded on a mandatory mean GPA, but students who are enrolled in the seminar class not numbered under LAW 696N will be graded using the mandatory mean GPA.


6. Cross-Listed Courses. A JD student who takes a cross-listed course in another department is subject to the policies above, including the mandatory mean. A student outside the College of Law who takes a cross-listed course from the College of Law is not subject to the mandatory curve or mean and should reference the professor’s syllabus and University policies for information on grading..

Honors ⁹

JD graduates of the College of Law that rank within the highest 25 percent of the grade point averages for those in a graduation class (a graduation class consists of the current year’s May graduates and the previous year’s August and December graduates) may be awarded degrees with honors. Only in the event that two or more graduates may have identical grade point averages that produce ties in rankings, more than 25 percent of those in the graduating class may be awarded degrees with honors.

Honor	Criteria
Order of the Coif		The College of Law is one of a select number of law schools holding membership in this prestigious national order. The faculty of the College of Law, in its discretion, awards this honor to JD graduates who are within the top 10 percent of the graduating class and who have completed at least 66 graded College of Law units.
summa cum laude	Highest Distinction	Top 7% of the class
magna cum laude	High Distinction	Next 7% of the class
cum laude	Distinction	Next 11% of the class
Dean’s List		A student who enrolls for and completes a minimum of 10 graded units of law credit in any semester and who receives at least a 3.30 average for that semester shall be placed on the Dean’s List.

Awards ¹⁰

Ralph W. Aigler	Outstanding graduating student
Order of the Barrister	Top 8-10 students from 2nd year moot court
Dean's List	10 graded units a semester with 3.30+ GPA
Grand Legal Writing Competition	Juried competition
Fegtly Moot Court Competition	Juried competition
Grand Damages Argument Competition	Juried competition
Ares Fellow	Selected by 1st year small section professors
Birmingham Trial Advocacy Award	Graduating student w/outstanding ability in trial advocacy
E. Herbert Herlihy Merit Award	Must be US citizen and must carry a full course load 3L year
W. George Herlihy Merit Award	3L student who achieved the highest academic ranking after 2
Rose Davis Public Service Award	Best demonstrates an awareness of the attorney's continuing
Dannie Lee Chandler Memorial Award	Special Contribution to the advancement of First Amendment v
Darrow K Soll Memorial Award	Demonstrates passion for criminal defense law.
Andrew Silverman Community Service Award	Outstanding contributions and inspired others - community
Roger C Henderson Distinguished Graduating Senior	Greatest contribution to College
Joseph M. Livermore Service Award	Greatest service to College
ALI ABA Scholarship & Leadership Award	Best represents combination of scholarship & leadership

Journals ^10-15

Law school publications contribute to legal scholarship and explore new areas of research in the theory and practice of law.

Student editorial boards work under the direction of student and faculty leadership to publish regular volumes, which can include notes or articles from scholars nationwide, jurists, and students whose writing and research reflects professional and scholarly quality. Editorial boards are selected every spring in a competitive process with established selection criteria.

Arizona Law's student-run journals allow many students to gain highly valued skills, as they learn to research, write, and edit as well as manage the publication's business operations.

Founded in 1959, the Arizona Law Review is a general-interest academic legal journal. The Review is edited and published quarterly by students of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.

The Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law (AJICIL) is an internationally distributed semi-annual publication dedicated to quality legal scholarship. AJICL publishes articles on a wide variety of international and comparative law topics with the goal of providing a forum for debate on current issues affecting international legal development. In addition to two annual issues, AJICL is also committed to publishing symposia that highlight international legal developments and emerging areas of international law.

The Arizona Journal of Environmental Law & Policy (AJELP) is an interdisciplinary online publication that examines environmental issues from legal, scientific, economic, and public policy perspectives. The student-run journal publishes articles on a rolling basis, providing timely legal and policy updates of interest to the environmental community.

The Arizona Law Journal of Emerging Technologies (AZLawJET) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary journal partnering the College of Law with the UA science and engineering departments, business schools and others. Together, members from these departments guide legal scholarship in response to the challenges and opportunities presented by advancing technologies. In order to do this, AZLawJET publishes annual editions of extensive findings and legal reasoning in addition to rolling publications regarding the latest technological developments and ideas.

Moot Court ¹⁶

Law students are introduced to oral and written appellate advocacy in the Moot Court programs. Each spring, second-year students can enroll in the second-year Moot Court competition, known as the Samuel M. Fegtly Moot Court Competition. LAW 653A, Advanced Legal Writing and Introduction to Appellate Advocacy, is a prerequisite to Fegtly Moot Court, Jessup Moot Court, and Pace Environmental Moot Court. Editing assistance and practice oral arguments are provided by the Moot Court Board (third-year students who excelled in the second-year competition the previous year). Each student writes a brief and argues before local attorneys, judges, faculty members, and members of the Moot Court Board. The briefs and preliminary oral rounds are scored, with the students scoring highest moving to the semifinals and finals. The finals are usually judged by a panel consisting of outstanding judges and practitioners. Past judges in the competition have included judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court, the Arizona Court of Appeals, and the Arizona Superior Court.

Third-year students are allowed to participate in Moot Court but are not eligible for honors awarded in the Fegtly competition. The second-year finalists in the Fegtly competition are eligible in their third year to be members of the national Moot Court Team and the Moot Court Board. The national team represents the College of Law in the national competition held each spring by the American Bar Association. The two- or three-person teams write briefs and argue in the regional competition against teams from other schools, with winners of the regional competition advancing to the finals. The members of the Moot Court Board supervise the second year competition, administer the competition, edit briefs, select judges, and judge practice rounds. Unit credit is available for the national team and for Moot Court Board work.

Qualified, selected students may participate in either the National Moot Court Competition or the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition for 2 units. However, students may not participate in either competition more than once. Further, students will not be permitted to participate in both the National Competition and the Jessup Competition.

Clinical Programs ¹⁷

Real-client experience is a critical part of your legal education. So critical that we guarantee that every student wanting a clinic placement can have one.

In our "in-house" clinics, students work under the supervision of faculty attorneys or veteran practitioners on actual cases, public policy initiatives, or other projects that have significant client impact. Other clinical opportunities are offered by community partners such as the nationally recognized Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP). Finally, students involve alumni and other lawyers in the community to create student-run clinics.

In-House and Community Clinics

• 9th Circuit Appellate Representation Clinic
• Arizona Attorney General's Office Clinic
• Child & Family Law Clinic
• Civil Rights Restoration Clinic
• Community Law Group (for recent graduates)
• Criminal Defense Clinic
• Criminal Prosecution Clinic
• Immigration Law Clinic
• Intellectual Property & Entrepreneurship Clinic
• International Human Rights Advocacy Workshop
• Tribal Justice Clinic
• Veterans' Advocacy Law Clinic
• Workers' Rights Clinic
• Wrongful Conviction Clinic
• Yaqui Human Rights Project

Student-Organized Clinics

• Bankruptcy Reaffirmation Clinic
• Domestic Relations Clinic
• Himmel Park Legal Referral Clinic
• Homeless Legal Clinic
• LGBT Pride Clinic
• Men's Shelter Clinic
• Minor Guardianship Clinic
• Tucson Indian Center Legal Referral Clinic

Placement Facts ¹⁸

Starting Salaries (2015 Graduates Employed Full-Time)

Private sector (25th-75th percentile)	$80,000 - $100,000
Median in the private sector	$100,000
Median in public service	N/A

Employment Details

Graduates known to be employed at graduation	29.9%
Graduates known to be employed ten months after graduation	69.4%

Areas of Legal Practice

Graduates Employed In	Percentage
Law Firms	46.2%
Business and Industry	8.5%
Government	15.4%
Judicial Clerkships	4.6%
Public Interest Organizations	16.2%
Academia	9.2%
Unknown	0%

Externships/Internships ^19-20

Externships

An externship is the placement of a student in a law office off-campus where the student studies law practice in action under the oversight of an on-site field supervisor and a law faculty member. The Law College provides academic credit to students studying law through a variety of externship placements. These externships can usefully be grouped into “Permanent Externships,” “Ad Hoc Externships” (including placements in government, non-profit, corporate and for-profit legal offices) and “Post Feb Bar Externships.” The following describes each of these externship opportunities and how students may enroll in them.

Permanent Externships

Permanent externships have been approved as individual courses and have the same faculty and field supervisors each semester. Each permanent externship has its own course number, listing and description that do not change. Permanent externships have the prefix LAW 693 and are assigned a section number.

AD HOC Externships

Students may initiate their own field placement or apply for an existing “ad hoc” externship which refers to any non-permanent externship. Ad hoc externships all have the same course number 693 §3. All ad hoc externships must be pre-approved by the faculty and field supervisors and the Curriculum Committee. Students must fill out an ad hoc externship form and submit to the Externship Coordinator who will review and forward to the Curriculum Committee for approval. There are separate forms for Corporate & For-Profit and Government & Non-Profit. Please ensure you submit the appropriate form.

Post Feb Bar Externships

Post February bar externships are available to both Feb bar takers and non-Feb bar 2L and 3Ls. Feb bar externship placements do not need to be pre-approved unless they are student initiated ad hoc placements. Students taking Feb Bar externships must enroll in 698C for the 8 week period post bar.

Legislative And Executive Externships

The Law College currently offers two types of legislative externships - (1) externships offered in the Arizona Legislature each spring semester and (2) externships that a student might procure on his/her own in a state or federal legislative office.

List Of Externships

Non-Profit

• American Civil Liberties Union
• Arizona Center for Disability Law
• Center for Creative Photography
• Florence Immigration and Refugee Rights Project
• Immigrant Survivors Legal Assistance
• Institute for Justice
• James E. Rogers Public Interest Law Group
• Mortgage and Consumer Finance Law Group
• National Law Center
• Southern Arizona Legal Aid
• University of Arizona Student Legal Services

Government

• Arizona Legislature
• Arizona Governor’s Office
• Arizona Attorney General, Department of Child Safety, Protective Services Division
• Department of Justice: Environment and Natural Resources
• Department of Homeland Security: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• Federal Public Defender
• Federal Public Defender (Trial Unit)
• Navajo Tribal Court Externship
• Pascua Yaqui Court of Appeals
• Pima County Office of Children’s Counsel
• US Attorney’s Office

Corporate and For-Profit

• Law Office of Stacy Scheff
• Raytheon (Feb Bar)

Internship Opportunities

With prior approval, students may also earn academic credit for internships in governmental agencies and other public institutions, where they will receive hands-on training in law-related fields. Up to 3 School of Government and Public Policy (SGPP) law-related Internship units (300-level) and 3 Legal Internship units (400-level) may be used to fulfill Law elective requirements.

Law-related internships include positions with Pima County Attorney’s Office; US Marshal’s Office; CIA; FBI; US Postal Inspector; Pima County Sheriff’s Department; Oro Valley and Tucson Police Departments; Public Defender’s Office; Victim Witness Program; Homicide Survivors, Inc.; International Rescue Committee; US Department of State in Washington, D.C. and abroad; Congressional Offices; and the White House.

Student Organizations ²¹

• ACLU Student Chapter
• American Constitution Society
• Arizona Intellecutal Property and CyberLaw Society
• Black Law Students Association
• Business Law Society
• Christian Legal Society
• Criminal Law & Policy student group
• Environmental Law Society
• Family & Juvenile Law Association
• Federalist Society
• Global Student Union
• Hiking Club
• Immigration Law Student Association
• International Law Society
• Jewish Law Students Association
• J. Reuben Clark Law Society
• Latino Law Student Association
• Law Parents Club
• Law Students for Reproductive Justice
• Law Women's Association
• Middle East Law Students Association
• National Lawyers Guild
• Native American Law Students Association
• Phi Alpha Delta
• Phi Delta Phi
• Pride Law
• Rogers Law Vets
• Running Club
• Sports & Entertainment Law Society
• Student Animal Legal Defense Fund
• Students of Arizona Health Law
• Volunteer Lawyers Program
• Wills for Heroes

References

1. https://law.arizona.edu/contact
2. https://law.arizona.edu/arizona-law-overview
3. https://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-arizona-rogers-03004
4. https://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-arizona-rogers-03004/admissions
5. https://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-arizona-rogers-03004/admissions
6. https://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-arizona-rogers-03004/cost
7. https://law.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/asset/document/college_of_law_handbook.pdf
8. https://law.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/asset/document/college_of_law_handbook.pdf
9. https://law.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/asset/document/college_of_law_handbook.pdf
10. http://www.nalplawschoolsonline.org/employer_profile?FormID=360&QuestionTabID=38&SearchCondJSON=
11. https://law.arizona.edu/journals-publications
12. http://arizonalawreview.org/about/
13. https://law.arizona.edu/arizona-journal-international-comparative-law
14. https://law.arizona.edu/arizona-journal-environmental-law-policy
15. https://law.arizona.edu/arizona-law-journal-emerging-technologies
16. https://law.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/asset/document/college_of_law_handbook.pdf
17. https://law.arizona.edu/law-clinics
18. https://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-arizona-rogers-03004/career-prospects
19. http://www.law2.arizona.edu/current_students/externships.cfm
20. https://law.arizona.edu/careers-and-internships
21. https://law.arizona.edu/student-bar-association-student-organizations