University of Baltimore School of Law

History

The School of Law was founded in 1925 as a part of the then private, nonprofit University of Baltimore, with the first class of 38 students receiving their diplomas in 1928. Created initially to serve the working population of the Baltimore area with a part-time evening program, the school added a full-time day division in 1969.In September 1970, the University of Baltimore School of Law merged with Eastern College and its Mount Vernon School of Law, which was founded in 1935. On Jan. 1, 1975, the school became a public institution when the University of Baltimore joined the State of Maryland's system for public higher education. An alumni body of approximately 13,000 graduates includes many prominent figures, including Peter Angelos, owner of the Baltimore Orioles; Maryland's former first lady, the Hon. Catherine Curran O'Malley; Thomas Condon, widely considered the most powerful agent in professional football; and U.S. Rep. C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger III. Nearly a third of Maryland's sitting judges are UB School of Law graduates, and the number of University of Baltimore law alumni who serve among Maryland's 188 elected officials is second only to that of the University of Maryland, College Park. The new John and Frances Angelos Law Center offers 192,000 square feet of space and is among the most environmentally sustainable academic buildings in the nation. This 12-story facility, located on the northeast corner of the intersection of North Charles Street and West Mt. Royal Avenue, houses all of the school's clinics, centers and classrooms, and affords students countless options for indoor and outdoor study.

Employment outcomes

According to University of Baltimore School of Law's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 44.1% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. Baltimore's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 28.9%, 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.

Costs

Baltimore's total cost of attendance (including the cost of tuition, fees, but excluding living expenses) is $28,134 in-state and $41,422 out-of-state for the 2013-2014 academic year. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $175,714.

Degrees and concentrations

The University of Baltimore School of Law is Maryland's largest law school, and it produces many of Maryland's leading lights throughout the legal community —practitioners, judges, public defenders, prosecutors, scholars, and community and civic advocates. Alumni account for 30 percent of Maryland's circuit court judges, 34 percent of Maryland's district court judges and more than one-third of Maryland's elected state's attorneys. UB Law offers the juris doctor degree and master's degrees (LL.M) in tax and U.S. law. The school offers several concentrations to its J.D. students, including:

In conjunction with the law school's and University's other programs and schools, the law school offers joint degree combinations of JD/MBA, JD/MPA, JD/MS in criminal justice, JD/MS in negotiations and conflict management, JD/Ph.D. in policy science and JD/LL.M. in taxation.

The Law Center

Former UB President Robert L. Bogomolny called for a path-breaking building that would provide a strong foundation for activities central to the School of Law's mission: community involvement, public interest, diversity. "As an educational institution, we envision a building whose design teaches critical lessons about how to create and sustain healthy urban environments," Bogomolny said before construction began in 2010. "As an institution committed to excellence, we envision a signature building whose materials reflect the quality of our aspirations." In support of these requirements, the Abell Foundation funded a $150,000 design competition for the new facility, a move that brought national and international interest to the project. On Nov. 17, 2008, UB announced that Behnisch Architekten of Stuttgart, Germany, in partnership with Baltimore's Ayers/Saint/Gross Inc., won the international competition to design the new John and Frances Angelos Law Center at UB. Of the winning design, Bogomolny said: "Stefan Behnisch has articulated an initial concept for our new law center that is truly forward-thinking. Stefan's ideas about sustainable design and his creativity in responding to the evolving needs of higher education place him in the forefront of 21st-century architecture." The building features innovative air-handling systems and the active capture of light and water that would otherwise go to waste.

Centers & Clinics

UB is home to five law centers: Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts, the Center for International and Comparative Law, the Center on Applied Feminism, the Center for Sport and the Law, and the Center for Medicine and Law. The School of Law has eleven clinics: the Saul Ewing Civil Advocacy Clinic, Community Development Clinic, Criminal Practice Clinic, Disability Law Clinic, Bronfein Family Law Clinic, Immigrant Rights Clinic, Innocence Project Clinic, Pretrial Justice Clinic, Tax Clinic, the Bob Parsons Veterans Clinic, and the Mediation Clinic for Families. All of the University of Baltimore School of Law clinics and centers are housed in the John and Frances Angelos Law Center.

The University of Baltimore School of Law annually provides nearly 200 students the opportunity to participate in a broad range of clinical programs and externships. These programs provide both day and evening students a broad range of experiential learning opportunities as licensed student-attorneys (clinics) and closely supervised law clerks (externships).

While students in the clinical program at the University of Baltimore School of Law receive unmatched, real-life practical experience, they also generate significant results that benefit the Baltimore region and Maryland. In addition, the school's proximity to Washington, D.C., allows students to participate in externships in a wide range of governmental, public-interest and private-sector placements. Clinics represent, on average, 200 low-income clients every year, including adults, children, neighborhood associations and other nonprofit organizations.

Under the supervision of faculty, most clinics allow students to provide the full range of representation to clients. Clinic work includes interviewing, counseling, planning case strategy and appearing in court or before administrative agencies. Certain clinics, such as the Community Development Clinic, provide experience in transactional work.

Finally, most clinics also allow students to engage in more systemic work, including drafting and testifying in support of legislation and participating in state and national task forces on issues such as child neglect, domestic violence, protection for consumers and the promotion of affordable housing.

The clinic facility is run as a law office with a teaching and a public-service mission.

Publications

Notable alumni

Notable UB Law graduates include:

Vice Presidents

Attorneys General

Governors and Lt. Governors

First Ladies

U.S. Congressmen

Judges

State Delegates & Senators

State's Attorneys

Other Alumni

References in Media and Culture