Miles Law School is a law school located in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. It is independent of

Miles College Miles College is a private historically black college in Fairfield, Alabama. Founded in 1898, it is associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME Church) and a member of the United Negro College Fund. History Miles College bega ...

. Miles Law School was founded on August 26, 1974. Among the founders were Bishop C. A. Kirkendoll of the C.M.E. Church, Dr. W. Clyde Williams, former president of Miles College, former Alabama Judge and state Senator J. Richmond Pearson, and

Morris Dees Morris Seligman Dees Jr. (born December 16, 1936) is an American attorney known as the co-founder and former chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), based in Montgomery, Alabama. He ran a direct marketing firm before fou ...

, founder of the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...

Program of Study

The school offers a four-year part-time evening program. Graduates of the law school receive the Juris Doctor. Of the 31 Miles alumni who took the Alabama bar exam in February 2020, none passed.

Accreditation

Miles Law School is not accredited by the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

. It is one of two unaccredited law schools in Alabama, the other being the

Birmingham School of Law The Birmingham School of Law is a state-accredited law school located in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1915 by Judge Hugh A. Locke, a judge of the Chancery Court and president of the Birmingham Bar Association, the Birmingham School of Law of ...

. Miles Law graduates are however eligible to take the Alabama Bar Exam pursuant to the authority granted by the Alabama Legislature and the Alabama Supreme Court.Section 34-3-2.1: Certified graduates of certain law schools authorized to take bar exam
. Alabama State Legislature.

Notable alumni

* William A. Bell, Mayor of Birmingham * Bobby Singleton, Alabama State Senator *

Carole Smitherman Carole Catlin Smitherman (born 1952) is a Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge. Smitherman served in 2009 as the 31st Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama and spent several years as a member of the City Council before resigning to assume her current judici ...

, former Mayor of Birmingham, current Circuit Court Judge *

Rodger Smitherman Rodger Mell Smitherman (born March 2, 1953) is a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 18th District since 1995. He is also a member of the Alabama Sentencing Commission. Smitherman was elected President Pro Tempore of the ...

, Alabama State Senator *

Danny Carr Danny Darnell Carr (born 1970) is the District Attorney of Jefferson County, Alabama, serving since November 27, 2018. Carr previously served as the county's interim district attorney in 2017. He is the first African-American District Attorney in ...

, District attorney of Jefferson County, Alabama

References

External links

* Law schools in Alabama Educational institutions established in 1974 1974 establishments in Alabama {{Law-school-stub