The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law is the law school of the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Docto ...

, a private

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

with its main campus in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. It was established in 1961.

History

It was the first private law school established in Puerto Rico. The law school is located in the Spellman Building and was founded in 1961 by Monsignor Fremiot Torres Oliver. The law school received the accreditation from the Puerto Rico Superior Education Council of Puerto Rico on 13 April 1964. 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 ...

granted provisional accreditation on 13 April 1967, and final accreditation on August 1972. The Law School offers the course of study leading to the J.D. degree through a three-year full-time day and a four-year part-time evening programs. The law school admits students for its fall (August) and spring (January) sessions. It offers two Joint Degree Programs, the J.D./M.B.A. and J.D./M.P.A. with the University graduate programs. The School of Law houses a major research library with a collection of about 207,095 volumes and extensive computer-assisted research capabilities including Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, and MICROJURIS.COM with wireless access to the Internet from anywhere in the law school campus. It is the home of the Revista de Derecho Puertorriqueno which is a student and faculty edited

law review A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also pr ...

published since 1961. The School of Law is noted for its Legal Service Clinic and Externship programs that offer to its students the opportunity to serve the community and the poor in need of legal services. The law school has the most active national law student organizations in Puerto Rico, with local chapters of

The Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism ...

, the

Federal Bar Association The Federal Bar Association (FBA) is the primary voluntary professional organization for private and government lawyers and judges practicing and sitting in federal courts in the United States. Six times a year, The Association prints ''The Fede ...

and the American Association of Trial Lawyers. The interim dean is Fernando Moreno Orama. On May 15, 2020, the council of the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar met remotely and determined this school and nine others had significant noncompliance with Standard 316. This Standard was revised in 2019 to provide that at least 75% of an accredited law school’s graduates who took a bar exam must pass one within two years of graduation. The school was asked to submit a report by Feb. 1, 2021; and, if the council did not find the report demonstrated compliance, the school would be asked to appear before the council at its May, 2021 meeting. In 2022, the council gave the school a three-year extension for bar pass compliance.

Post-graduation employment

According to the Pontifical Catholic University's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 4.17% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners. The Pontifical Catholic University's

Law School Transparency Law School Transparency (LST) is a nonprofit consumer advocacy and education organization concerning the legal profession in the United States. LST was founded by Vanderbilt Law School graduates Kyle McEntee and Patrick Lynch. LST describes its ...

under-employment score is 49.6%, 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, and an unknown score of 32.5%, indicated the percentage of graduates whose employment status was not known.

Notable faculty

Rafael Hernández Colón Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...

- Former Governor of Puerto Rico *

Héctor Luis Acevedo Héctor Luis Acevedo Pérez (born November 8, 1947) is a Puerto Rican politician from Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is the son of Héctor N. Acevedo and Toñita Pérez, both public servants. Acevedo has been married to Carmen Roca Saav ...

- Former Secretary of State and Mayor of San Juan * Alfredo J. Mora - Former adjutant general of the Puerto Rico National Guard * Charles Cuprill Oppenheimer - Past Rotary District Governor, Retired Mayor General, Puerto Rico National Guard. Served 3 times as Dean of the Law School. One of the Founders of Ponce School of Medicine. Two time president of

Phi Sigma Alpha Phi Sigma Alpha (), commonly known as La Sigma, is a Puerto Rican fraternities and sororities, Puerto Rican fraternity originally established as the Sigma Delta Alpha Fraternity (Sociedad de Amigos) on October 22, 1928, at the University of Puert ...

and "Hermano Emeritus" Medal holder of the Fraternity.

Notable alumni

Efraín Rivera Pérez Efraín Rivera Pérez (1951- 15 September 2013) born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, was a former Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. He held the position from 2000 to 2010. He died on 15 September 2013 in a motorcycle accident in Gu ...

- Associate Judge of the

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme c ...

(retired) *

Aida Delgado ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduc ...

and then district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico (in case citations, D.P.R.; es, Tribunal del Distrito de Puerto Rico) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The court is ...

Antonio Fas Alzamora Antonio "Tony" J. Fas Alzamora (born November 16, 1948) is a Puerto Rican politician and Senator. As of 31 December 2011, he was the longest-serving legislator in the history of Puerto Rico, having served in ten Legislative Assemblies, one Ho ...

- Puerto Rico Senator, former President of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. *

Carmelo Ríos Santiago Carmelo Javier Ríos Santiago (born May 21, 1973 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican politician, lawyer and senator. He has been a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico since 2005. Early years and studies Carmelo Ríos was born on May ...

- Senator PNP/Bayamón *

José Emilio González Velázquez José Emilio González Velázquez is a Puerto Rican politician and Senator. He has been a member of the Senate of Puerto Rico since 2004. Early years and studies José Emilio González graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in 1974 with a ...

- Former Senator PNP/Arecibo, Superior Court Judge *

Deborah Seilhamer Debora Seilhamer (born October 4, 1985) is a volleyball player from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Seilhamer made her debut with the Puerto Rico women's national volleyball team at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was named ''Best ...

- athlete and daughter of Senator

Larry Seilhamer Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

Carlos Vargas Ferrer Carlos J. Vargas Ferrer (June 28, 1971 – November 2, 2015) was a Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He was elected to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives in 2012 to represent District 29. Vargas ...

''Biografía de Carlos Vargas Ferrer: Carlos Vargas Ferrer fue electo como representante del distrito 29 por el partido popular en las elecciones 2012..''
Accessed 9 February 2022

/ref> - Representative PPD/District 29 Cidra-Cayey House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

Student organizations

* Student Council *

Phi Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International ( or P.A.D.) is the largest professional law fraternity in the United States. Founded in 1902, P.A.D. has since grown to 717 established pre-law, law, and alumni chapters and over 330,000 initiated m ...

Law Fraternity *

fraternity *

Nu Sigma Beta Nu Sigma Beta Fraternity () is a Puerto Rican fraternity. It was established in 1937 at the University of Puerto Rico by students from diverse backgrounds. History Among the founding members were: Carlos M. Vidal, Jafet Ramirez Ledesma, Jose ...

fraternity *

* Organización Pro-Derecho de la Mujer - Pro-female Rights Organization *

* Phi Eta Mu fraternity *

Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta Phi () is a professional law fraternity and a member of the Professional Fraternity Association. Delta Theta Phi is the only one of the two major law fraternities to charter chapters (senates) in the United States at non-American Bar ...

Law Fraternity International * Educca * Prima Facie - Student Newspaper * Tuna de la Escuela de Derecho -

University Tuna In Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries, a tuna is a group of university students in traditional university dress who play traditional instruments and sing serenades. The tradition originated in Spain and Portugal in the 13th century as ...

* Asociacion de Notarios de Puerto Rico / Capítulo Estudiantil * Association of Trial Lawyers of America * American Association of Trial Lawyers. * APMA-Asociación para la Prevención del Maltrato de Animales * Sports & Entertainment Law Students Association * Revista de Derecho Puertorriqueño

References

External links

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law
(Spanish language) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School Of Law Law schools in Puerto Rico Catholic law schools in the United States Catholic universities and colleges in Puerto Rico Educational institutions established in 1961 Universities and colleges in Ponce, Puerto Rico 1961 establishments in Puerto Rico Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico Education in Ponce, Puerto Rico