Penn State Dickinson Law, formerly Dickinson School of Law, is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
law school in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separately accredited law schools of
The Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...
. According to Penn State Dickinson Law's 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 95% of the Class of 2019 are employed nine months after graduation in positions that either require them to pass the bar or for which a J.D. degree is an advantage.
History
The Law School offers J.D. and LL.M. degrees in law and hosts visiting scholars. The Law School was opened by Judge John Reed in 1834 as the law department of
Dickinson College, named for
Founding Father
The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...
John Dickinson
John Dickinson (November 13 Julian_calendar">/nowiki>Julian_calendar_November_2.html" ;"title="Julian_calendar.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Julian calendar">/nowiki>Julian calendar November 2">Julian_calendar.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Julian calendar" ...
. It received an independent charter in 1890 and ended all affiliation with the college in 1917.
In 2000, Penn State and The Dickinson School of Law completed a merger that began in 1997. From 2006 until 2014, Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law operated as a single law school with two campuses – one in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania and one in University Park, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2014, Penn State received approval from the ABA to operate the two campuses as two distinct law schools (now known as
Penn State Law and Dickinson Law), both of which share the history and achievement of The Dickinson School of Law. In November 2022, Penn State President
Neeli Bendapudi announced a task force to implement the recommendation that the two schools be merged into a single entity, with the preferred location to be at the Dickinson campus.
Lewis Katz Hall
Lewis Katz Hall is named in honor of philanthropist and businessman Lewis Katz for his $15 million gift to the Law School as the principal donor to the construction and renovation project that began in January 2008. Completed in January 2010, the transition marked the end of a two-year, $52 million construction project which included the addition of the elegant, new Lewis Katz Hall which leverages advanced high-definition, digital audiovisual telecommunications systems to connect Dickinson Law to not only Penn State's University Park campus but to locations around the world.
The project included an extensive renovation of historic Trickett Hall, the Law School's home since 1918, which houses the Law School's library, named in honor of H. Laddie Montague, Jr., a prominent Philadelphia lawyer and trial attorney who has committed $4 million to the school. As a design companion to Penn State Law's Lewis Katz Building, Dickinson Law's Lewis Katz Hall was renovated and rebuilt to comply with LEED Silver standards. The facilities feature state-of-the-art classrooms, a courtroom/auditorium, an exterior courtyard, and an environmentally friendly vegetated green roof.
Curriculum
Dickinson Law's required 1L curriculum begins with the fundamentals of national and transnational law. During their first year, 1Ls must complete courses in
Civil Procedure
Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what kin ...
,
Constitutional Law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...
,
Contracts,
Criminal Law,
Property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
, Legal Argument and Factual Persuasion, and
Torts. First-year students also take Practicing Law in a Global World: Context and Competencies I, Problem Solving I: The Lawyer and Client, and Problem Solving II: The Lawyer as Writer. Students are required to participate in hands-on training beginning in the first year of the program with simulated client-intake interviews under the supervision of a licensed attorney and culminating in 12 credits of experiential learning upon graduation. This is in addition to required courses that include two semesters of research and writing.
At Dickinson Law, students must earn at least six of 12 required experiential learning credits in a real-world practice setting, such as a certified legal internship within one of the Law School’s in-house legal clinics; an internship with a government, nonprofit or private office; or full immersion in the Semester-in-Practice program; or an international venue. The second and third years at Dickinson Law are distinguished by “The Lawyer As...”: electives and experiential learning opportunities organized by the way lawyers use their training. Required courses after completion of the first year include Problem Solving III: The Lawyer as Persuader and Practicing Law in a Global World: Context and Competencies II.
Students may earn up to six credits towards the J.D. degree from approved graduate-level courses offered by other Penn State departments. Students also may enroll in one of an array of joint degree programs, graduating with both a J.D. from Dickinson Law and a master’s degree from a coordinate department of Penn State. Current joint degree offerings include a J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A., J.D./M.P.H., J.D./DRPH. Dickinson Law also offers certificate programs in which students may hone their expertise in a specific area by taking a prescribed combination of core and elective courses. Current certificate offerings include Corporate Compliance Certificate, Cyber, Privacy, and Data Security Certificate, Government Affairs, Health Law and Policy, and Litigation and Dispute Resolution.
Dickinson Law Programs
* Semester-in-Washington, D.C. Program (federal government)
* Semester-in-Harrisburg Program (state government)
* Semester-in-San Francisco/Silicon Valley Program (cyber, technology and intellectual property law)
* Semester-in-Los Angeles (sports and entertainment law)
* Semester-in-Texas (energy law)
* Semester-in-New York City (securities regulation and compliance, or entertainment law)
* International Justice Program at the Hague, Netherlands (international criminal law)
* Center for Public Interest Advocacy
* Children's Advocacy Clinic
* Community Law Clinic
* Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic with
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (MSHMC) is a 628-bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, servicing the Central Pennsylvania area. MSHMC is the region's only university- ...
Law journals
Dickinson Law features three scholarly journals, including the
Dickinson Law Review. The Law Review was founded in 1897, and is one of the oldest continually published law school journals in the country. In addition, the school also publishes the Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs, and The Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation.
Student organizations
Penn State Dickinson Law has the following student organizations:
*
American Constitution Society
*Animal Legal Defense Fund
*Asian Pacific American Law Students Association
*
Black Law Students Association (BLSA)
*Business Law Society
*Christian Law Community of Dickinson Law
*Criminal Law Society (CLS)
*Dickinson Law Intellectual Property Law Society
*
Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquarter ...
(Fed Soc)
*Health Law and Policy Society
*International Law Society
*Latinx Law Students Association (LLSA)
*Middle Eastern Law Students Association (MELSA)
*Military Law Caucus (MLC)
*Moot Court Board
*OutLaw
*
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 ...
— Burr Chapter (PAD)
*Public Interest Law Fund (PILF)
*Speakers Trust Fund
*Sports and Entertainment Law Society
*Student Bar Association (SBA)
*Women’s Law Caucus (WLC)
Dickinson Law students also participate in a number of moot court competitions and are active in intramural sports leagues, including flag football, basketball, and volleyball. Dickinson Law also sponsors a softball team that competes in a national tournament each spring along with nearly 1,500 law students from across the country. Also, students have coached soccer, lacrosse, track, swimming, and field hockey teams at the nearby Dickinson College and other local youth leagues.
Employment
According to Penn State Dickinson Law's official 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 95% of the class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-term, J.D.-required employment nine months after graduation.
Costs
The total cost of attendance (including tuition and related expenses) at Dickinson Law to earn a J.D. or LL.M. degree during the 2020-2021 academic year is $67,656.
Notable alumni
*
Matthew W. Brann, Judge of the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
*
Bill Bufalino, Attorney to
Jimmy Hoffa
*
Christopher F. Burne,
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
Lieutenant General, The Judge Advocate General (TJAG)
*
William W. Caldwell, Judge on the
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
*
Mitchell Harry Cohen, Judge of the
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...
*
Christopher Conner, Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
*
Pedro Cortés,
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
*
Andrew Curtin
Andrew Gregg Curtin (April 22, 1815/1817October 7, 1894) was a U.S. lawyer and politician. He served as the Governor of Pennsylvania during the Civil War, helped defend his state during the Gettysburg Campaign, and led organization of the crea ...
, Civil War Governor of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
(1861–1867)
*
J. Steward Davis, Baltimore trial lawyer and first Afro-American valedictorian at Dickinson
*
J. Michael Eakin, Justice of the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...
*
John Sydney Fine, former Pennsylvania Governor (1951–1955)
*
Mike Fitzpatrick
Michael Gerard Fitzpatrick (June 28, 1963 – January 6, 2020) was an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing from 2005 to 2007 and 2011 to 2017. He was fir ...
, United States Congressman from Pennsylvania
*
Robert S. Gawthrop III, Judge of the
*
Jim Gerlach
James W. Gerlach (born February 25, 1955) is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Gerlach retired from Congress after completing his sixth term.
Early life, education and caree ...
, United States Congressman from Pennsylvania
*
Kim Gibson, Judge on the
*
Milton W. Glenn (1903–1967), represented
New Jersey's 2nd congressional district
New Jersey's 2nd congressional district, based in Southern New Jersey, is represented by Republican Jeff Van Drew. He was first elected as a Democrat in 2018, but announced on December 19, 2019, that he would be switching parties. The distric ...
from 1957–1965
*
Thomas M. Golden, Judge of the
*
Rick Gray, former mayor of
Lancaster, Pennsylvania (2006–2018)
*
T. Millet Hand (1902–1956), represented
New Jersey's 2nd congressional district
New Jersey's 2nd congressional district, based in Southern New Jersey, is represented by Republican Jeff Van Drew. He was first elected as a Democrat in 2018, but announced on December 19, 2019, that he would be switching parties. The distric ...
in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from 1945–1957
*
John Berne Hannum, Judge of the
*
Daniel Brodhead Heiner (1854–1944), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
*
Arthur Horace James, former
Pennsylvania Governor (1939–1943)
*
Charles Alvin Jones
Charles Alvin Jones (August 27, 1887 – May 22, 1966) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Education an ...
, former Judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:
* District of Delaware
* District of New Jersey
* East ...
and Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...
*
John E. Jones III, U.S. District Judge for
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, who presided over the ruling in
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District which states that the teaching of
Intelligent design
Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...
in public classrooms violates the
Establishment Clause
In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The relevant constitutional text ...
of the
U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
, and
Whitewood v. Wolf which ruled unconstitutional Pennsylvania's statutory ban on same-sex marriage.
*
Paul E. Kanjorski, former United States Congressman from Pennsylvania
*
Lewis Katz, former owner of the
New Jersey Nets
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
basketball team
*
Jack Keeney, career U.S. Department of Justice attorney
*
John W. Kephart, Justice of the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...
(1919-1936), Chief Justice (1936-1940)
*
Edwin Michael Kosik, Judge of the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
*
George Kunkel, Pennsylvania State Senator (1937-1941)
*
Tom Marino
Thomas Anthony Marino (born August 13, 1952) is an American politician and attorney, who served as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2019. He represented the from January 3, 2011 to January 3, 2019, and the from Janu ...
, U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania and former United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
*
Clarence Charles Newcomer
Clarence Charles Newcomer (January 18, 1923 – August 22, 2005) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for more than 33 years.
Education and career
Newcomer was born in ...
, (1923–2005), Judge of the
*
John Pettit, long-time district attorney of
Washington County, Pennsylvania.
*
Sylvia H. Rambo, first woman to serve as Chief Judge of the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
*
Tom Ridge
Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003, and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. ...
, former Pennsylvania Governor (1995–2001), former Assistant to the President for Homeland Security (2001–2003), first
United States Secretary of Homeland Security
The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...
(2003–2005)
*
Carl Risch
Carl C. Risch (born March 10, 1970) is an American lawyer and former government official who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs within the U.S. Department of State, as the acting chief of staff for the United States Cit ...
,
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs
*
Andrew Sacks, Pennsylvania trial lawyer, one of the few U.S. attorneys who has handled two cases in excess of $1 billion
*
Rick Santorum
Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's third ...
, former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (1995–2007)
*
Lansdale Sasscer, 1914, U.S. Congressman for Maryland's
5th District
*
Ronald A. Sell,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
State Assemblyman
*
Michael Henry Sheridan, Judge of the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
*
D. Brooks Smith, class of 1976, Judge on the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
*
Edward G. Smith, Judge of the
*
Donald Snyder (LLM, Commerce and Taxation), Member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1981-2000 and Majority Whip
*
Gerald J. Spitz, Pennsylvania State of Representatives for the 162nd district (1977-1984)
*
Correale Stevens, Justice of the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...
*
Richard Barclay Surrick, Judge of the
*
Emanuel Mac Troutman, Judge of the
*
Thomas I. Vanaskie, class of 1978, former chief judge of the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and current judge on the
Third Circuit Court of Appeals
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:
* District of Delaware
* District of New Jersey
* E ...
References
External links
Official website Official logo
{{authority control
Pennsylvania State University colleges
Law schools in Pennsylvania
Universities and colleges in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Educational institutions established in 1834
1834 establishments in Pennsylvania
Dickinson Law