The Valparaiso University Law School was the
law school
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
of
Valparaiso University, a
private university
Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...
in
Valparaiso, Indiana. Founded in 1879, the school was 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 acad ...
in 1929 and admitted to the
Association of American Law Schools
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non ...
in 1930.
In October 2016, the ABA censured the school for admitting applicants who did not appear capable of satisfactorily completing the school's program of legal education and being admitted to the bar. One year later, the school suspended admissions
and shut down after the last class graduated in 2020.
Campus
The city of Valparaiso, Indiana, is located southeast of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, and south of
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
and the
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
The Valparaiso law school was primarily located in Wesemann Hall, in an area known as "Old Campus". Valparaiso University's campus is part of the downtown Valparaiso historic district. The Lawyering Skills Center and Law Clinic were next door, in the recently renovated
Heritage Hall.
History
Originally named the Northern Indiana Law School, Valparaiso Law School began operations with nine students (including two women) on November 11, 1879. Tuition was set at $10 per term. It was one of the first in the nation to admit both men and women. Colonel Mark L. DeMotte became the school's first dean and was one of the original three faculty members. During his appointment he developed the core curriculum that remained in use at Valparaiso until its closure.
Despite difficult economic times and amidst a depression, the Northern Indiana Law School remained and experienced growth during its second decade. At the turn of the century, 21 years after its founding, the school had an enrollment of 170 students and was reportedly the largest law school in Indiana.
In 1905, the law school became part of Valparaiso University and was thus officially renamed the Valparaiso University School of Law/Valparaiso University Law School. Following consultation and inspection with 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 acad ...
and the
Association of American Law Schools
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non ...
, the law school expanded its curriculum and received its ABA accreditation in 1929 and was admitted into AALS in 1930. It was the thirty-eighth oldest ABA accredited law school in the United States. A 1925 graduate,
Frances Tilton Weaver, became the youngest woman to be admitted to practice before both the
Indiana Supreme Court
The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...
and the
Illinois Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...
. She practiced law in Chicago until moving with her husband back to Valparaiso to practice law with her father, Ira Tilton, who in nearly six decades in Valparaiso had served as a schoolteacher, city attorney, and judge, as well as head of the local
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
In 2013, long term law school dean
Jay Conison resigned to accept a position at the relatively new
Charlotte School of Law. His replacement was the former associate dean of
DePaul Law School, Andrea Lyon, who in 1979 had been the first woman lead counsel in a death penalty case. While the law school's practical skills training received a high ranking from the National Jurist Magazine, and the Prelaw Magazine cited its innovation, the school faced financial issues and censure from the ABA in October 2016.
Valparaiso School of Law was censured by the ABA in October 2016 for violating ABA Standards 501(a) and 501(b). Those standards require that "a law school shall maintain sound admission policy and practices" and "shall not admit an applicant who does not appear capable of satisfactorily completing its program of legal education and being admitted to the bar". Since 2010, Valparaiso met declining applications with reduced admissions standards to maintain the size of the school's student body. In 2010, the entering class had a median LSAT score of 150 and a median GPA of 3.31. By 2015, Valparaiso's entering class had a median LSAT score of 145 and a median GPA of 2.93. Valparaiso's bar passage rates plummeted as a result. In 2013, 77% of graduates taking the Indiana bar exam and 71% of graduates taking the Illinois bar exam passed on the first attempt. But in 2014, only 61% graduates taking the Indiana bar exam and only 63% of graduates taking the Illinois bar exam passed on the first attempt. In November 2017, the ABA lifted the sanction of public censure on Valparaiso School of Law, stating that the school had demonstrated compliance with ABA Standards 501(a) and 501(b).
In March 2017, the university hired
Ogilvy Public Relations to handle the law school's termination or downsizing. In November the university announced that no students would be admitted for the year beginning in 2018. On March 21, 2018, the law school announced Dean Lyon's resignation effective June 1, and that she would continue to teach as a professor. Three months later, in June, the Valparaiso University submitted to
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) a non-binding letter of intent to transfer the Valparaiso University School of Law to MTSU. MTSU's president clarified with media sources that the law school was not being purchased or merged into MTSU but was "much like a gift".
Although MTSU's trustees were in favor of the move, it was rejected by the
Tennessee Higher Education Commission
The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) was established by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1967 to coordinate and support the efforts of higher education institutions in the State of Tennessee. One of its statutory requirements is to ...
in October and the school announced its pending closure as it ensured that currently enrolled students would have an opportunity to complete their education.
Admissions and academics
The law school offered a traditional three-year full-time program, an accelerated two-and-a-half year program, and a five-year, part-time program toward the
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree, a
Master of Laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
degree program, and the following dual degree programs: JD/MBA, JD/MALS, JD/MA (Psychology), JD/Clinical Mental Health Counseling, JD/MA in Chinese Studies, JD/MA in Liberal Studies, JD/MS International Commerce & Policy, and JD/MS Sports Administration, and the S.J.D, the School's advanced research degree that was open to candidates who had completed an LL.M.
The School of Law offered eight live
legal clinics: criminal clinic, civil clinic, juvenile clinic, domestic violence clinic, mediation clinic, sports law clinic, tax clinic, and wrongful conviction clinic.
The school also offered more than 85 discrete
externship opportunities. In 2005, the School of Law started the nation's first
sports law
"Unprintworthy" redirects are redirect pages on Wikipedia that aid online navigation, but would have little or no value as pointers to target articles in a hard-copy book. The name of a redirect may be unprintworthy for a number of reasons, incl ...
clinic, giving free advice to amateur status athletes during the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
.
Post-graduation employment
According to Valparaiso's official 2015 ABA-required disclosures, 42% of the class of 2015 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage required employment. 23% of graduates were unemployed ten months after graduation. Three graduates were working in non-professional positions after graduation. Valparaiso'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 m ...
under-employment score was 37.4%, indicating the percentage of the class of 2015 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.
Struggling graduates of Valparaiso Law School were featured in a
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
article in June 2016. One Valparaiso Law School graduate worked in the clothing department of a retail store, and another graduate discussed his grim job prospects.
Costs
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Valparaiso for the 2014-2015 academic year was $53,862. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years was $196,217. Valparaiso engaged in the practice of offering new students conditional scholarships. These scholarships were contingent on the student maintaining a specific grade point average, rather than remaining in good academic standing. Valparaiso imposed a grading curve with a median
GPA
Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
of 2.7 on first year students. As a result of the curve, 18 Valparaiso students had their scholarships withdrawn or reduced during the 2014-2015 academic year.
Student life
Valparaiso Law students could participate in more than 40 student organizations. According to Valparaiso's 2015 Standard 509 Report, 17 students transferred to higher ranking schools the previous academic year.
Notable faculty
*
Dan Flanagan
Daniel Collins Flanagan (April 23, 1899 – February 28, 1960)"Dan Flanagan, Former State Judge, Dies", ''The Munster Times'' (February 29, 1960), p. 5. was an United States of America, American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as a just ...
, Justice of the
Indiana Supreme Court
The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...
.
*
Faisal Kutty
Faisal Kutty is a lawyer, academic, writer, public speaker and human rights activist. He is Visiting Associate Professor of LAWS at Southwestern Law School. He served as an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and was an Associate Prof ...
lawyer, academic and writer focusing on law and religion, Islamic law, Islamic culture, practice and rights.
Notable alumni
*
Holly A. Brady, class of 1994, a
district judge of the
.
*
Steve Buyer
Stephen Earle Buyer ( ; born November 26, 1958) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for , and previously the , serving from 1993 until 2011. On July 25, 2022, Buyer was arrested and charged with insider trading ...
, class of 1984, former
U.S. Congressman
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
Indiana's 4th district, works for R.J. Reynolds promoting the use of smokeless tobacco.
*
Floyd Draper, class of 1915, Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court.
[Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,]
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''Indiana Law Review
The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 200 ...
'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page
*
David W. Dugan, class of 1985, United States Federal District Court Judge, Southern District of Illinois
*
Sidney E. Ellsworth, class of 1891,
North Dakota Supreme Court
The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts.
Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...
from 1909 to 1910.
*
Richard G. Hatcher
Richard Gordon Hatcher (July 10, 1933 – December 13, 2019) was an American attorney and politician who served as the first African-American mayor of Gary, Indiana for 20 years, from 1968 to 1988. At the time of his first election on November ...
, class of 1959, in 1968 became the first African-American mayor of
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...
and one of the first black mayors elected in a major Northern industrial city.
*
Mart O'Malley
Martin Joseph "Mart" O'Malley (September 17, 1890 – September 9, 1972) was a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 4, 1943, to January 3, 1949.
Born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, O'Malley was one of eleven siblings, and as a child had ...
, class of 1912, Indiana Supreme Court Justice.
[David J. Remondini, "Martin J. O'Malley", in Linda C. Gugin, James E. St. Clair, ''Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court'' (2010), p. 299.]
*
Craig S. Morford
Craig S. Morford (born February 10, 1959) is an American attorney and former acting United States Deputy Attorney General.
Early life and education
Craig Morford grew up in Schenectady, New York graduated in 1981 with an Economics degree from H ...
, class of 1984, former acting
United States Deputy Attorney General
The United States deputy attorney general is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department. The deputy attorney general acts as United States Attorney Gener ...
and former federal prosecutor.
*
Raymond Nimmer
Raymond Theodore Nimmer (19442018) was an attorney and former dean of the University of Houston Law Center in Houston, Texas.
Biography Education and early life
Raymond T. Nimmer was born in Illinois May 2, 1944. He received a B.A. in mathemati ...
, class of 1968, former dean, Childs Professor of Law and co-director of the Houston Intellectual Property and Information Law Institute at the
University of Houston Law Center
The University of Houston Law Center is the law school of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1947, the Law Center is one of 12 colleges of the University of Houston, a state university. It is accredited by the American Bar A ...
.
*
George William Norris
George William Norris (July 11, 1861September 2, 1944) was an American politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. He served five terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, from 1903 until 1913 ...
, class of 1883, former
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
from Nebraska
*
Eugene E. Parker, class of 1982, African-American former sports agent for
Deion Sanders
Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons ...
,
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the lea ...
and other
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
players.
*
Xavier Prather
Xavier Prather (born May 12, 1994), is an American lawyer and reality television personality. He is the winner of the twenty-third season of the American reality television series '' Big Brother'', becoming the first African-American to win a r ...
, class of 2018, first African-American winner of
''Big Brother''
*
Eugene Rice
Eugene Rice (February 21, 1891 – November 24, 1967) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
Education and career
Born in Union City, Tennessee, Rice received a Bachelor of ...
, class of 1917, former United States federal judge (
Eastern District of Oklahoma)
*
Robert D. Rucker
Robert D. Rucker (born 1947) was the 105th justice appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court. He retired May 12, 2017.
Born in Canton, Georgia, Rucker grew up in Gary, Indiana. He joined the army and served in the 1st Cavalry Division during the ...
, class of 1976, former justice on the
Indiana Supreme Court
The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...
.
*
Theodore L. Sendak, class of 1958, 36th
Indiana Attorney General
The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is Todd Roki ...
.
*
Frances Tilton Weaver, a 1925 graduate, first woman attorney in
Porter County, Indiana, and the youngest woman to be admitted to practice before the
Indiana Supreme Court
The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...
and the
Illinois Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...
.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Valparaiso University
Law schools in Indiana
Educational institutions established in 1879
Educational institutions disestablished in 2020
Buildings and structures in Valparaiso, Indiana
1879 establishments in Indiana
2020 disestablishments in Indiana
Defunct law schools