The Wake Forest University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

. Located in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, Wake Forest University School of Law is a private

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 ...

(ABA) accredited law school and is a member of 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 ...

(AALS). The school was established in 1894. ''U.S. News & World Report'' consistently ranks the school among the Top Tier Law Schools in the nation. The current interim dean is Nell Jessup Newton. As of 2021, Wake Forest University School of Law has 44 Resident Faculty Members, 43 Extended Faculty Members, 8 Law Librarians, and 20 School Administrators. The school is known for emphasizing small classes, and the entering class in 2022 had 159 students, divided amongst four sections of approximately 40 students each. The entering class had a median LSAT score of 165 and media GPA of 3.72. According to Wake Forest's official ABA-required disclosures, 96.5% of the Class of 2021 obtained full-time, long-term, Bar-required or JD Advantage employment within 10 months after graduation. Of those graduates, North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Florida accounted for the most popular employment locations. The bar passage rate in North Carolina for the Class of 2021 was 95.7% and the overall bar passage rate was 94.27%.

Class Profile

For the 2022-2023 academic year, Wake Forest University School of Law enrolled 159 first-year students out of 1,808 total applicants. The incoming class came from 100 different undergraduate colleges and universities from 32 different states, with 67% of students being classified as "out-of-state residents". The incoming class was featured a high level of diversity with 52% of the class identifying as female and 48% identifying as male. Additionally, 20% of the incoming class identified themselves as being LGBTQ+ and 19% of the class identified as being an minoritized ethnicity. 54% of the incoming class also reported having at least 1 year of post-undergraduate experience prior to matriculating. Numerically, the incoming class was also very accomplished with the 75th percentile LSAT score being 166, the median being 165, and the 25th percentile being 159. The 75th percentile undergraduate GPA was 3.85, the median was 3.72, and the 25th percentile was 3.46.

Publications

The school has three student-run law journals. The school's flagship journal is the ''

Wake Forest Law Review The ''Wake Forest Law Review'' is a law journal edited and published by students at the Wake Forest University School of Law. Rankings In 2013, the ''Wake Forest Law Review'' was ranked 40th overall among American law reviews by the ''Washingt ...

''. The school also publishes two specialized journals, the ''Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy'' and the ''Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law''. Journal membership is determined primarily through a writing competition that is administered at the end of the first-year. ''Wake Forest Law Review'' also extends invitations for membership based on GPA to the top 10% of the first-year class, regardless of performance in the writing competition. By joining a journal, students are eligible to earn two (2) credit hours per year, in the Spring semester, by serving on the Editorial Board or by writing an original piece of scholarship (i.e. a Note or Comment).

Rankings

The Wake Forest University School of Law is ranked 37th in the 2023 ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranking.

Student organizations

* Student Bar Association *

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 ...

Black Law Students Association The National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA), founded in 1968, is a nationwide organization formed to articulate and promote the needs and goals of black law students and effectuates change in the legal community. As the largest law stude ...

* North Carolina Student Bar Association *

American Constitution Society The American Constitution Society (ACS) is a progressive legal organization. ACS was created as a counterweight to, and is modeled after, the Federalist Society, and is often described as its progressive counterpart. Founded in 2001 following t ...

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. Headquartered ...

* Christian Legal Society *

Moot Court Moot court is a co-curricular activity at many law schools. Participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, usually involving drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in oral argument. In most countries, the phrase " ...

Board * Trial Bar * Transactional Law Competition * Public Interest Law Organization * ''

'' * ''Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy'' * ''Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law'' * Texas Young Lawyer Association National Trial Team * AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition Trial Team * OUTLaw

Student opportunities

* Metropolitan

Externship Externships are experiential learning opportunities, similar to internships, provided by partnerships between educational institutions and employers to give students practical experiences in their field of study. In medicine, it may refer to a visi ...

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- Students spend approximately 35 hours per week interning in a government agency or non-governmental organization. In addition to this practice component, students attend a weekly class session, which explores issues common to the interns. * Summer Study Abroad Programs in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, and

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. *

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

Guardian Ad Litem A legal guardian is a person who has been appointed by a court or otherwise has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to make decisions relevant to the personal and property interests of another person who is deemed incompetent, calle ...

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Project

Clinics

The law school offers seven

legal clinics A legal clinic (also law clinic or law school clinic) is a legal aid or law school program providing services to various clients and often hands-on-legal experience to law school students. Clinics are usually directed by clinical professors. ...

, or programs that allow students to attain practical legal experience through providing legal services to real clients. * Appellate Advocacy Clinic - Students represent clients in a variety of appellate courts, including the Fourth Circuit and the Seventh Circuit. Students handle an actual appeal from start to finish, with advice and assistance from their professor, who is counsel of record. Students also travel to Washington, D.C., to observe arguments at the United States Supreme Court. * Child Advocacy Clinic - Students represent children in custody disputes, domestic violence situations, and in issues involving the public school system. * Community Law and Business Clinic - A new program, this clinic provides law and graduate business students with an opportunity to develop skills needed to practice in the increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment they will encounter as professionals. * * Innocence and Justice Clinic - This clinic has its origins in the Innocence Project in which Wake Forest students review and investigate claims of innocence to determine whether DNA evidence existed that could exonerate inmates. * Civil & Criminal Externship Clinic - Formerly referred to as the Litigation Clinic, students have the opportunity to receive real world practice experience by working with local attorneys. During the semester, all students receive civil placements with local firms, in-house counsel offices, and the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina. Students also spend half of their semester working in a criminal placement. These placements have included private firms as well as prosecutors' and public defenders' offices. *Veterans Legal Clinic - Students work with former military services members to upgrade their discharge statuses. The lengthy process involves submitting briefs to the pertinent military discharge review board.

Employment

According to Wake Forest's official ABA-required disclosures, 84.8% of the Class of 2016 obtained full-time, long-term, Bar-required or JD Advantage employment within 10 months after graduation.

Cost of Attendance

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Wake Forest University School of Law for the 2022-2023 academic year is $78,744. Though Wake Forest University School of Law does not provide any "need-based" scholarships (i.e. scholarship based on income and/or family contribution), most students qualify for and receive some form of "merit based" scholarship (i.e. scholarship based on prior academic performance). For all students in attendance between 2020-2021, out of 465 students, 443 students received some form of merit scholarship (95% of total students). Of those students, 122 (26% of total students) received scholarships for an amount less than half the cost of tuition. Another 288 (62% of total students) received scholarships for amounts between half and full tuition. And 31 (7% of total students) received scholarships for amounts greater than the cost of tuition. Of the scholarships provided: the 75th percentile was valued at $42,000 per year, the median was valued at $36,000 per year, and the 25 percentile was valued at $22,250 per year. Outside of traditional scholarship opportunities, Wake Forest students frequently receive Grad PLUS Loans through Federal Student Aid Programs or participate in various approved Federal Work-Study program opportunities throughout the law school.

Notable alumni

* Kenneth D. Bell (J.D. 1983), Judge of the

United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (in case citations, W.D.N.C.) is a federal district court which covers the western third of North Carolina. Appeals from the Western District of North Carolina are take ...

* Joseph Branch, Former Chief Justice of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

Rhoda Billings Rhoda Bryan Billings (born September 30, 1937) is an American lawyer and a former justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Billings is a native of Wilkesboro, North Carolina. She earned her law degree from Wake Forest University School of L ...

(J.D., 1966), Former Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court *

Mary P. Easley Mary Pipines Easley is an American attorney, academic, and former university administrator who, as the wife of Governor Mike Easley, served as First Lady of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first wom ...

(J.D. 1975), Former First Lady of North Carolina * William Earl Britt (LL.B. 1958), Former federal judge for the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (in case citations, E.D.N.C.) is the United States district court that serves the eastern 44 counties in North Carolina. Appeals from the Eastern District of North Caroli ...

Sidney S. Eagles Jr. Sidney S. "Sid" Eagles Jr. served as a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 1983 until January 2004. At the time of his retirement, Eagles was serving as Chief Judge of that court. Before his judicial service, Eagles worked as counse ...

(J.D. 1964), Former Justice of the

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was created ...

* James P. Cain (J.D. 1984), Former U.S. Ambassador to

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* Elizabeth Kay Dillon (J.D. 1986), Federal judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia *

Robert L. Ehrlich Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of Governors of Maryland, 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Ehrlich represe ...

(J.D., 1982), Former Governor of and Congressman for the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

* Rocky Fitzsimmons, member of the

West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in the ...

* Jerome B. Friedman (J.D., 1969), Federal judge for the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roa ...

Kay Hagan Janet Kay Hagan (née Ruthven; May 26, 1953 – October 28, 2019) was an American lawyer, banking executive, and politician who served as a United States Senator from North Carolina from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she previo ...

(JD, 1978), 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 ...

for the state of

(2009-2015) *

Johnson Jay Hayes Johnson Jay Hayes (January 23, 1886 – October 22, 1970) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Education and career Born in Purlear, North Carolina, Hayes received a ...

(LL.B. 1909), Judge of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina The United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (in case citations, M.D.N.C.) is a United States district court with jurisdiction over 24 counties in the center of North Carolina. It consists of five divisions with a h ...

Malcolm Jones Howard Malcolm Jones Howard (born June 24, 1939) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Education and career Born in Kinston, North Carolina, Howard received a Bachelo ...

, (J.D. 1970), Federal judge for the

* Samuel Johnson Howard (J.D. 1976), 8th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

* Woodrow Wilson Jones (LL.B. 1937), Federal judge for the

Western District of North Carolina The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (in case citations, W.D.N.C.) is a federal district court which covers the western third of North Carolina. Appeals from the Western District of North Carolina are tak ...

Cheslie Kryst Cheslie Corrinne Kryst (; April 28, 1991 – January 30, 2022) was an American television correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2019. Kryst was also an attorney and had served as a correspondent for ''Ex ...

(J.D. 2017),

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

2019 and television presenter *

I. Beverly Lake Jr. Isaac Beverly Lake Jr. (January 30, 1934 – September 12, 2019) was an American jurist and politician, who served as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Early life I. Beverly Lake Jr. was born on January 30, 1934, in Raleigh, No ...

(J.D. 1960), Former Chief Justice of the

* John C. Martin (J.D. 1967), Former Chief Judge of the

Warren McGraw Warren Randolph McGraw (born May 10, 1939) is a lawyer, politician, and judge in West Virginia and brother of former West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw. Personal life Warren McGraw was born in Wyoming County, West Virginia, United ...

(J.D. 1963), Former Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, although from 1873 t ...

and West Virginia Senate President *

Robert Burren Morgan Robert Burren Morgan (October 5, 1925 – July 16, 2016) was an American politician. He was a Democratic United States Senator from the state of North Carolina for a single term from 1975 until 1981. Life and career Born in Lillington, North C ...

(J.D.), Former U.S. Senator for the state of North Carolina (1975–1981) * Anuraag Singhal (J.D. 1989), Judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (in case citations, S.D. Fla. or S.D. Fl.) is the federal United States district court with territorial jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida.. Appeals ...

* Emory M. Sneeden (LL.B. 1953), Former Judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryla ...

* Edwin Monroe Stanley (LL.B., 1931), Former federal judge for the

Charles H. Taylor Charles H. Taylor may refer to: * Charles Taylor (North Carolina politician) (born 1941), US congressman from North Carolina * Charles H. Taylor (Michigan politician) (1813–1889), American politician who served as the Michigan Secretary of State ...

(J.D., 1966) Former U.S. Representative for the state of North Carolina (1991–2007) * Norwood Tilley (J.D. 1969), Federal judge for the

* Don Vaughan (J.D., 1979) Former member of the

North Carolina State Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

from

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

Hiram Hamilton Ward Hiram Hamilton Ward (April 29, 1923 – April 4, 2002) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Education and career Born in Thomasville, North Carolina, Ward received a ...

(LL.B., 1950) Former federal judge for the

Samuel Grayson Wilson Samuel Grayson Wilson (born 1949) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Education and career Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Wilson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from ...

(J.D. 1974) Federal Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia *

Christopher R. Barron Christopher R. Barron (born December 15, 1973) is an American political activist best known as the cofounder of GOProud, a political organization representing gay conservatives. He is the president of CapSouth Consulting, a political consulting ...

(J.D.), Co-Founder of

GOProud GOProud was an American tax exempt 527 organization supported by fiscally conservative gay men, lesbians, and their allies. GOProud advocated for free markets, limited government, and a respect for individual rights and worked at the federal an ...

. *

Greg Habeeb Gregory D. Habeeb (born June 15, 1976) is a lawyer and American politician in Southwest Virginia. He is a conservative Republican and was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 8th district, which includes the City of Sal ...

(J.D., 2001) Member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

. *

Creigh Deeds Robert Creigh Deeds (; born January 4, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a member of the Senate of Virginia representing the 25th district since 2001. Previously, he was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Virgi ...

(J.D., 1984) Member of the

Virginia State Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senate, senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor ...

. * Suzanne Reynolds (J.D., 1977) Dean Emerita and Professor of Law at Wake Forest School of Law.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wake Forest University School Of Law Law schools in North Carolina Wake Forest University