Western New England College School Of Law
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Western New England University School of Law is a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
, ABA-accredited law school in Western Massachusetts. Established in 1919, the law school has approximately 8,000 alumni who live and work across the United States and internationally. Western New England Law offers both full-time and part-time programs. It is a college within
Western New England University Western New England University is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts. Academic programs are provided through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Engineering, School of Law, and College of Pharmacy and ...
.


History

Western New England College was established in 1919 as a branch of
Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
(then Northeastern College) and began offering evening law classes. In 1923, the first seven law graduates were recognized. In 1951, Western New England College received an independent charter and ended its affiliation with Northeastern. The full-time law program began in 1973. The S. Prestley Blake Law Center was first opened in 1978 at a cost of $3.4 million. The building is named after
S. Prestley Blake Stewart Prestley Blake (November 26, 1914 – February 11, 2021) was an American restaurateur. He was a co-founder of the Friendly Ice Cream Corporation (known more commonly as "Friendly's"). Early life Blake was born in Jersey City, New Jers ...
, who made a substantial gift of $250,000 to the project. The law school underwent major renovations in 2007, including a new wing, lobby, and entrance. The project also saw the reconfiguration of several classrooms, creating smaller and more intimate learning environments. On July 1, 2011, Western New England College School of Law officially became Western New England University School of Law. The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approved the change in March 2011.


Programs

The primary aim of the law school is its J.D. program, where first year students are divided into small sections of less than 60 people, providing approximately an 11:1 student-faculty ratio. The school also offers a part-time day or evening program. In addition, the law school has the following six joint-degree programs: J.D./
M.B.A A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
., J.D./ M.S.A., and J.D./ M.S.O.L. with the Western New England University College of Business; J.D./M.S.E.M. with the Western New England University College of Engineering; J.D./ M.S.W. with
Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...
; and a J.D./ M.R.P. with the
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
. Undergraduates of certain undergraduate institutions can take advantage of the "3+3 program," which allows certain students to complete a B.A. and a J.D. in six years.


Concentrations

J.D. students have the option to concentrate in the following fields: Business Law, Criminal Law, Estate Planning, Gender and Sexuality Studies, International and Comparative Law, Public Interest Law, or Real Estate.


Clinics and externships

The law school offers numerous clinical opportunities, where students can gain practical knowledge and develop professional skills under the supervision of experienced practitioners. The following clinics are currently offered: Criminal Law Defense Practicum, Criminal Law Prosecution Practicum, Discrimination Clinic, Elder Law Clinic, Family Law Mediation Clinic, International Human Rights Clinic, Legal Services Clinic (includes Immigration, Family, and Housing Law), Real Estate Practicum, and the Small Business Clinic. Students also have the opportunity to gain practical legal experience for academic credit through offered or student-secured externships. The university's Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship also offers a resource for small business development in the greater Pioneer Valley region. The Small Business Clinic is the cornerstone program of the Center. The Clinic pairs students from the School of Law and College of Business to offer personal, professional legal assistance to entrepreneurs in the business start-up stage.


LL.M. programs

The law school offers a live, interactive online program in Elder Law and Estate Planning.


The Center for Gender and Sexuality Studies

Established in 2012, the Center for Gender & Sexuality Studies is a resource for the School of Law community, the greater legal community, and the general public. Its work focuses on issues relating to gender and sexuality, including civil rights issues affecting women and sexual minorities.


Western New England Law Review

The Western New England Law Review publishes three issues per year. The editorial board consists of members of the School of Law who rank at or near the top 10 percent of their first-year class. The ''Law Review'' also permits a certain number of candidates based on the recommendation of their Legal Research and Writing professor at the end of their first year.


Employment

According to Western New England Law's official 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 42.7% of the Class of 2016 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo-practitioners. Western New England Law'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 is 30.1%, 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. The main employment destinations for 2013 Western New England Law graduates were
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
.


Costs

For the 2017-2018 academic year, tuition is $40,954 for the full-time program and $30,298 for the part-time program.http://www1.wne.edu/law/about/2017-wne-509-report.pdf The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) for the 2014-2015 academic year is $62,802 for the full-time program and $51,955 for the part-time program. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $230,544. The average indebtedness of the 97% of 2013 Western New England Law graduates who took out loans was $120,677.


Notable people


Notable alumni

*
Stephen Buoniconti Stephen J. Buoniconti (born September 4, 1969 in Holyoke, Massachusetts) is an American politician who represented the Hampden Districfrom the Massachusetts Senate from the year 2005 to 2011 and the 6th Hampden District in the Massachusetts Hous ...
'95 - Former member of the Massachusetts Senate (served 2005–2011) and former member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
(served 2001 - 2004). * Lawrence F. Cafero '81 - Member of
Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...
and Republican House Leader. * Gale D. Candaras '82 - Member of the Massachusetts Senate (served 2007–present) and former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 1996 - 2006). * Michael A. Christ '02 - Former Deputy Majority Leader of Connecticut House of Representatives. * Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera '95, Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 1999–present). *
Michael Charles Green Michael Charles Green (born 1961) is the executive commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). He is the former District Attorney for Monroe County, New York. During 2011, he was a federal judicial nominee for ...
'86 - District Attorney for
Monroe County, New York Monroe County is a county in the Finger Lakes region of the State of New York. The county is along Lake Ontario's southern shore. At the 2020 census, Monroe County's population was 759,443, an increase since the 2010 census. Its county seat an ...
. * Daniel F. Keenan - Former member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
(served 1995–2007). *
John Kissel John Kissel may refer to: * John Kissel (New York politician) (1864–1938), New York State Senate * John Kissel (Connecticut politician) (born 1959), Connecticut State Senate {{hndis, Kissel, John ...
'84 - Member of the
Connecticut State Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sena ...
. * Maura L. Melley '78 - Former Secretary of the State of Connecticut (served 1982–1983). * Tim Murray '94 - Former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and former Mayor of
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
. *
Larry O'Brien Lawrence Francis O'Brien Jr. (July 7, 1917September 28, 1990) was an American politician and basketball commissioner. He was one of the United States Democratic Party's leading electoral strategists for more than two decades. He served as Postm ...
'42 - Former
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
Commissioner and former
U.S. Postmaster General The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...
. *
Angelo Puppolo Angelo J. Puppolo Jr. is a politician from Springfield, Massachusetts. A Democrat, he currently serves as the 12th Hampden District representative in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He was elected to his first term in office in Novem ...
'01 - Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (served 2007–present) and former City Councilor in the city of
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
* Joseph Rallo '76 - State of Louisiana's Commissioner of Higher Education. * Thomas L. Stevenson '77 - Former member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...
(served 1997–2006). *
John E. Sweeney John Edward Sweeney (born August 9, 1955) is an American politician from the U.S. state of New York. A Republican, he represented New York's 20th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from January 1999 to January 2 ...
'91 - Former Republican member of the
U.S. 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 upstate New York and noted conservative legislator. * Mark G. Mastroianni '89 - U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Massachusetts (confirmed 2014), Former Hampden County District Attorney * Lois Lerner - Former director of the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
Exempt Organizations Unit and central figure of the
IRS targeting controversy In 2013, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), under the Obama administration, revealed that it had selected political groups applying for tax-exempt status for intensive scrutiny based on their names or political themes. This led t ...


See also

*
Western New England University Western New England University is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts. Academic programs are provided through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Engineering, School of Law, and College of Pharmacy and ...


References


External links


Western New England College School of Law
{{DEFAULTSORT:Western New England College School Of Law Law schools in Massachusetts Western New England University Education in Springfield, Massachusetts Universities and colleges in Hampden County, Massachusetts Universities and colleges founded by the YMCA