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 Penn State Law, located in University Park, Pennsylvania, is one of two separately accredited law schools of the Pennsylvania State University. Penn State Law offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees. The school also offers a joint J.D./M.B. ...

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 Neeli Bendapudi is an American academic administrator who is the 19th president of the Pennsylvania State University. From 2018 until 2021, she served as the 18th president of the University of Louisville. In December 2021, the Pennsylvania Sta ...

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. Dickinson Law Exterior Night

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 A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishabl ...

. 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 Dickinson Law Review is the flagship law review of Penn State Dickinson Law. Founded in 1897 as ''The Forum,'' it is the fifth oldest law review in continuous print in the United States. From 1898-1899, Julia Radle, the first female student in th ...

. 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 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 ...

*Animal Legal Defense Fund *Asian Pacific American Law Students Association *

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 ...

(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 The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania. The court was created in 1901 by subdividing ...

Bill Bufalino William Eugene Bufalino (; April 13, 1918 – May 12, 1990) was an American attorney who represented the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1947 until 1971. He retired in 1982. Bufalino worked closely with Jimmy Hoffa until 1971. ...

, 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 The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania. The court was created in 1901 by subdividing t ...

* 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 The secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (or "secretary of state") administers the Pennsylvania Department of State of the U.S. state (officially, " commonwealth") of Pennsylvania. The secretary is appointed by the governor subject to co ...

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

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phil ...

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

United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, W.D. Pa.) is a federal trial court that sits in Pittsburgh, Erie, and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is composed of ten judges as authorized by federal ...

* 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

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 Daniel Brodhead Heiner (December 30, 1854 – February 14, 1944) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a two-term Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1893 to 1897. Biography Daniel Brodhead ...

(1854–1944), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania * Arthur Horace James, former

Pennsylvania Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of state and head of government of the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforc ...

(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

, who presided over the ruling in

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District ''Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District'', 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005) was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design ...

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

(1919-1936), Chief Justice (1936-1940) * Edwin Michael Kosik, Judge of the

* 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

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 The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Consular Affairs within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs reports to the Under Secretary of State for ...

* 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 District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

* 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

* D. Brooks Smith, class of 1976, Judge on the

U.S. 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 * Ea ...

* 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

* Richard Barclay Surrick, Judge of the

* Emanuel Mac Troutman, Judge of the

Thomas I. Vanaskie Thomas Ignatius Vanaskie (born November 11, 1953) is a former United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and former Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. E ...

, class of 1978, former chief judge of the

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