The Chicago-Kent College of Law is the

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

of the

Illinois Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...

, a private research university in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. It is the second oldest law school in the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

(after Northwestern Law). Chicago-Kent was founded in 1888 by Justice Joseph M. Bailey. Today, it employs more than 140 faculty members and hosts more than 700 students in its

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

program,

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

, and joint degree programs. The school is recognized for its three-year legal writing curriculum and offers J.D. concentrations in business law, criminal litigation, environmental and energy law, intellectual property, labor and employment, and privacy law.

History

Chicago College of Law was founded in 1888 by Appellate Judge

Thomas Moran Thomas Moran (February 12, 1837 – August 25, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family, wife Mary Nimmo Moran and daughter Ruth, took ...

and Judge Joseph Bailey. The classes started in the judges' chambers to prepare men and women for the newly instituted Illinois

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

. A year later, in 1888, the Chicago College of Law was incorporated. In 1891, Emma Baumann graduated from Chicago College of Law, becoming the first woman to earn a law degree from the school. Ida Platt, in 1894, graduated with honors and also became the first black woman admitted to the Illinois bar. During the same period, Marshall D. Ewell, formerly on the faculty of

Union College of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. The law school is l ...

, founded Kent College of Law, which was named after Chancellor James Kent, author of

Commentaries on American Law Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

, a classic in early American legal scholarship. Within ten years, the Chicago College of Law and Kent College of Law merged to form Chicago-Kent College of Law. The law school's chief publication is the ''Chicago-Kent Law Review'', which publishes one volume of three issues each year. The law review has received contributions from U.S. Supreme Court Justice

John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...

, Circuit Judge

Richard A. Posner Richard Allen Posner (; born January 11, 1939) is an American legal scholar and retired United States circuit judge who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1981 to 2017. A senior lecturer at the University of Chicag ...

, and author

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavil ...

. Students at Chicago-Kent publish five other legal journals on an annual basis, including the '' Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property'' and the ''Seventh Circuit Review''. The law school has a notable history of firsts, including the establishment of the first chapters of Lambda Epsilon, later Phi Alpha Delta, the world’s largest legal fraternity, and the creation of the ''Chicago-Kent Law Review'', which began as the ''Athenaeum Law Bulletin'' in 1923, one of the nation's first law reviews. Chicago-Kent moved several times during its history, including to the 116 North Michigan Avenue building in 1912 and the 10 North Franklin Street building in 1924, which served as its home for the next 50 years, prior to its final relocation at 565 West Adams Street in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood. In 1969, Chicago-Kent merged with the

to prepare students to face the challenges of a complex society. The law school pioneered the three-year

legal writing Legal writing involves the analysis of fact patterns and presentation of arguments in documents such as legal memoranda and Brief (law), briefs. One form of legal writing involves drafting a balanced analysis of a legal problem or issue. Another ...

and research program in 1978 and established the first in-house, fee-generating law school clinic in 1976. The law school's

trial advocacy Trial advocacy is the branch of knowledge concerned with making attorneys and other advocates more effective in trial proceedings. Trial advocacy is an essential trade skill for litigators and is taught in law schools and continuing legal educati ...

program was established in 1971 and the

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 many countries, the phrase ...

Honor Society in 1978. In 1984, it became the first law school to make the computer an integral part of the study of law. Many of the applications of technology now taken for granted in the law school classroom were pioneered at Chicago-Kent. In 1989, Chicago-Kent established a chapter of the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif () is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of trial lawyers, the serjeants-at-la ...

, an honorary scholastic society that encourages excellence in legal education by fostering a spirit of careful study and recognizing students, lawyers, judges, and teachers for their outstanding legal scholarship. In 2019, Anita K. Krug was appointed dean, becoming the first woman to hold the position permanently in the school's history.

Rankings and honors

The 2023 edition of '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Chicago-Kent College of Law: *94th in the country overall *4th in the

Chicago Metropolitan Area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

*5th in

*7th in

Trial Advocacy Trial advocacy is the branch of knowledge concerned with making attorneys and other advocates more effective in trial proceedings. Trial advocacy is an essential trade skill for litigators and is taught in law schools and continuing legal educati ...

*12th in

Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

Law *13th in the country overall for its part-time law school program The law school's trial advocacy teams have a long tradition of excellence at both national and regional competitions, and have won the National Trial Competition, the premier trial advocacy competition in the United States, in 1988, 2007, 2008, and 2015. Some of Chicago-Kent's past competition wins and accolades include being finalists in Syracuse Law's National Trial League, national quarterfinalists and regional champions in the National Trial Competition, and quarterfinalists in the Queens District Attorney's National Trial Competition. The law school's students have also been regional finalists in the American Association for Justice Student Trial Competition and quarterfinalists in the University of South Carolina Law's Trials and Tribulations National Trial Competition. In addition, Chicago-Kent's students have won the Best Advocate award in several competitions, including the South Texas Mock Trial Challenge and the All-Star Bracket Challenge. In the 2020-2021 competition year, Chicago-Kent's trial advocacy teams were particularly successful, winning the Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition XII and being regional champions in the National Trial Competition. They also had semifinalists in the National Ethics Trial Competition and the Drexel Battle of the Experts, as well as quarterfinalists in the South Texas Mock Trial Challenge and the Stetson National Pre-Trial Competition.

Degree programs

Chicago-Kent College of law, in conjunction with the Office of International Programs, and the Illinois Institute of Technology's

Stuart School of Business The Stuart School of Business (Stuart) is the business school within Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech), a private Ph.D.-granting technological university, located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Illinois Tech's primary campus ...

, offer the following programs: *

(J.D.) Program ** J.D. Certificates and Concentrations: ***

Business Law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and organizations engaged in ...

***

Intellectual Property Law Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, ...

***Legal Innovation and Technology ***

Public Interest Law Public interest law refers to legal practices undertaken to help poor, marginalized, or under-represented people, or to effect change in social policies in the public interest, on 'not for profit' terms ( ''pro bono publico''), often in the fields ...

***Criminal Litigation ***

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

and Comparative Law ***Litigation and

Alternative Dispute Resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

***

Environmental Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

and Energy Law ***

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and Employment Law ***

Privacy Law Privacy law is a set of regulations that govern the collection, storage, and utilization of personal information from healthcare, governments, companies, public or private entities, or individuals. Privacy laws are examined in relation to an ind ...

***Workplace Litigation and

*Graduate LL.M. Programs **Global Business and Financial Law **Legal Innovation and Technology **International Intellectual Property Law **Trial Advocacy for International Students **U.S., International and Transnational Law *Joint Degree Programs **J.D./LL.M. in Global Business and Financial Law **J.D./

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

**J.D./

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

**J.D./M.S. in Sustainability Analytics and Management **J.D./ M.P.P.A. **Dual LL.M & M.B.A. degree program

Institutes and centers

*Center for Access to Justice & Technology *Center for Information, Society, and Policy *Center for Open Government *Global Law and Policy Initiative *IIT Center for Diabetes Research and Policy *Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future *Institute for Law and the Humanities *Institute for Law and the Workplace *Institute for Science, Law and Technology *Jury Center *The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) and

Oyez Project The Oyez Project is an unofficial online multimedia archive website for the Supreme Court of the United States. It was initiated by the Illinois Institute of Technology's Chicago-Kent College of Law and now also sponsored by Cornell Law School Le ...

are headquartered at Chicago-Kent

Notable alumni

Robert Sengstacke Abbott Robert Sengstacke Abbott (December 24, 1870 – February 29, 1940) was an American lawyer, newspaper publisher and editor. Abbott founded ''The Chicago Defender'' in 1905, which grew to have the highest circulation of any black-owned newspaper in ...

, 1898, founder of the ''

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'' * Pablo Almaguer, former Chair of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors *

Anita Alvarez Anita M. Alvarez (born January 16, 1960) is the former State's Attorney for Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alvarez was the first Hispanic woman elected to this position, after being the first Latina to win the Democratic nomination for ...

, former Cook County State's Attorney * Stanley C. Armstrong, 1911, former Illinois state representative * Carson Block, 2005, investor, short-seller, and founder of Muddy Waters Research * Esther Dunshee Bower, 1902, co-founder, Illinois

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

* Anne M. Burke, 1983, Illinois Supreme Court Justice *

J. Herbert Burke J. Herbert Burke (January 14, 1913 – June 16, 1993) was a Republican U.S. Representative from Florida who served from 1967 to 1979. History He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended the public schools, the defunct Central YMCA ...

, 1940,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, 1967-1979 * Frank J. Corr, acting mayor of Chicago, March 15, 1933 – April 8, 1933 * William L. Dawson (attended), U.S. Congressman * Peter K. De Vuono, 1934, Illinois state representative and lawyer * Billy Dec, nightlife entrepreneur * Samuel Ettelson, 1897, Illinois state senator and attorney * Harris W. Fawell, U.S. Congressman * M. G. Gordon, businessman, inventor, and social theorist * Robert J. Gorman, 1940, attorney * Earnest A. Greene, state representative in 1936 * Oscar Raymond Holcomb, 1892, former Justice of the Washington Supreme Court * Randy Hultgren, 1993, Republican U.S. Representative for Illinois' 14th Congressional District * Charles P. Kindregan, Jr., legal author, professor, expert on modern family law *

Florence King Florence Virginia King (January 5, 1936 – January 6, 2016) was an American novelist, essayist and columnist. While her early writings focused on the American South and those who live there, much of King's later work was published in ''Natio ...

, first female patent attorney in America * Weymouth Kirkland, namesake partner of

Kirkland & Ellis Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis has been the largest law firm in the world by revenue since 2017 and, as of 2025, is the seventh-largest by number ...

* Carolyn H. Krause, Member of the Illinois House of Representatives * James T. Londrigan, Justice of the

Illinois Appellate Court The Illinois Appellate Court is the court of first appeal for civil and criminal cases rising in the Illinois circuit courts. In Illinois, litigants generally have a right to first appeal from final decisions or judgements of the circuit court ...

from the 4th district * Abraham Lincoln Marovitz, 1925, appointed to Federal Court for the Northern District of Illinois by President John F. Kennedy, 1963 * Richard B. Ogilvie, 1949, Illinois Governor, 1969–1973 *

Maria Pappas Maria Pappas is a Greek American attorney and politician who has served as the Cook County Treasurer since 1998. Prior to that, she served two terms on the Cook County Board of Commissioners; first as one of ten members elected from Chicago an ...

, Cook County Treasurer *

Kwame Raoul Kwame Raoul (, born September 30, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician who has been the 42nd Attorney General of Illinois since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Raoul represented the 13th district in the Illinois Senate fro ...

, Illinois Attorney General * Larry Rogers, Jr., commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review *

Peter Roskam Peter James Roskam (born September 13, 1961) is an American politician and lobbyist who is the former United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , serving six terms from 2007 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party ...

, 1989, Republican U.S. Representative for Illinois' 6th Congressional District * Ilana Kara Diamond Rovner, 1966, first woman appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, by President Bush, 1992 * Jim Ryan, 1971, former Illinois attorney general * Kathy Salvi, 1984, partner at Salvi & Maher, Republican nominee for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

* Bob Schillerstrom, DuPage County Board Chairman * Flora Warren Seymour, 1916, Attorney, writer, historian, first woman on the Board of Indian Commissioners * Nathan B. Spingold, vice-president of

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

* James E. Strunck, 1950, Illinois state senator and judge * Chad Taylor, District Attorney for Shawnee County, KS * Charles H. Thompson, 1918, Chief Justice, Illinois Supreme Court, 1945, 1945, 1949, 1950 * Jerry Vainisi, football executive and businessman * Arthur Wilhelmi, 1993, Member of the Illinois Senate * Bruce Wolf, sports journalist

Notable faculty

* Ralph Brill, legal writing scholar * Michael T. Cahill, Dean of

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty. ...

Sarah Harding Sarah Harding (born Sarah Nicole Hardman; 17 November 1981 – 5 September 2021) was an English singer, model and actress. Her professional career began in 2002 when she successfully auditioned for the ITV (TV channel), ITV reality series ''Po ...

, Dean of

Schulich School of Law The Schulich School of Law is the law school of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1883 as Dalhousie Law School, it is the oldest university-based common law school in Canada. It adopted its current name in October ...

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

Employment

According to Chicago-Kent's official ABA-required disclosures, 89.9% of the Class of 2015 obtained employment nine months after graduation. Chicago-Kent's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 20.9%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Chicago-Kent for the 2013–2014 academic year is $64,867. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $239,727.

Publications

* ''Chicago-Kent Law Review'' * ''Chicago-Kent Journal of Environmental and Energy Law'' * ''Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal'' * ''Illinois Public Employee Relations Report'' * '' Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property'' * ''Seventh Circuit Review'' * ''The Journal of International and Comparative Law'' * ''Satyam: The Chicago-Kent College of Law's Journal on

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and the Law''

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1888 establishments in Illinois Universities and colleges established in 1888 Illinois Institute of Technology Law schools in Illinois