The William S. Boyd School of Law is a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. It is located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and is the only law school in Nevada. The school is also home to the Wiener-Rogers Law Library, the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution, the Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic, the Nevada Law Journal, and the UNLV Gaming Law Journal. It awards the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree and has a student body of approximately 350 students. It also awards dual degrees -- including the Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration (J.D./MBA), the Juris Doctor and Master of Social Work (J.D./M.S.W.), and the Juris Doctor and Doctor of Philosophy in Education (J.D./Ph.D.) -- as well as a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Gaming Law and Regulation. All first-year law students are required to participate in a Community Service Program and spend substantial time providing legal information to people in the community who do not have access to lawyers. In partnership with the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada Pro Bono Project, law students prepare and present workshops at numerous locations in their community, on basic legal matters such as small claims court procedure, family law and divorce, bankruptcy, guardianship, and paternity/custody matters.
The law school secured its position as one of the country’s top 100 law schools for the ninth consecutive year, with its Lawyering Process Program ranked second among top legal writing programs and its Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution ranked ninth among the top dispute resolution programs, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 rankings of graduate schools and specialty programs. The law school's part-time program is ranked 22nd in the country.
According to the Boyd School of Law's 2014 ABA-required disclosures, 84.9 percent of Boyd’s Class of 2014 was employed 10 months after graduation. 71.2 percent of the class was working in full-time, long-term jobs for which bar passage is required or a J.D. is preferred.
History
In 1997, then Governor Robert Miller signed into law a bill authorizing the creation of the William S. Boyd School of Law of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). One year later, in 1998, the Boyd School of Law opened its doors to 140 charter class students and the school moved into its permanent facilities in August 2002. In 2000, the school secured provisional American Bar Association (ABA) accreditation and, in February 2003, secured full ABA accreditation. The first class graduated from the Boyd School of Law in May 2001. In January 2004, the William S. Boyd School of Law of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas joined the Association of American Law Schools. In 2001, the Nevada Law Journal published its inaugural issue. In 2010, the UNLV Gaming Law Journal published its inaugural issue.
The current dean of the Boyd School of Law is Daniel W. Hamilton.
Nevada Law Journal
The Nevada Law Journal (NLJ) is a journal of legal scholarship dedicated to analyzing the law and policy implications of significant case law, legislation, administrative regulations and important legal events. The NLJ publishes at least three issues per year and includes submissions by legal practitioners, professors, and students of the William S. Boyd School of Law. Additionally, topics concerning legal symposia, surveys, and tributes to important figures of the law are included. In 2007, the Nevada Law Journal was ranked 91st by author prominence.
Employment
According to the Boyd School of Law's 2014 ABA-required disclosures, 84.9 percent of Boyd’s Class of 2014 was employed 10 months after graduation. 71.2 percent of the class was working in full-time, long-term jobs for which bar passage is required or a J.D. is preferred.
Costs
Tuition at the Boyd School of Law for the 2016-2017 academic year is $37,800 for full-time non-residents and $25,900 for full-time residents.
References
External links
- William S. Boyd School of Law