College of Law

University of Kentucky Undergraduate Bulletin

2003-2004

Visit the UK College of Law Web site.

Allan W. Vestal, J.D., is Dean of the College of Law; Christopher W. Frost, J.D., Susan Bybee Steele, J.D., and Drusilla Vansant Bakert, J.D., are Associate Deans.

APPLICATION DEADLINES FOR COLLEGE OF LAW

First-Year Students
Law Application:
Fall -- March 1

LSDAS Report:
Fall -- March 31

Transfer Students
Law Application, transcript(s), credentials:
Fall -- June 1

Spring -- Dec. 1

Summer -- May 15

Since its establishment in 1908, the College of Law has provided programs of legal instruction, research, and service to the state and to the bar. The College of Law program is designed so that its graduates can practice their profession on a local, regional, or national level. The college is accredited by all agencies which establish standards for law schools, including the Association of American Law Schools, the American Bar Association and the bar admission authorities in all states.

The instructional program consists of a three-year general law curriculum designed to be completed in six consecutive 16-week semesters or in five semesters and two summer sessions. The program is arranged to assist each student in acquiring the skills required for the solution of modern legal problems; to make certain that he or she has an appreciation for and understanding of the legal, social, and political institutions on which the administration of justice rests; and to prepare him or her for the policy and ethical decisions which must be made in practicing law.

The Faculty

The program of the college is conducted by a full-time faculty and staff composed of 28 professors and 25 library and support personnel. They are assisted by some part-time professors.

The Library

The college maintains a carefully selected law library collection of over 350,000 volumes, one of the larger law libraries in the South. It is housed in the Law Building and includes a comprehensive collection of American case and statutory materials. It contains more than 40,000 treatises and textbooks, all major legal reference works, and over 3,400 annual legal publications. The law library is growing at a rate of about 10,000 volumes per year.

The Law Building

The College of Law occupies a handsome building of contemporary design located on the central campus. The building was planned to provide all of the special physical facilities required for a modern legal education. Facilities include “smart classrooms”; a model courtroom-auditorium; the Law Library; faculty and staff offices; offices for the Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Law, the Kentucky Law Journal, the Moot Court Board, the Trial Advocacy Board, the Student Bar Association and other law student organizations; and offices for visiting scholars who come to the College of Law for research and study.

Other Facilities and Information

Since 1912 the college has published the Kentucky Law Journal, a quarterly periodical and the tenth oldest American law review. This journal is published by a student staff, and election to the staff is based on high academic achievement and proven ability to write and conduct research. Articles, notes, and comments written by legal scholars, attorneys, and students are published. The Kentucky Law Journal is subscribed to by members of the bar as well as all leading domestic and foreign libraries.

The Mineral Law Center was established in 1983 to serve as an objective and nonpartisan research center for energy and environmental-related legal issues and to further the teaching and service missions of the college. The center currently publishes the Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Law, and is home to the Eastern Mineral Law Foundation.

Practical training in trial and appellate advocacy is provided in litigation skills and clinical courses, and in co-curricular moot court and trial and appellate advocacy programs. Teams representing the college compete annually in various trial advocacy and appellate advocacy competitions.

Instruction in legal research and writing is available to all students, not only in required courses designed for this purpose, but also in a program of seminars, drafting projects and opportunities for independent study. The college operates an externship program to provide students with a variety of clinical learning experiences. In 1997, the College of Law opened a Civil Law Clinic across Limestone Street from the College, giving students the opportunity to represent low-income individuals on a variety of legal matters.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the University, an applicant for admission to the College of Law must meet the following requirements:

The applicant must have received a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.

2. The applicant must have taken the Law School Admission Test.

3. The applicant must have registered with the Law School Data Assembly Service and furnished the necessary transcripts which such registration requires.

Admissions Committee Consideration

The College of Law Admissions Committee considers and makes recommendations to the Dean of the College of Law on an applicant's undergraduate grade record, the Law School Admission Test Score, writing ability, and other factors indicative of the applicant's aptitude for law study. The Committee examines with particular care the grade average for the most recent semesters of undergraduate study, recommendations of faculty, the nature and difficulty of course work attempted in prelaw study, undergraduate extracurricular activities, and work experience. The Committee also considers post-baccalaureate experiences where such experiences, in the Committee's determination, indicate a development of aptitude for the study of law. The Committee will review the file of an applicant to determine whether personal, academic, professional, or intellectual circumstances tend to discount low academic or LSAT scores and give evidence of both the capability and motivation to do successful law school work. The Committee may also consider factors which bear on the provision of adequate legal services to all segments of Kentucky.

In its decision making, the Committee works with written materials in the applicant's file. There is no interview and applicants are urged to provide in writing whatever they want the Committee to consider. The Committee welcomes letters of recommendation which speak to ability, and the Committee will consider any other material the applicant thinks important enough to include.

Admission of Transfer Students

At a minimum, applicants for transfer from a law school should present a 2.7 average on at least 25 hours of law school work at a school accredited by the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools. The Admissions Committee will consider the applicant's law school record as well as all factors the Committee considers in an application for the entering class.

Procedure for Application

Application for admission is initiated by submitting the following to the Office of the Dean, College of Law: a completed UK law application form, which may be obtained from that office, and a $35 check made payable to the University of Kentucky College of Law.

The Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), is given four times each year at testing centers throughout the country according to a schedule of dates and places published by the LSAC.

In addition to administering the LSAT, LSAC provides a transcript analysis and report for applicants, known as the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). All applicants are required to register directly with LSAC for this service, which is done at the time one applies to take the LSAT. Transcripts of prelaw work should be sent to LSAC rather than the University.

The LSAT and the LSDAS registration forms are available from LSAC and from the Dean's Office in the College of Law.

Submission Dates and Deadlines

Because the Admissions Committee considers applications as they are completed, all students are urged to apply as early as possible. March 1 of the year in which an applicant expects to enter law school for the fall semester is the priority deadline for receipt of the application form. March 31 is the priority deadline for receipt of all supplementary materials, including LSAT scores and the LSDAS report. Applicants are urged to take the LSAT in June, October or December. The LSAT given in late February or early March is the last examination which will be accepted by the Admissions Committee. Applicants are urged to send transcripts to LSDAS no later than January 1. If transcripts are not on file with LSDAS by February 1, there is a substantial possibility that an LSDAS report will not arrive at the Office of Admissions before the March 31 priority deadline for receipt for materials.

College of Law Withdrawal Policy

All students enrolled in the College of Law are expected to complete their degree requirements without interruption other than for regularly scheduled vacation periods. It is expected that students will complete all courses or seminars in which they are enrolled. Rules specific to withdrawal from the College of Law exist. Contact the College of Law for complete information.

PRELEGAL STUDY

While a broad, liberal arts education is generally considered to be an excellent preparation for law school, there is no fixed, comprehensive prelaw curriculum prescribed by this or any other American law school.

This fact is very important, and its implications should not be misunderstood. American legal education is not a graduate program of advanced work in a specialized course of study beginning in college; it is not a technical or scientific training that builds upon a specific preparation in basic techniques and knowledge acquired in undergraduate school. Legal education is a professional education which requires that each student develop three fundamental capacities (described below) in the prelegal experience. These accomplishments may be obtained in a variety of learning ways and academic disciplines.

First, because the basic working tools of lawyers are written and spoken words, the beginning law student must have thorough preparation in the use of the language. The importance of this requirement cannot be overstated. A fundamental knowledge of grammar and syntax, a good vocabulary, an ability to read rapidly with insight and understanding, and a facility for expressing ideas with clarity and order are all essential to success in the study and practice of law. Any prelaw student who is deficient in these abilities should immediately take additional courses in English literature and composition, seek specialized remedial assistance, and exert all efforts towards language mastery.

Second, because the primary working arenas of lawyers are social, economic, and political communities, the beginning law student must obtain a comprehensive, exploratory undergraduate experience. The law student should have a good knowledge of history (especially English and American traditions), of governmental and political processes, of social and cultural patterns and the interactions that create them, and of the ethical and spiritual credos by which men and women live.

Third, because the fundamental techniques of legally trained persons are careful ordering of facts and events, conceptual analysis and synthesis, and effective advocacy, the prelaw student should pursue a degree program in which he or she will learn to think clearly, will form sound study habits, and will have the opportunity to master the methodology and knowledge of a particular field under the guidance of experienced instructors. Generally, any undergraduate program can satisfy this requirement and help meet the other two needs outlined above. Prelaw students with definite career objectives in mind may wish to prepare for those objectives by majoring in appropriate subjects, for example: business or economics, government or political science, English literature, engineering, or the natural sciences.

Experience indicates that the poorest preparation for legal study lies in inadequate development of language skills, lack of historical and social awareness and appreciation, and failure to achieve the mastery of any academic discipline that overcomes the shallowness of vague generalization. Therefore, the prescription from this law school to the prelaw student is that he or she should invest in the broadest, deepest undergraduate education open to him or her rather than in some predetermined curriculum.

For additional information, students should obtain the current Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools, published and prepared by the Law School Admission Council and the Association of American Law Schools. This yearly publication contains material on the law and lawyers, prelaw preparation, applying to law schools, and the study of law, together with information on most American law schools. Students may order this when they register for the LSAT and LSDAS.

THE DEGREE OF JURIS DOCTOR

Students admitted to the College of Law are eligible for the degree of Juris Doctor (J.D.) upon completion of a minimum of three academic years (six full-time semesters or equivalent) of residence and 90 semester hours of courses in the College of Law with a grade-point average of at least 2.0.

All courses in the first year of law study are required as is a course in professional responsibility and an upper division writing course.

Because the study of law at the University of Kentucky is a full-time pursuit, all law students are expected to carry a full academic program (15 semester hours) and to devote their full time to the study of law. Second and third year students may work 15 hours per week for local legal employers.

For the College of Law Bulletin, interested students may call (859) 257-7938; write to the Dean's Office, College of Law, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0048; or order the Bulletin online at: http://www.uky.edu/Law/. For specific information about the courses and policies of the College of Law, students should refer to its Bulletin, the college’s Web site, or contact the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the College of Law, (859) 257-1678. Candidates may contact the Associate Dean for Admissions at (859) 257-1678; e-mail: dbakert@uky.edu.