About the University of St. Thomas School of Law

Mission Statement

The University of St. Thomas School of Law, as a Catholic law school, is dedicated to integrating faith and reason in the search for truth through a focus on morality and social justice.

Recent Achievements

According to the NALP annual report, the University of St. Thomas School of Law graduates are consistently employed at a higher rate than the national average for recent graduates.  At the time of the report, 132 of our 140 graduates from the class of 2007, representing 94.3% of the class, were employed or in graduate school, which is above the national average of 93.0% according to NALP. 

The school and several of our programs have also received national recognition recently:

• In the March 2008 issue, National Jurist Magazine noted that the University of St. Thomas School of Law was seventh nationally with respect to the percentage of students going into public service.  National Jurist cited class of 2005 statistics, reporting that 7.3 percent of graduates were engaged in government practice while 12.2 were employed in public interest law.   The percentage of School of Law alumni going into public interest and government positions has continued to be strong and above the national average, representing 22.7% and 21.5% of the classes of 2006 and 2007, respectively.
• Last year was the first that St. Thomas was eligible to be ranked in the U.S News and World Reports.  It landed in the third tier, making it one of only three law schools to debut that high in the rankings. 
• In its “Best Graduate Schools 2006” issue, U.S. News and World Report magazine ranked the University of St. Thomas School of Law in the top 20 legal writing programs in the country. 
• In 2005, the Mentor Externship Program was recognized twice by the American Bar Association for its unique and outstanding contributions to professionalism in the legal community. 

Our Students

Fall 2008 Entering Class

Median LSAT: 156                   75% LSAT: 160 25% LSAT: 154	Men: 56% Women: 44% Minorities: 11%
Median GPA: 3.42 75% GPA: 3.71 25% GPA: 2.91	States Represented: 25 Students with Advanced Degrees: 15 Universities Represented: 78

 

Grading System

Although specific degree requirements may be found in the School of Law catalog, the general grading system for the University of St. Thomas School of Law is as follows:

A  (Excellence) 4.0 quality points 
A-  3.7 quality points 
B+ 3.3 quality points 
B   3.0 quality points 
B-  2.7 quality points 
C+ 2.3 quality points 
C   (Minimal Performance)  2.0 quality points 
C-  1.7 quality points 
D+ 1.3 quality points 
D   (Unsatisfactory) 1.0 quality points 
D-  0.7 quality points 
F   0.0 quality points 

I     Incomplete
R   Registered, no credit
S   Satisfactory
W  Withdrawal

First year classes (except for Lawyering Skills) must have a class average that falls between 2.75 and 2.85. All Second and Third Years courses that have 45 or more students enrolled must have a class average between 2.95 and 3.05.  Faculty for all other upper level courses (with less than 45 students) are encouraged to use these guidelines, but it is not mandatory.

Academic Awards

Dean’s List

A student is placed on the Dean’s List when his/her semester G.P.A. is in the top 15% of the class. 

Dean’s Award for Academic Performance

A student receives a Dean’s Award when he/she has the top grade in an individual course.

Programs

Law Journal: Fides et Iustitia

The University of St. Thomas Law Journal embodies the school's unique mission by publishing excellent legal scholarship that inspires ethical and moral decision-making with an emphasis on social justice. The Journal hosts a series of on campus symposia designed to advance the mission and explore the theme reflected in its Latin subtitle, translated "faith and justice."

The semiannual symposia supply the bulk of the material for each issue. The format promotes meaningful exploration of an intriguing legal issue and encourages substantial collaboration between Law Journal and faculty members. Law Journal members are chosen each year through a closed brief write-on competition.

Moot Court

The University of St. Thomas Board of Advocates oversees an active program providing students with opportunities to participate in interscholastic and intramural moot court, client counseling, negotiation and trial advocacy competitions.   In the 2007-08 academic year, in addition to the USTL Intramural Moot Court competition, UST fielded teams in 9 advocacy competitions involving 37 student competitors and 9 UST graduates as coaches.

A sampling of their many achievements include:

• UST negotiation teams have placed 1st  or 2nd  in regional competitions, thus earning berths in national competitions, three of the four years in which they have participated. 
• In 2007-2008, they were seeded 3rd in the nation going into the semi-final rounds. 
• Also in 2007-2008, our students were semi-finalists in the Evan A. Evans Constitutional Law Moot Court. 
• In 2006-2007, three of our students placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd “Best Oralist” in the NYC Bar Association National Moot Court regional competition.  A year later, our students earned 4th place “Best Brief” honors and tied for 5th place “Best Oralist”. 
• In the William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court, one of our teams earned 2nd  place honors for “Best Brief,” 6th place “Best Oralist” and were seeded 4th  going into the quarter final rounds. 
• A UST team was awarded 3rd place “Best Memorial” on two occasions, and 5th place “Best Oralist” in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition regional competition.
• In 2005-2006, the NBLSA Frederick Douglass Moot Court team was awarded the USTL Excellence in Professional Preparation Award. 

All second-year students are eligible to compete in the tournament competition in which members of the interscholastic teams are selected.  Because the University of St. Thomas Moot Court Team is selected in the spring of each year, interscholastic moot court will not appear on the resume of second year law students.

Clinical Program

UST has a unique multidisciplinary clinic. Law students work side-by-side in the clinic with students from other UST graduate programs, such as professional psychology and social work. UST Law students gain practical legal training by performing legal tasks under the supervision of experienced lawyers employed as clinical instructors. UST Law students also learn to take a broad, humanistic approach to assessing and meeting the needs of clients. Students are selected to participate in clinic through a competitive process.

Mentor Externship Program

The mentor externship program is a critical piece of the University of St. Thomas Law School's mission and vision. The mentor program has three primary goals.  Students receive an experiential look at the practice of law.  The program teaches students the highest ideals of professionalism.  Finally, it fosters an intergenerational conversation between law students and experienced attorneys.

Through the Mentor Program, each student is paired with a practicing attorney or judge who introduces them to the practice of law and the profession. Students participate in a variety of experiences.  Students interested in litigation may attend depositions or observe trials. Mentors may invite students to join them at a bar association meeting or a legislative hearing.  Transactional attorneys may invite students to negotiations or help them review legal documents. Throughout the year students and their mentors discuss what they have observed as well as larger issues of professional development.  It is the hope of the UST Law community that the Mentor Program will foster the habit and skill of reflective lawyering resulting in better rounded attorneys.

University of St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy (a student organization)

During the past year, a group of students founded an organization that will publish the University of St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy.  The mission of this student organization is to advance the ideals embodied in the mission statement of The University of St. Thomas School of Law through the exploration of conservative legal thought, public policy and social justice.