Wayne State University Law School (Wayne Law) is the law school of Wayne State University in Detroit. Wayne Law is located in Midtown, Detroit's Cultural Center. Founded in 1927, the law school offers juris doctor (J.D.), master of laws (LL.M.), online master of studies in law, and minors in law degree programs. Wayne Law's more than 12,000 alumni include judges, justices, law firm partners and government officials working in every major market in the United States and at least 17 countries.
History
The Law School was founded in 1927 and originally named the Detroit City Law School as part of the City Colleges of Detroit. Allan Campbell served as the Law School's founding dean, which graduated its first class with the bachelor of laws (LL.B.) degree in 1928.
The City Colleges of Detroit were renamed Wayne University in 1933. In 1956, the university joined Michigan State University and the University of Michigan as one of the state's three major public research institutions and was renamed Wayne State University.
The Law School received full American Bar Association (ABA) accreditation in 1939. The school's Moot Court program (originally called the Case Club) was established in 1938, and the Wayne Law Review began publication in 1954. As an additional honor, members of the Wayne Law Review were awarded Juris Doctor (J.D.) degrees rather than LL.B. degrees (J.D. degrees were awarded to all law students with an undergraduate degree beginning in 1965). In 1965, the Law School's students founded the Free Legal Aid Clinic, which is now operated in conjunction with Lakeshore Legal Aid and Neighborhood Legal Services.
At the urging of the ABA and the State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners, Wayne State University Law School and the University of Michigan Law School joined to form the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in 1960.
List of deans
Deans of the Law School have included Allan Campbell (1927-37), Arthur Neef (1937-66), Charles Joiner (1968-75), Donald Gordon (1975-80), John Roberts (1980-87), John Reed (1987-93), James Robinson (1993-98), Joan Mahoney (1998-04; first female law school dean in Michigan history), Frank Wu (2004-08), Robert Ackerman (2008-12) and Jocelyn Benson (interim 2012-14; permanent 2014-16). Richard Bierschbach became dean on Aug. 17, 2017.
Academics
Admissions
For the class entering in fall 2019, the Law School had 434 students, including 395 full-time students and 39 part-time students; 132 degrees and certificates were conferred in 2018-19. The Law School had 38 full-time faculty during this period. For the 2021 first year class (Oct 6th 2020-Oct 5th 2021), 32.87% of applicants were admitted and, of those admitted, 39.81% enrolled, with the average enrolled student having an LSAT score of 161 and an undergraduate GPA of 3.75.
Degree options
Wayne Law offers six different degree options.
J.D. program
Wayne Law offers three J.D. program options for students. They include a full-time day program, a combined day and evening program, and a part-time evening program.
Online Master of Studies in Law
Wayne Law's online Master of Studies in Law (MSL) degree is specifically designed to help specialists in human resources expand their knowledge of legal principles and the U.S. legal system.
LL.M. program
Lawyers who already have earned a J.D. degree from an accredited U.S. law school or an equivalent degree in another country and satisfy Wayne Law's LL.M. admissions criteria are eligible to undertake advanced legal studies for a LL.M. degree at Wayne Law. LL.M. majors include Corporate and Finance Law, Labor and Employment Law, and Taxation.
Joint J.D./LL.M. program
Wayne Law’s joint J.D./LL.M. degree program allows students to earn both a J.D. and LL.M. in only seven semesters, rather than the eight semesters that would usually be required for a full-time student to complete both a J.D. degree (in three years) and an LL.M. degree (in one year).