David A. Clarke School of Law

The University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC Law) is the law school of the University of the District of Columbia, a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It is named after David A. Clarke and was established in 1986 when, in response to a local grassroots campaign, the Council of the District of Columbia decided to take over the Antioch School of Law, whose parent institution Antioch University had decided to close it in the face of increasing financial problems. The school was formally merged into the University of the District of Columbia in 1996.

University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law
MottoPractice Law. Promote Justice. Change Lives.
Parent schoolUniversity of the District of Columbia
Established1986[1]
School typePublic law school
DeanTwinette L. Johnson
LocationWashington, D.C., United States
Enrollment247[2]
Faculty67 (28 full-time)[2]
USNWR ranking147th-192nd (bottom 25%) (2023)[3]
Websitewww.law.udc.edu

History

UDC Law was established as the District of Columbia School of Law after Antioch University decided to close its law school.[1] The Antioch School of Law was a Washington, D.C. school established as part of Antioch College's Antioch Network in 1972 by Jean Camper Cahn and Edgar S. Cahn, a married interracial couple dedicated to improving legal services for poor people.[4]

Eager to retain the Antioch School of Law's mission, curriculum, clinical programs, and personnel for the benefit of the city, in 1986 Antioch School of Law students, alumni and local legal and civic leaders mounted a successful grassroots campaign to persuade the Council of the District of Columbia to pass legislation that re-established the school as the District of Columbia School of Law (DCSL).[5] The Council of the District of Columbia later passed legislation merging the School of Law with the University of the District of Columbia in 1996.[1] In 1998 President Clinton signed legislation renaming the School after former D.C. Council Chair David A. Clarke, a civil rights leader and long-time advocate for the law school and its mission.[1]

The District of Columbia School of Law was awarded provisional accreditation by the American Bar Association in 1991, while the David A. Clarke School of Law was awarded provisional accreditation shortly after its renaming in 1998.[1] It was awarded full accreditation by a unanimous vote of the ABA House of Delegates on August 8, 2005.[1]

On May 15, 2020, the council of the American Bar Association's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar met remotely and determined this school and nine others had significant noncompliance with Standard 316.[6] This Standard was revised in 2019 to provide that at least 75% of an accredited law school's graduates who took a bar exam must pass one within two years of graduation.[6] The school had been asked to submit a report by Feb. 1, 2021; and, if the council did not find the report demonstrated compliance, the school would be asked to appear before the council at its May, 2021 meeting.[6] By August 2020, the School of Law was able to demonstrate compliance, asserting the class of 2018 had a two-year bar passage rate of 75.3%, and its class of 2019 was showing progress toward a 75% pass rate.[7] The August council also specifically found that the school was in compliance with Standards 501(b) and Interpretation 501–1, which deal with admissions policies and practices.[7] However, in late 2022, the school was again found out of compliance for having an actual 67.24% pass rate for the class of 2019.[8] The school indicated the 2019 results were an anomaly.[8]The ABA determined the school was back in compliance by March of 2023.[9]

Academics

Curriculum

UDC Law requires more hands-on work in a clinical setting – on real cases on behalf of low-income people and the public interest – than any other U.S. law school. The school requires full-time first year students to take courses on Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Law & Justice, Lawyering Process, and Torts.[10] Upper-division full-time students are required to take clinical courses and courses on Constitutional Law, Evidence, Moot Court, Professional Responsibility, and Property.[10]

Degrees offered

UDC Law students can earn their J.D. in three years as full-time students or in four years as part-time students.[11] The school also offers a two-year LL.M. program with concentrations in Clinical Education, Social Justice, and Systems Change.[12]

Faculty

The school had 28 full-time faculty and three part-time/visiting faculty, including Antioch founder Edgar S. Cahn, as of Spring 2018.[13]

Experiential learning

Each first-year UDC Law student provides a minimum of 40 hours of community service with a DC non-profit or government agency as part of the Law and Justice Archived 2017-07-05 at the Wayback Machine course. After completion of the first year, all UDC Law students are eligible for a paid Summer Public Interest Fellowship Archived 2018-01-05 at the Wayback Machine. UDC Law also has an Externship Program Archived 2017-07-05 at the Wayback Machine, allowing students to earn academic credit for closely supervised law-related work done in conjunction with the School of Law's Externship Course. In addition, UDC Law has a service-learning program that facilitates law student, staff and faculty service at family detention centers in Texas and elsewhere.

However, the heart of UDC Law's experiential program are its legal clinics, and all upper-division students to take two clinical classes.[14]

The school offers the following clinics:[14]

  • Community Development Clinic
  • Criminal Law Clinic (with DC Law Students in Court, located in the UDC Law building)
  • Whistleblower Protection Clinic – at the Government Accountability Project
  • General Practice Law Clinic
  • Housing & Consumer Law Clinic
  • Immigration & Human Rights Clinic
  • Juvenile & Special Education Law Clinic
  • Legislation Clinic
  • Low-Income Taxpayers Clinic

Admissions

UDC Law enrolled 247 students for the 2018–19 academic year[2] 63% of J.D. students were racial minorities.[2] In 2018, UDC received 584 applications, of which 207 (35.4%) were offered admission. Of those 207 admitted, 61 (29.5%) matriculated.[2] The median LSAT score for students enrolling in UDC in 2018 was 147.[2]

Employment
ABA Employment Summary for 2018 Graduates[15]
Employment Status Percentage
Employed – Bar Passage Required
 
 38.8%
Employed – J.D. Advantage
 
 32.8%
Employed – Professional Position
 
 7.5%
Employed – Non-Professional Position
 
 4.5%
Employed – Law School/University Funded
 
 1.5%
Employed – Undeterminable
 
 1.5%
Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time
 
 1.5%
Unemployed – Start Date Deferred
 
 3%
Unemployed – Not Seeking
 
 0%
Unemployed – Seeking
 
 9%
Employment Status Unknown
 
 0%
Total of 67 Graduates

According to UDC Law's 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 38.8% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time long-term JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[15]

Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland were the top employment locations for 2016 graduates.

Student life

UDC Law students can participate in more than 30 student organizations, reflecting a variety of legal and social justice interests.[16]

Costs

The 2018–2019 tuition rates for full-time students are $12,838 for District residents, $18,756 for metropolitan area residents, and $24,674 per semester for non-District residents. Tuition rates for part-time, visiting and non-matriculating students are $402 per credit hour for D.C. residents, $601 per credit hour for metropolitan area residents, and $802 per credit hour for non-District residents. The total cost of attendance (including the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at UDC Law for the 2018–2019 academic year is estimated to be $55,301 for full-time students who are D.C. residents and $78,973 for full-time students who are non-residents.[2]

Notable alumni

Including graduates of the closed Antioch School of Law:

References
  1. "School of Law History". University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  2. "University of the District of Columbia – 2018 Standard 509 Information Report" (PDF). University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  3. "University of the District of Columbia (Clarke)". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  4. Fowler, Glenn. "Jean Camper Cahn Is Dead at 55; Early Backer of Legal Aid to Poor". New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  5. "Antioch Law School Gains". New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  6. "10 law schools are out of compliance with bar passage standard, ABA legal ed section says". Stephanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal, May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  7. "2 law schools dinged for bar pass standard are now found to be in compliance". Stepanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal, August 25, 2020.
  8. "3 law schools dinged for low bar pass rates". Stephanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal, December 14, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  9. "3 law schools dinged on bar pass rates see improvement; another back in compliance with diversity standard". Stephanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal, March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  10. "Full-time J.D. Program Curriculum". University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  11. "Part-time J.D. Program Curriculum". University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  12. "Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program". University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  13. "School of Law Faculty – UDC David A. Clarke School of Law". www.law.udc.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-01-28. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  14. "Introduction to the Clinical Program". University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  15. EMPLOYMENT SUMMARY FOR 2018 GRADUATES. http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/EmploymentOutcomes.aspx
  16. "Student Organizations". University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 5 Jan 2018.
  17. "Biography, Tiffany Alston, Senior Marketing Director". Alston Gray.com. World Financial Group. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  18. "Thelma G. Buchholdt: UDC Alum: Alaska Legislator, Civil Rights Leader, and Author". Women’s History Month. Washington, DC: University of the District of Columbia. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  19. Libertelli, Joe (February 4, 2020). "UDC Law Whistleblower Clinic's Tom Devine, '80 in the News - in Liberia!". UDC News: Alumni Updates. Washington, DC: University of the District of Columbia.
  20. Libertelli, Joe (October 29, 2018). "Congrats to our 85 Alumni "SuperLawyers"". UDC News: Alumni Updates. Washington, DC: University of the District of Columbia.
  21. "Biography, Maryellen Fullerton, Suzanne J. and Norman Miles Professor of Law". Brooklyn Law.edu. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Law School. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  22. Black Legislators in Pennsylvania, 1911 - 2010 (PDF). Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 2010. p. 55.
  23. "Aviva Kempner – Biography". San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  24. "Thomas L. Kilbride, Supreme Court Justice Third District". Illinois Courts. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  25. "Biography, Stevan Lieberman". Our Intellectual Property Attorneys. Washington, DC: Greenberg & Lieberman, LLC. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  26. "Keiffer Jackson Mitchell, Jr". Maryland House of Delegates. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  27. Gamarekian, Barbara (February 18, 1978). "Gloria Steinem's Sister--She Took Another Road". The New York Times. New York, NY. p. 28 – via TimesMachine.
  28. "Panel Member Biography, Tim Reiser". The U.S. – Vietnam Relationship and War Legacies: 25 Years into Normalization. Washington, DC: The Stimson Center. July 15, 2020.
  29. "Penfield Tate III's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  30. "Jon B. Wellinghoff". Stoel Rives. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  31. "Biography, Justice Michael Wilson". Jindal Global Law School. Delhi, India: O. P. Jindal Global University. Archived from the original on June 19, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.

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