Atlanta's John Marshall Law School

Atlanta's John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) is a private for-profit[lower-alpha 1] law school in Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1933 and named for John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. AJMLS is accredited by the American Bar Association.

For other law schools by the same name, see John Marshall Law School (disambiguation).
Atlanta's John Marshall Law School
Established1933
School typePrivate for-profit[lower-alpha 1] law school
DeanJace C. Gatewood[3][4]
LocationAtlanta, Georgia, U.S.
USNWR ranking171 (tie) (2023-2024)[5]
Bar pass rate70.4% (2022 first-time takers)
78.49% (ultimate passage: those who sat within two years of 2020)[6]

History

AJMLS was founded in 1933 in Atlanta and was among the first southern law schools to integrate.[7] It did not receive American Bar Association (ABA) approval until 2005.[8] In October 2017, the ABA concluded that the Law School was not in compliance with ABA Standards 301(a), 309(b), and 501(a)/501(b), and in December 2018, the ABA placed the school on probation for "substantial" and "persistent" non-compliance with those standards.[9] At its November 2019 meeting, the Council removed the Law School from probation.[10] On May 15, 2020, the council of the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar determined AJMLS and nine other ABA law schools had significant noncompliance with Standard 316.[11] 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.[11] On February 26, 2021, the ABA's council posted that the school was now in compliance with the standard.[12]

In late 2011, AJMLS opened a branch campus in Savannah, Georgia, named Savannah Law School.[13] In March 2018, the Law School announced its branch campus in Savannah was no longer accepting applications for 2018 and offered its current students options to continue their legal education in Savannah, initiate an intra-campus transfer to the main campus in Atlanta, or seek to transfer or visit at a different institution.[14] A class action suit on behalf of Savannah Law School students claimed that the Savannah school is being closed to benefit the parent school in Atlanta.[15]

Campus
Internal staircase
Street entrance
Library stacks
View from 18th floor
Teaching courtroom
Student lounge and kitchen

After selling its Midtown Atlanta building in 2020,[16] the Law School relocated to Peachtree Center in Downtown Atlanta.[17] After a multi-floor construction project, the Law School took possession of its new campus on August 6, 2021. It is now housed in One Marquis Tower and comprises almost 60,000 square feet of classroom and office space, including a law library and courtroom. The construction project was completed in less than 24 weeks.[18]

Academics

AJMLS is accredited by the American Bar Association. AJMLS offers five J.D. programs: full-time day, part-time day, part-time evening, accelerated/spring start,[19] and a Criminal Justice Certificate Program (led by MacArthur Genius Fellow, Jonathan Rapping).[20] The Certificate Program had previously been offered as the Criminal Justice Honors Program from 2011 to 2018.[21] AJMLS students may apply to co-enroll in the Certificate Program after successful completion of their first year curriculum.

Admissions

For the class entering in 2022, 45.79% of applicants were accepted, 27.56% of those accepted enrolled, and the enrolled students had an average 3.14 GPA (6 enrollees were not included in the GPA calculation) and an average 151 LSAT score.[22]

Experiential learning

The experiential learning program at AJMLS combines classroom theory with direct experience by offering students firsthand exposure to the practice of law. The for-credit program consists of legal clinics, intensive externships, and other approved field placements.

Some placements involve criminal prosecution litigation and eligible students may apply for a Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council Third Year Practice Certificate under Georgia's Third-Year Practice Act.[23]

Student organizations

Students attending AJMLS may take part in many independent student organizations. These groups cover such interests as cultural diversity, academics, recreation, and professional and networking opportunities.

Student Organizations for the 2018-2019 Academic Year: Black Law Students Association (BLSA), Christian Legal Society, Corporate and Business Law Society, Criminal Law Society, Family Law Society, OUTLaws And Allies, Georgia Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL), Health Law Society, Law Journal, National Lawyers Guild, Phi Alpha Delta, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, SOLO Practitioners' Law Society, Student Bar Association.[24]

Employment

The ABA Employment Summary shows the total employment rate for 2022 graduates was 85.71% with 60.71% obtaining employment where bar passage is required. According to the report, four graduates were seeking employment while four were not seeking employment, 47 were known to be employed in some capacity (combined attorney and non-attorney employment) of which seven were employed in business & industry, nine were employed in government, two were employed in public interest organizations, and 34 were employed full-time where bar passage is required including one in a law firm of 501+ attorneys, two in firms of 101 - 250 attorneys, one in a firm with 51 - 100 attorneys, two in firms of 26 - 50 attorneys, four in firms of 11 - 25 attorneys, and 18 in firms of 1 - 10 attorneys.[25]

ABA Employment Summary for 2022 Graduates[25]
Employment Status Percentage
Total Employed
 
 85.71%
Employed - Bar Passage Required
 
 60.71%
Employed - J.D. Advantage
 
 7.14%
Employed - Professional Position
 
 8.93%
Employed - Other Position
 
 7.14%
Employed - Undeterminable
 
 0%
Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time
 
 0%
Unemployed - Start Date Deferred
 
 1.79%
Unemployed - Not Seeking
 
 7.14%
Unemployed - Seeking
 
 7.14%
Employment Status Unknown
 
 0%
Total of 56 Graduates

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at John Marshall for the 2017–2018 academic year is $70,304.[26] The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $256,530.[27]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

See also

Notes
  1. In 2021, the school began working to transition to non-profit status.[1] As of April 3, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education still classified the school as for-profit[2]

References
  1. Stetz, Mike (January 19, 2021). "Atlanta's John Marshall switches to nonprofit". The National Jurist. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  2. "College Navigator". National Center for Education Statistics. 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  3. "John Marshall Names Jace Gatewood as Interim Dean". Law.com.
  4. "Atlanta's John Marshall Names Gatewood as First African American Dean".
  5. "Atlanta's John Marshall Law School 2023-2024". usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  6. "Atlanta's John Marshall - 2023 (2020 & 2023)". abarequireddisclosures.org. American Bar Association. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  7. "History".
  8. "By Year Approved". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
  9. "American Bar Association" (PDF).
  10. "NOTICE OF REMOVAL OF PROBATION" (PDF). American Bar Association.
  11. "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.
  12. "4 more law schools found to be in compliance with ABA's new bar passage standard". Stephanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal, March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  13. Hansen, Mark. "Atlanta's John Marshall Law School to Launch Savannah Branch". Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  14. "Savannah Law School". Archived from the original on 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  15. "Class action claims closing of Savannah Law School is intended to benefit parent school's finances". ABA Journal. Debra Cassens Weiss. Retrieved 2018-10-30.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  16. "John Marshall Law School relocating to downtown commercial district". Atlanta Business Chronicle. March 24, 2021.
  17. "Atlanta's John Marshall Law School is relocating to downtown". National Jurist. February 26, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12.
  18. "ATLANTA'S JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL MOVES DOWNTOWN, RECEIVES LARGEST IN-KIND DONATION FROM AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY". Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. August 18, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27.
  19. Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School Announces Spring Admission to Begin January 2014 http://www.johnmarshall.edu/atlantas-john-marshall-law-school-announces-spring-admission-begin-january-2014/
  20. "AJMLS Launches New Co-Enrollment Option for Students". Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. 19 June 2018.
  21. "Criminal Justice Certificate Program". Atlanta's John Marshall Law School.
  22. "2022 Standard 509 Information Report Atlanta's John Marshall Law School". abarequireddisclosures.org. American Bar Association. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  23. Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, "Third Year Practice Act" Archived 2015-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
  24. "Student Organizations". Atlanta's John Marshall Law School.
  25. "Employment Summary 2022 Graduates". abarequireddisclosures.org. American Bar Association. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  26. "Tuition & Fees".
  27. "John Marshall Law School - Atlanta, Finances". www.lstreports.com. Archived from the original on 2019-07-19. Retrieved 2019-07-19.

33°45′40.19″N 84°23′8.42″W

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