University of Detroit Mercy School of Law

The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is the law school of the University of Detroit Mercy and is located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan across from the Renaissance Center. Founded in 1912, Detroit Mercy Law is a private Roman Catholic law school and has been ABA-accredited since 1933.[4] The Law School has an annual enrollment of 612 students including 223 Nonresident Aliens, and currently has 89 faculty members (23 full-time, 66 adjunct).[5]

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
Parent schoolUniversity of Detroit Mercy
Religious affiliationRoman Catholic
Established1912
School typePrivate
DeanJelani Jefferson Exum[1]
LocationDetroit, Michigan, U.S.
Enrollment612
USNWR ranking141st (2024)[2]
Bar pass rate78.3% (2022 first-time takers)[3]

Detroit Mercy Law offers full-time, part-time, and extended part-time JD programs as well as a number of dual degrees, including a J.D./M.B.A. and a Dual J.D. three year program with the University of Windsor allowing students to earn both Canadian and American Juris Doctor degrees.[6]For the class entering in 2022, Detroit Mercy Law accepted 56.13% of applicants and 38.99% of those accepted enrolled with the average enrollee having a 154 LSAT score and 3.39 undergraduate GPA.[5] In January 2012, Detroit Mercy Law purchased a 6,000 sq. ft. facility across the street from its campus which will house the numerous clinics operated by the school.

History

Detroit Mercy Law was founded as the University of Detroit Law School in 1912 (the University of Detroit merged with Mercy College of Detroit in 1990 to become the University of Detroit Mercy). It is the oldest private law school in Michigan and it shares the Jesuit and Mercy tradition of education.[7] The historic Renaissance-style campus is located between East Jefferson Avenue and East Larned Street just north of I-375 and is within a short walking distance to the Renaissance Center and numerous state and federal government buildings, including the Third Judicial Circuit Court (Wayne County) and the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan among others.

Employment

For 2021 graduates, 88.14% of the class was employed in a full-time, long-term, bar passage-required or JD advantaged position, including 79.1% of the graduating class securing positions as lawyers.[8]

2021 Detroit Mercy Law Employment Stats
Employment Status Percentage
Employed - Bar Passage Required
 
 79.1%
Employed - J.D. Advantage
 
 9.04%
Employed - Professional Position
 
 1.3%
Employed - Non-Professional Position
 
 0.56%
Employed - Undeterminable
 
 0.0%
Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time
 
 0%
Unemployed - Start Date Deferred
 
 0%
Unemployed - Not Seeking
 
 1.69%
Unemployed - Seeking
 
 5.08%
Employment Status Unknown
 
 0%
Total of 177 Graduates

[8]

Costs

Tuition and fees at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law for the 2022-23 academic year is $45,824 per year (for 30 credits).[5]

Academics, publications, and moot court

Detroit Mercy Law maintains a core first-year curriculum, consisting of Contracts, Civil Procedure, Property, Torts, Criminal Law, Introduction to Legal Research and Communication and Applied Legal Theory and Analysis (ALTA). Other required courses include Constitutional Law, Evidence, Federal Income Taxation, and Professional Responsibility.[9]

The School's clinical program was founded as the Urban Law Clinic in 1965, and was among the earliest clinics in the nation. Since that time, the program has received numerous awards including the ABA Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access with Meritorious Recognition in 2012 and the ABA Law Student Division's Judy M. Weightman Memorial Public Interest Award in 2006. Students attend weekly classes that focus on the relevant skills and substantive law and all clinics provide for meaningful guided reflection.

The Law School's main academic publication is the University of Detroit Mercy Law Review, having contributed to the legal scholarship of the state of Michigan and the nation since 1916. This student-led organization publishes four issues a year and hosts an annual symposium in the spring to discuss topics of developing legal significance and scholarly debate. Within the last ten years, Detroit Mercy Law Review articles have been cited in the opinions of the United States Supreme Court, United States Circuit Courts of Appeals, and many state supreme courts (including Michigan).[10]

The School of Law hosts both an internal trial and appellate moot court competition annually known as the G. Mennen Williams Moot Court Competition. The school's Moot Court Team competes nationally and has had success both at the regional and national level: it was the National Champion for the 2009 National Invitational Appellate Moot Court Competition and the 2008 McGee Civil Rights National Moot Court Competition.[11]

Notable alumni

Graduates of Detroit Mercy Law include over half of Michigan state prosecutors as well as sitting judges on the U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, the Michigan Supreme Court, and the Michigan Court of Appeals. The School of Law has also graduated over 120 current judges on various district, municipal and probate courts in Michigan. Alumni have also held major elective offices in the state and local governments of Michigan, including three former mayors of the City of Detroit, two former Michigan Attorneys General, and a host of other executive positions.[12]

Notable judges from Detroit Mercy Law:

  • Michael J. Riordan - Michigan Court of Appeals
  • Kathleen Jansen (Class of 1982) - Michigan Court of Appeals
  • James Robert Redford (Class of 1985) - Michigan Court of Appeals

Notable legislators from Detroit Mercy Law:

  • Kyra Harris Bolden (Class of 2014) - Michigan State Representative
  • Vanessa Guerra (Class of 2016) - Saginaw County Clerk (former State Representative)

Other Notable Detroit Mercy Law Alumni:

  • Frank J. Kelley (Class of 1951) - 50th Attorney General of Michigan (1961-1999)
  • Anne Davidow (Class of 1920) - Pioneering Female Attorney
  • Henry H. Tarrant (Class of 1922) - First Known African American Graduate of the Law School
  • Peter DeBoer - Head Coach of the Vegas Golden Knights
  • Mikyia Aaron (Class of 2015) - Grand Valley State University Board of Trustees

Notable Professors:

  • Barbara M. McQuade - Former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan (former adjunct)
  • Jelani Jefferson Exum - First African American Dean of the Law School [13]

See also

References
  1. "University of Detroit Mercy School of Law announces appointment of new dean | University of Detroit Mercy".
  2. "University of Detroit Mercy". usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  3. "Detroit Mercy 2022 First Time Bar Passage". abarequireddisclosures.org. American Bar Association. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  4. "University of Detroit Mercy School of Law". Top-Law-Schools.com. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  5. "- 2022 Standard 509 Information Report". abarequireddisclosures.org. American Bar Association. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  6. "Catalog & Dual JD". udmercy.edu. University of Detroit Mercy. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  7. "University of Detroit Mercy School of Law". martindale.com. Copyright © 2011 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  8. "Detroit Mercy Employment Summary for 2021 Graduates". abarequireddisclosures.org. American Bar Association. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  9. "Academics: Required and Bar-related Courses". law.udmercy.edu. © 2006-2010 University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  10. "Law Review". law.udmercy.edu. © 2006-2010 University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  11. "Moot court". law.udmercy.edu. © 2006-2010 University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  12. "University of Detroit Mercy School of Law". Top-Law-Schools.com.
  13. Benavides-Colón, Amelia. "University of Detroit Mercy law school names professor as dean". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
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