Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology

Office of Admissions, 565 West Adams Street Chicago, IL 60661 Phone: 312.906.5020; Fax: 312.906.5274

E-mail: admit@kentlaw.edu; Website: www.kentlaw.edu

Introduction

Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, is a national leader in legal education, recognized for the strength of its faculty and for its innovative approaches to traditional legal education. The second oldest law school in Illinois, Chicago-Kent was founded in 1888 by two judges who believed that legal education should be available to working men and women. In 1895, Chicago-Kent graduated its first female and minority students. Today, Chicago-Kent students come from 41 states and several foreign countries and from more than 260 colleges and universities.

Drawing on its distinctive affiliation with Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent is at the vanguard of exploring new frontiers in the law raised by biotechnology, cyberspace, environmental regulation, intellectual property, international criminal law enforcement, and much more. Chicago-Kent is located in downtown Chicago, the heart of the city’s commercial and legal communities. The law school is fully accredited by the ABA and the AALS, and is a member of the Order of the Coif.

Faculty

The foundation for academic excellence at Chicago-Kent is derived from its faculty, which engages in broad-ranging legal scholarship and research. Chicago-Kent’s faculty is among the nation’s most productive law faculties based on the number of scholarly books and articles that its members have published in leading academic presses, law reviews, and journals. As advisors frequently approached for their expertise, faculty members help shape policy and thinking on a variety of issues, and make it a point to involve students in their particular areas of influence.

Library and Physical Facilities

Chicago-Kent’s modern, 10-story building features a 3-story atrium, 5-level library, technologically advanced courtroom, auditorium, computer labs, student lounges, and cafeteria. Chicago-Kent’s library is one of the largest law school libraries in the country. The collection includes the Library of International Relations, one of the most comprehensive international law collections, and a wealth of material on environmental and energy law, intellectual property law, international trade law, and labor law.

The law school houses a sophisticated computer network with more than 1,900 network connections located throughout the building and library, and at each seat in the majority of classrooms. Wireless service is available in the courtroom, front lobby, cafeteria, student lounge, and select classrooms.

Affordable housing is available in nearby urban and suburban neighborhoods. On-campus housing is available on the university’s main campus, approximately five miles south of the law school. A free shuttle runs between the two campuses. The law school is close to all public transportation downtown.

Curriculum

Both full-time and part-time programs are available. Full-time students usually complete the JD degree in three years.

Part-time students usually finish in four years. Students may apply to transfer between divisions after completing the required courses in the division in which they originally enrolled. First-year class sizes range from 30 to 90 students.

Degrees available include JD, JD/MBA, JD/MPA, JD/MPH, JD/LLM in Taxation, JD/LLM in Financial Services Law, JD/MS in Financial Markets and Trading, JD/MS in Environmental Management, LLM in Taxation, LLM in Financial Services Law, LLM in Family Law, LLM in International Intellectual Property Law, and LLM in International and Comparative Law.

Special Programs

Legal Research and Writing—Chicago-Kent’s acclaimed legal research and writing program is one of the most comprehensive in the nation. The three-year, five-course curriculum teaches students to analyze a wide range of legal problems and to write about them persuasively.

Clinical Education—The Law Offices of Chicago-Kent, one of the largest in-house clinical education programs in the country, offers 10 clinical programs and externships with government agencies and federal judges.

Trial Skills/Litigation and Alternative Dispute

Resolution—The law school offers a two-semester sequence in trial advocacy and an intensive course taught by veteran judges and experienced practitioners. Students in the Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution program receive training in case analysis as well as exposure to the theoretical and ethical foundations of the law to develop their skills in using litigation and alternative methods to resolve disputes.

Environmental and Energy Law—The program’s interdisciplinary approach to the problems of environmental regulation and natural resources allocation prepares students for practice through a series of courses in law, economic and public policy analysis, and in the scientific aspects of environmental problems.

Intellectual Property Law—The program focuses on issues relating to patent, trademark, copyright, trade secrets, and unfair competition, both in the US and abroad.

International and Comparative Law—The program encompasses study in international business and trade, international and comparative law, and international human rights. The Library of International Relations, an official depository for documents of the United Nations and the European Union, is one of the largest public research collections of this material in the Midwest.

Labor and Employment Law—The program provides students with theoretical and practical training in the law governing the workplace.

Public Interest Law—The program provides students with a background in public interest law and policy, in addition to individualized curriculum and career planning. The law school also supports a number of public interest resources and activities, including the Center for Access to Justice and Technology, which aims to make justice more accessible to the public through the use of the Internet; and the Public Interest Resource Center, a student-run initiative dedicated to finding internships and volunteer opportunities for those pursuing the public interest.

Institutes and Centers
Chicago-Kent is home to six institutes and centers with missions that range from conducting scholarly and practical research on legal and social issues to providing topical programming to developing public interest services. These are the Center for Access to Justice and Technology; the Global Law and Policy Initiative; the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future; the Institute for Law and the Humanities; the Institute for Law and the Workplace; and the Institute for Science, Law and Technology. Through these initiatives, many of which involve cross-disciplinary projects, students learn to appreciate and adapt to major social and global influences that can change the legal profession and its practice.

Admission

Admission is highly selective. Each application is individually reviewed and decisions are based on a range of factors, including quantitative and qualitative criteria. Although the GPA and LSAT are important criteria, consideration also is given to nonnumerical factors such as the nature and rigor of
the undergraduate curriculum, writing ability, graduate work and professional experience, extracurricular activities, diversity, and the personal statement. The admission requirements for the full- and part-time divisions are the same. Entering classes begin only in the fall. The law school is committed to attracting and retaining students from a variety of racial, ethnic, economic, geographic, and educational backgrounds.

Student Activities

Student editors and staff, in association with a faculty editor, publish the Chicago-Kent Law Review in symposium format. Moot Court and Trial Advocacy teams successfully compete in local, regional, and national competitions each year providing numerous opportunities to develop litigation expertise.
Diverse student interests are represented in a wide variety of social, political, and professional student groups.

Scholarship Support

Substantial scholarship assistance is offered to entering and continuing students based on factors that include merit, financial need, and contribution to the law school community. The Honors Scholars Program provides renewable scholarships of full-tuition and living expenses, research assistantships, and special seminars to a select group of students who demonstrate exceptional academic and leadership ability.

Career Services

The Office of Career Services, with six full-time staff, offers individual counseling on résumé-writing, interview techniques, and job-search strategies and sponsors both onand off-campus interview programs. Typically, 97 percent of recent graduates find professional employment within nine months of graduation.

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