Table of Contents Categories
  Encyclosphere.org ENCYCLOREADER
  supported by EncyclosphereKSF

Birmingham School of Law

Topic: Organization

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 6 min

Short description: Private law school in Birmingham, Alabama, US
Birmingham School of Law
Established1915
School typePrivate
DeanS. Scott Garrett[1][2]
LocationBirmingham, Alabama, U.S.
[ ⚑ ] : 33°30′57″N 86°48′23″W / 33.51597°N 86.80641°W / 33.51597; -86.80641
Enrollment400
USNWR rankingUnranked
Bar pass rate
  • 12.5% (first-time takers)
  • 8.5% (repeat takers)
  • (July 2023)[3]
Websitebsol.com

The Birmingham School of Law is a state-accredited, independent law school located in Birmingham, Alabama.[4] Founded in 1915 by Judge Hugh A. Locke, a judge of the Chancery Court and president of the Birmingham Bar Association, the Birmingham School of Law offers a part-time program of study in which graduates receive the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree after four years of study.

The law school is not accredited by the American Bar Association and graduates may not qualify to be admitted to the bar in states other than Alabama.

Admissions

The law school requires applicants to have a bachelor's degree before beginning classes but does not require an LSAT test score as part of its application process unless the applicant's degree is from a foreign country. The school reviews an applicants' academic records and employment history in determining acceptance.[5] The school requires a minimum 2.75 GPA to be considered for admission.[6]

Accreditation

Graduates are eligible to take the Alabama Bar Examination pursuant to the authority granted by the Alabama Legislature and the Alabama Supreme Court.[7] The Birmingham School of Law is not accredited by the American Bar Association, nor is the school seeking accreditation. As a result, graduates are generally not allowed to take the bar exam and practice in other states.[8][9]

Bar examination passage

The Birmingham School of Law ranks significantly below Alabama's three ABA-accredited law schools in bar examination performance. The school had a 12.5% pass rate for first-time takers on the July 2023 examination compared to 82.20% for ABA schools. The school had a 8.57% pass rate for repeat takers on the July 2023 examination.[3]

Facilities

The school is located in downtown Birmingham, in a renovated a historic building. The school consists of an auditorium, mock courtroom, law library, computer lab, and multimedia classrooms. In the past, classes were held at Birmingham-Southern College, the Birmingham YMCA, the historic Frank Nelson Building in downtown Birmingham, and the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Associations

  • American Association for Justice
  • Christian Legal Society
  • Delta Theta Phi
  • National Black Law Students Association

Notable alumni

  • Clarence W. Allgood (1902–1991) (LL.B. 1941), former United States federal judge[10]
  • James D. Martin (1918–2017) attended, former member of the United States House of Representatives for the 7th district of Alabama - 1965 to 1967[11][12]
  • Richard Shelby (b. 1934) (LL.B. 1961), graduate University of Alabama School of Law (LL.B. 1963), former United States senator from Alabama
  • Mike D. Rogers (b. 1958) (JD 1991), U.S. Representative for Alabama's 3rd congressional district since 2003[13][14]
  • Phil Williams (b. 1965) (JD 2003), former member of the Alabama State Senate - 2010 to 2018[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Birmingham School of Law - Student Handbook". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20110708102855/http://www.bsol.com/BSL_Handbook09.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-16. 
  2. ↑ "Faculty & Staff". Birmingham School of Law. https://bsol.com/about/faculty-staff/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Alabama State Bar - July 2023 Bar Exam Results". https://admissions.alabar.org/july-2023-combined-stats. 
  4. ↑ "Home". http://www.alabar.org/. 
  5. ↑ "Admissions - Application Requirements". Birmingham Law School. https://bsol.com/admissions/application-requirements/. 
  6. ↑ "Birmingham School of Law - Minimum GPA of 2.75". Odyssey. https://odysseytestprep.com/birmingham-school-of-law/#:~:text=Birmingham%20School%20of%20Law%20sets,requirement%20of%202.75%20for%20admission.. 
  7. ↑ "Section 34-3-2.1". Archived from the original on 2010-03-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20100316224800/http://www.legislature.state.al.us/CodeofAlabama/1975/34-3-2.1.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
  8. ↑ "Home". http://www.abanet.org/. 
  9. ↑ "Home". http://www.bsol.com/. 
  10. ↑ "Clarence W. Allgood". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=31&cid=999&ctype=na&instate=na. Retrieved 13 December 2012. 
  11. ↑ "James D. Martin". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000182. Retrieved 13 December 2012. 
  12. ↑ "James D. Martin". Encyclopedia of Alabama. https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/james-d-martin/. 
  13. ↑ "Mike D. Rogers". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=r000575. Retrieved 13 December 2012. 
  14. ↑ "Mike Rogers (Alabama)". Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Rogers_(Alabama). 
  15. ↑ "Alabama State Bar Exam Statistics". https://admissions.alabar.org/feb-2019-combined-stats. 



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Organization:Birmingham_School_of_Law&oldid=3845528"
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Organization:Birmingham_School_of_Law
27 views |
↧ Download this article as ZWI file
Encyclosphere.org EncycloReader is supported by the EncyclosphereKSF