Southern University Law Center is a publiclaw schoolinBaton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the historically blackSouthern University System and was opened for instruction in September 1947. It was authorized by the Louisiana State Board of Education as a Law School for blacks to be located at Southern University, a historically black college, and to open for the 1947-1948 academic session.
The school offers full-time, part-time, and evening programs. For students who want to pursue the JD and MPA, the school offers a joint-degree program in cooperation with the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern. SULC's students learn two different systems of law: Louisiana is a civil law jurisdiction (in the tradition of France and Continental Europe), while law in every other state is based on the British common-law tradition.
A study-abroad program is offered in London, in which students take courses with international subject matter. SULC publishes two legal journals: its traditional Southern University Law Review and The Journal of Race, Gender and Poverty.
According to SULC's 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 43.9% of the Class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment (i.e. as attorneys) ten months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners.[5] SULC is consistently ranked as one of the worst law schools in the United States.[6][7]
In 1946, Charles J. Hatfield, III, an African-American veteran of Louisiana, applied to Louisiana State University Law School, the only state school that offered a law degree. Although he was academically qualified, he was rejected because of his race, as the state system was segregated. Hatfield filed suit against the state for rejecting his application. While he did not win in court, the State Board of Education decided to found a law school for African Americans.[8]
The State Board of Education responded by deciding at its January 10, 1947, meeting to found a law school at Southern University to serve African-American students, to open in September of that year. On June 14, 1947, the Board of Liquidation of State Debt appropriated $40,000 for the operation of the school. The Southern University Law School was officially opened in September 1947 to provide legal education for African-American students in the state. The first dean of the law school was Aguinaldo Alfonso Lenoir, Sr. After 38 years of operation as a School of Law, the Southern University Board of Supervisors re-designated the school as the Southern University Law Center. The building that houses the law center is named A.A. Lenoir Hall after its first dean.
Today, the law school is one of only two public law schools in the state. Its student body is the most diverse in the state of Louisiana.[citation needed]
The Law Center program is presently accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), the Supreme Court of Louisiana, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It is approved also by the Veterans Administration for the training of eligible veterans. It’s 2021 graduates failed to meet the 75% bar examination passage within two years required to maintain ABA accreditation.[4]
The Southern University Law Center 2018 first year class had an admission rate of 60.71% with 46.09% of admitted students enrolling, enrolled students having an average LSAT score of 145 and average GPA of 2.99.[2]
In 2023, the overall bar examination passage rate for the law school’s first-time examination takers was 52.94%. The Ultimate Bar Pass Rate, which the ABA defines as the passage rate for graduates who sat for bar examinations within two years of graduating, was 72.15% for the class of 2021, which is below the 75% passage threshold to maintain ABA accreditation.[4]
Housed in the 93,400-square-foot (8,680 m2) A. A. Lenoir Hall, the Law Center's program of study is designed to ensure that students graduate with a comprehensive knowledge of civil law and common law. Though emphasis is given to the substantive and procedural law of Louisiana, with its French and Spanish origins, Anglo-American law is integrated into the curriculum.
According to SULC's official 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 43.87% of the Class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment (i.e., as attorneys) ten months after graduation, excluding solo-practitioners.[5] SULC's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 19.4%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2018 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[10]
The total cost of full-time attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at SULC for the 2019-2020 academic year is $19,010 for Louisiana Residents and $31,610 for non-residents.[11] The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $156,305 for residents and $205,106 for non-residents.[11]
SULC has the ranking #178-196 (out of 196; lowest 9% at most) in 2024 Best Law Schools by U.S. News & World Report.[12] SULC is consistently ranked as one of the worst law schools in the United States.[6][7]
This section is missing information about the kind of degree and date granted for several alumni that are usually supplied. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.(April 2024)
Jeff Cox -- judge of the 26th Judicial District in Bossier and Webster parishes since 2005[13]
Cleo Fields (1987) -- politician, former United States Congressman for Louisiana's 4th Congressional District 1993-1997, former gubernatorial candidate
Randal Gaines -- member of the Louisiana House since 2012 for St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes[14]
Rick Gallot -- tenth president of Grambling State University and Democrat member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature: House (2000-2012), Senate (2012-2016)[15]
Kip Holden (1985) -- mayor of Baton Rouge (2005–2016)
Edmond Jordan -- member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 29 in West and East Baton Rouge parishes since 2016[16]
Sherman Q. Mack (1999) -- former District 95 Louisiana state representative[17]
Robert M. Marionneaux (1995) -- Louisiana State representative from District 18 from 1996–2000, Louisiana State Senator from District 17 from 2000 to 2012
Jesse N. Stone, Jr. (1950) -- Louisiana Supreme Court associate justice pro tempore, chancellor of SULC 1971-72, president of SU System 1975-85, civil rights attorney, and political leader
Ledricka Thierry (2003) -- politician, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for St. Landry Parish since 2009[19]
