Regent University School of Law - Thoughts from a 1L
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 1:37 pm
Introduction
My reason for writing this is to hopefully dispel some misconceptions about Regent Law and give an honest assessment of the school to help any non-law students who may be interested. I realize that I'm going into the lion's den here by posting this but hopefully it will be of some use. I know trolls are going to troll so if that's your intention feel free, I don't intend to check up on this post after I post it to respond to people (however, I may edit it from time to time to clarify) but if you have a legitimate question please feel free to PM me. I realize after reading the title much of TLS is going to either 1) Laugh, 2) become angry, or 3) reject anything I have to say simply because it's Regent. If you fall into any of those three categories it will probably be a waste for you to read past this point, but if you're bored, proceed at your own risk.
Some of Regent's reputation is warranted while much of it is not. I don't try to hide the abysmal bar passage rates of the past and some questionable decision making. I only hope to provide as fair of a view as I can.
I. About Me
I am a Christian. I am not crazy (my mother had me tested). I went to a solid undergrad institution and was a fairly extreme splitter. My top school was Duke and I was rejected. I had several top 20 offers (mostly without a ton of money offered to me). I don't have a desire to work 80 hours/week to make money. I'm slightly right of center politically. I decided on Regent because I enjoyed the school, the atmosphere, and the professors. They also offered me a very nice scholarship. I decided I would like to go some place where I wouldn't accumulate debt and could stand out. So far I'm very glad with the decision I made and hope to be of some help to any prospective law students that are in the position I was in.
II. Bar Passage & Employment
About a decade ago, Regent had inexcusably low bar passage rates. I believe the lowest it got was 47% of first time takers passed. However, the numbers are now much, much higher. Over the past three years the rate was over 82% across the nation. 97% of graduates with a 155 LSAT or higher passed the bar exam on their first attempt and 100% of graduates with a 160 or higher passed the bar. Unfortunately, there are some lingering effects from the "bad years" that recent graduates and current students are having to overcome. Hopefully within a few more years the law school of today will completely overshadow the law school of the past.
There are many people that believe that Regent students/grads have no internship or employment prospects. The students don't come out making 160k and, to be honest, most don't have aspirations to go into big law. That being said, most do come out with employment and many in the field they want to practice. The latest numbers from 2011 show 19 of 118 graduates unemployed at graduation. The salaries aren't high with many graduates choosing to go into public interest work, government, Con Law, and public defender offices. However, the school has a national reach unlike most other 4th tier schools and offers LRAP and with 10 years of public interest work the government will pay off all student loans. Also, like many higher ranked schools, a lot of the top students have federal clerkship offers.
The Career Services department is very hard working and is very helpful. They post hundreds of internship opportunities and do an outstanding job networking to help students get internships. Again, most of these internships aren't with prestigious big law firms but there is a variety of fields and opportunities for internships. I know many of my classmates were offered Blackstone Fellowships and several have been given stipends to do human rights work through the Center for Global Justice. Several state supreme courts and attorney generals have come to the school holding spots open for Regent students.
III. Stigma
There's no way around it, this school was founded by a very conservative televangelist named Pat Robertson. Automatically some potential employers (as I assume many of you have thought) will think that you're an ultra-conservative nut job who is going to shove the Bible down their throat. The truth is the graduates don't come out and do this but it is still an obstacle that we have to work around. However, we don't have to kiss his ring at the start of each day. We don't attend anti-abortion rallies every weekend (you only have to attend one a semester -- Just kidding). We also don't roll around on the floor "seized by the Holy Spirit" trying to divine the meaning of a Justice Scalia opinion.
IV. Student Body
I'm not going to lie, the student body is mostly made up of WASPs. The students are almost completely Christian with most being protestant (many different denominations) and some being Catholic. This is just an estimate based on what I've seen but this is how the student body seems to breakdown politically: 7% ultra-conservative, 65% conservative, 22% moderate, 6% liberal. An overwhelming majority is not liberal but there are some liberals.
The majority of students are pretty normal people. We go out on Friday nights to local bars, we go see movies, go to the beach, and like to have fun. The hotel on the campus even serves some pretty decent beers on tap (usually a few local beers - IPAs, Stouts, etc.) and a couple of light beers (Bud light, etc.) and it's not too expensive.
Many students also play intramural flag football, basketball, and softball. We also get together to watch college football on Saturdays and the Super Bowl.
V. Faculty
I've been much more impressed with the faculty than I thought I would be. Again, they are mostly conservative and they're Christian. However, they are quite distinguished and incredibly helpful. Most of the professors are from top law schools including Duke, UVA, Harvard, and UChicago amongst others. I visited several other law schools before going to Regent and all the students praised their professors but, undoubtedly, the students would say that there was one or two professors that they didn't like. I don't have that problem. There may be some students who don't really like a particular professor but almost all the students love our professors.
VI. Classes
1Ls take a pretty standard assortment of classes (torts, property, contracts, civ pro, and legal writing) but there is one class that outsiders like to bash Regent for and that is Christian Foundations of Law. It's understandable. The title of it makes it sound like Regent is teaching us that the Constitution was written by Jesus and that the Bible governs state and federal law. I assure you, it's nothing like that. It's a semester course that is divided between the first part looking at different historical legal philosophers including Aquinas, Blackstone, Bracton, Holmes, and Coke, and the second part of application of different legal philosophies to present day situations. There is reading from Christian philosophers such as C.S. Lewis and non-Christian legal thinkers such as Judge Posner. We talk about the historical foundations of the English common law, Legal Realism, Legal Relativism, Utilitarianism, Law & Economics, and many other legal theories. It wasn't my favorite class but it was pretty interesting.
Another misconception is that the entire law is taught through a Biblical standpoint. The property law I'm taught is the same property law at any other law school. I still learn fully about concurrent estates & future interests, landlord tenant law, adverse possession, and easements, but every now and then there will be a class where we spend 5-10 minutes talking about how a Biblical view would apply to a certain situation. It's not like we have the casebook open right beside our Bible trying to reconcile Brown v. Voss with the Bible.
Classes last 10 minutes longer than a standard class would because there is a 10 minute "devotion" at the beginning of each class. Most of the time it is the prof reading a short Bible passage and then talking about it or it is used for a time of prayer. Sometimes this can be annoying because I have so much to do I don't want to spend single minute more in class than I have to, but much of the time I enjoy the tone that is set for the class through the first ten minutes. It helps me to relax and be ready for the actual law portion of the class. You're not forced to pray or even pay attention during the devotions.
I am in the Honors section. The LSAT/GPA profile for the honors section is comparable to a top 25 school. There are also certain advantages that I suggest you check out on the Regent Law website. Smaller class sizes, more freedom in elective choices, classes taught by the Dean, and special events (including breakfast with John Ashcroft) are among some of the benefits. You have to keep a 3.0 to stay in the honors section and even if you don't start in the honors section you can grade in by being in the top 15% of the class. Also, there's not any extra work or harder classes for being in the honors section. Edit: I apparently did a poor job explaining the honors section. It is not a distinct cohort from the rest of the law school. The only honors class this semester is Contracts with all other classes are fully integrated with both honors and non-honors students.
Also, I know there is a mistake in the TLS profile for Regent stating that there is a forced curve but there isn't. The median of the class tends to be at a 2.8GPA but none of the teachers force a curve. Along those same lines, the GPA requirement for scholarship is a 2.8. Essentially if you can stay in the top half of the class you can keep your scholarship and if you have qualified for a scholarship and do the work necessary, you will almost certainly be in the top half.
VII. Is Regent for me?
I honestly think if you're not a Christian, you're not going to like being at Regent. If you don't like the law school you're at you're probably not going to do well. This is not to discourage non-Christians but to give a realistic perspective. If you want to go into big law, Regent probably isn't for you. If you're afraid of overcoming baseless stereotypes, Regent probably isn't for you. However, if you want a strong legal education, want to use the law to serve others, and enjoy being challenged in a Christian environment, you should consider Regent.
My reason for writing this is to hopefully dispel some misconceptions about Regent Law and give an honest assessment of the school to help any non-law students who may be interested. I realize that I'm going into the lion's den here by posting this but hopefully it will be of some use. I know trolls are going to troll so if that's your intention feel free, I don't intend to check up on this post after I post it to respond to people (however, I may edit it from time to time to clarify) but if you have a legitimate question please feel free to PM me. I realize after reading the title much of TLS is going to either 1) Laugh, 2) become angry, or 3) reject anything I have to say simply because it's Regent. If you fall into any of those three categories it will probably be a waste for you to read past this point, but if you're bored, proceed at your own risk.
Some of Regent's reputation is warranted while much of it is not. I don't try to hide the abysmal bar passage rates of the past and some questionable decision making. I only hope to provide as fair of a view as I can.
I. About Me
I am a Christian. I am not crazy (my mother had me tested). I went to a solid undergrad institution and was a fairly extreme splitter. My top school was Duke and I was rejected. I had several top 20 offers (mostly without a ton of money offered to me). I don't have a desire to work 80 hours/week to make money. I'm slightly right of center politically. I decided on Regent because I enjoyed the school, the atmosphere, and the professors. They also offered me a very nice scholarship. I decided I would like to go some place where I wouldn't accumulate debt and could stand out. So far I'm very glad with the decision I made and hope to be of some help to any prospective law students that are in the position I was in.
II. Bar Passage & Employment
About a decade ago, Regent had inexcusably low bar passage rates. I believe the lowest it got was 47% of first time takers passed. However, the numbers are now much, much higher. Over the past three years the rate was over 82% across the nation. 97% of graduates with a 155 LSAT or higher passed the bar exam on their first attempt and 100% of graduates with a 160 or higher passed the bar. Unfortunately, there are some lingering effects from the "bad years" that recent graduates and current students are having to overcome. Hopefully within a few more years the law school of today will completely overshadow the law school of the past.
There are many people that believe that Regent students/grads have no internship or employment prospects. The students don't come out making 160k and, to be honest, most don't have aspirations to go into big law. That being said, most do come out with employment and many in the field they want to practice. The latest numbers from 2011 show 19 of 118 graduates unemployed at graduation. The salaries aren't high with many graduates choosing to go into public interest work, government, Con Law, and public defender offices. However, the school has a national reach unlike most other 4th tier schools and offers LRAP and with 10 years of public interest work the government will pay off all student loans. Also, like many higher ranked schools, a lot of the top students have federal clerkship offers.
The Career Services department is very hard working and is very helpful. They post hundreds of internship opportunities and do an outstanding job networking to help students get internships. Again, most of these internships aren't with prestigious big law firms but there is a variety of fields and opportunities for internships. I know many of my classmates were offered Blackstone Fellowships and several have been given stipends to do human rights work through the Center for Global Justice. Several state supreme courts and attorney generals have come to the school holding spots open for Regent students.
III. Stigma
There's no way around it, this school was founded by a very conservative televangelist named Pat Robertson. Automatically some potential employers (as I assume many of you have thought) will think that you're an ultra-conservative nut job who is going to shove the Bible down their throat. The truth is the graduates don't come out and do this but it is still an obstacle that we have to work around. However, we don't have to kiss his ring at the start of each day. We don't attend anti-abortion rallies every weekend (you only have to attend one a semester -- Just kidding). We also don't roll around on the floor "seized by the Holy Spirit" trying to divine the meaning of a Justice Scalia opinion.
IV. Student Body
I'm not going to lie, the student body is mostly made up of WASPs. The students are almost completely Christian with most being protestant (many different denominations) and some being Catholic. This is just an estimate based on what I've seen but this is how the student body seems to breakdown politically: 7% ultra-conservative, 65% conservative, 22% moderate, 6% liberal. An overwhelming majority is not liberal but there are some liberals.
The majority of students are pretty normal people. We go out on Friday nights to local bars, we go see movies, go to the beach, and like to have fun. The hotel on the campus even serves some pretty decent beers on tap (usually a few local beers - IPAs, Stouts, etc.) and a couple of light beers (Bud light, etc.) and it's not too expensive.
Many students also play intramural flag football, basketball, and softball. We also get together to watch college football on Saturdays and the Super Bowl.
V. Faculty
I've been much more impressed with the faculty than I thought I would be. Again, they are mostly conservative and they're Christian. However, they are quite distinguished and incredibly helpful. Most of the professors are from top law schools including Duke, UVA, Harvard, and UChicago amongst others. I visited several other law schools before going to Regent and all the students praised their professors but, undoubtedly, the students would say that there was one or two professors that they didn't like. I don't have that problem. There may be some students who don't really like a particular professor but almost all the students love our professors.
VI. Classes
1Ls take a pretty standard assortment of classes (torts, property, contracts, civ pro, and legal writing) but there is one class that outsiders like to bash Regent for and that is Christian Foundations of Law. It's understandable. The title of it makes it sound like Regent is teaching us that the Constitution was written by Jesus and that the Bible governs state and federal law. I assure you, it's nothing like that. It's a semester course that is divided between the first part looking at different historical legal philosophers including Aquinas, Blackstone, Bracton, Holmes, and Coke, and the second part of application of different legal philosophies to present day situations. There is reading from Christian philosophers such as C.S. Lewis and non-Christian legal thinkers such as Judge Posner. We talk about the historical foundations of the English common law, Legal Realism, Legal Relativism, Utilitarianism, Law & Economics, and many other legal theories. It wasn't my favorite class but it was pretty interesting.
Another misconception is that the entire law is taught through a Biblical standpoint. The property law I'm taught is the same property law at any other law school. I still learn fully about concurrent estates & future interests, landlord tenant law, adverse possession, and easements, but every now and then there will be a class where we spend 5-10 minutes talking about how a Biblical view would apply to a certain situation. It's not like we have the casebook open right beside our Bible trying to reconcile Brown v. Voss with the Bible.
Classes last 10 minutes longer than a standard class would because there is a 10 minute "devotion" at the beginning of each class. Most of the time it is the prof reading a short Bible passage and then talking about it or it is used for a time of prayer. Sometimes this can be annoying because I have so much to do I don't want to spend single minute more in class than I have to, but much of the time I enjoy the tone that is set for the class through the first ten minutes. It helps me to relax and be ready for the actual law portion of the class. You're not forced to pray or even pay attention during the devotions.
I am in the Honors section. The LSAT/GPA profile for the honors section is comparable to a top 25 school. There are also certain advantages that I suggest you check out on the Regent Law website. Smaller class sizes, more freedom in elective choices, classes taught by the Dean, and special events (including breakfast with John Ashcroft) are among some of the benefits. You have to keep a 3.0 to stay in the honors section and even if you don't start in the honors section you can grade in by being in the top 15% of the class. Also, there's not any extra work or harder classes for being in the honors section. Edit: I apparently did a poor job explaining the honors section. It is not a distinct cohort from the rest of the law school. The only honors class this semester is Contracts with all other classes are fully integrated with both honors and non-honors students.
Also, I know there is a mistake in the TLS profile for Regent stating that there is a forced curve but there isn't. The median of the class tends to be at a 2.8GPA but none of the teachers force a curve. Along those same lines, the GPA requirement for scholarship is a 2.8. Essentially if you can stay in the top half of the class you can keep your scholarship and if you have qualified for a scholarship and do the work necessary, you will almost certainly be in the top half.
VII. Is Regent for me?
I honestly think if you're not a Christian, you're not going to like being at Regent. If you don't like the law school you're at you're probably not going to do well. This is not to discourage non-Christians but to give a realistic perspective. If you want to go into big law, Regent probably isn't for you. If you're afraid of overcoming baseless stereotypes, Regent probably isn't for you. However, if you want a strong legal education, want to use the law to serve others, and enjoy being challenged in a Christian environment, you should consider Regent.
