University of Kansas School of Law Dean of Admissions - 2012 Forum

[JayhawkLaw]

Hello TLS!

Welcome to the 2012-2013 admissions cycle. I really enjoyed posting on TLS last year and thought it was a great way to communicate with folks interested in KU Law. Since it's a new admissions year, I though I would start a new "Ask the KU Law Dean of Admissions" thread. My goal is to provide you with the information you need to make your law school decision.

Here in Kansas we are pretty straight-talking people, so let me lay down some straight-forward ground rules:

1) No making fun of my grammar or spelling.
2) Stay classy. No cursing, cussing or fighting on this thread.
3) Be prepared for delays. Although I try to respond as quickly as possible, you can imagine things can get pretty busy here in Lawrence.
4) Stay on target. This thread is meant to discuss the KU School of Law and the admissions process for KU Law. There are a lot of good discussions going on regarding legal education and I encourage everyone to take part. But this is not the forum for that discussion, so please have some respect for your fellow TLS folks who come to this thread to ask questions about KU Law.

(cont'd)

[JayhawkLaw]

Part 2

We're very excited here about the coming year. We recruited an awesome class this year comprised of 141 students from 25 different states, one foreign country and 67 different colleges and universities. The class included six retired or current members of the armed forces, a student who was a public school teacher in a remote Alaskan village, Martha Stewart's receptionist, a starting college football player, and a former prosecutor from Ethiopia.

The numbers were great. The number of students applying to KU Law jumped 19% which made us one of only 11 law schools to see an application increase of 10% or more. Our LSAT numbers were 154/157/159 and our GPA was 3.22/3.51/3.72, almost identical to last year's results. We recruited a higher percentage of out-of-state students (36%) than anyone here can remember. And we recruited a diverse class, with 14% of our students coming from diverse backgrounds and the percentage of female students increasing from 40% to 43%.

So what does this mean? This means smart, talented men and women from all corners of the nation and from all different backgrounds are choosing KU Law. What attracts them to KU Law? Our strong academic programs, Lawrence, KS, one of America's great college towns, and the 7,000 alumni ready to help guide students to a career in law.

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about KU Law or the admissions process.

Steve

[jared6180]

Will you be at MINK 2012? I have no doubt KU will be but will you be available to attend?

[JayhawkLaw]

Jared,

Thanks for asking. I will be there along with a recent alum and several current students. This week is actually a big week for us as we have three Kansas events:

KU Law Day
KU Memorial Union
1:00pm - 4:00pm
--LinkRemoved--

MINK Law Fair
Overland Park Convention Center
3:00pm - 6:30pm

Kansas State Law Fair
Kansas State Student Union
10:30am - 1:30pm

I strongly encourage folks to come to one of these law fairs. It's a great opportunity to meet with us as well as with my colleagues from other law schools. Of course, the best way to learn more about KU Law is to come visit us here in Green Hall. You can schedule a visit by visiting our website at http://www.law.ku.edu/prospective/visit/index.shtml.

[runningdownthetrack]

What advantages does your school offer over nearby Washburn Law in Topeka?

[JayhawkLaw]

@ running

I try to stay away from writing about other schools, so I'll focus on what KU has to offer. Of course I encourage you to speak with our alumni and our current students, they'll be able to tell you what KU Law did for them. For now, here are a couple of points of pride about our program.

National Reach: I hear a lot of comments that KU is only good if you want to practice in Kansas. Well the facts fly in the face of this conventional wisdom. Just using the Class of 2011 as an example, 49 of our students found employment outside the state of Kansas. This includes 18 students in Missouri, 6 in the District of Columbia, 5 in Texas, 4 in California and 4 in Colorado. This is out of a graduating class of 168. Other states where students found employment include New York, New Jersey, Utah, Illinois and Indiana. For a complete list of employers outside of Kansas and Missouri in the last five years, visit our website at http://www.law.ku.edu/careerservices/us ... yers.shtml.

Strength in Kansas - We are the flagship law school for the State of Kansas, a fact we are proud of. We say with confidence that KU Law puts students in the best place to succeed in Kansas and Kansas City. The governor is a KU Law alum, six of nine federal district judges in Kansas are KU Law alums, and KU Law places better than any other law school in Kansas City. For a complete list of employers from the past five years in Kansas and Missouri, visit our website at http://www.law.ku.edu/careerservices/ks ... yers.shtml.

Leading Faculty - We have a number of "wrote the casebook" faculty including Raj Bhala on International Trade (http://www.law.ku.edu/faculty/faculty/bhala.shtml), Martin Dickinson on Federal Tax (http://www.law.ku.edu/faculty/faculty/dickinson.shtml), and Elinor Schroeder (http://www.law.ku.edu/faculty/faculty/schroeder.shtml). Even more important, our faculty are passionate about teaching and engaging with students. The open door policy is very real here at KU Law, and faculty-student interaction is the norm, not the exception. Best way to confirm this? Talk with our students.

Clinical Programs - We have more than a dozen clinical programs including Tribal Law, Media Law, Kansas Supreme Court, Legal Aid, Immigration, etc. We have availability for 200 students in a student body of only 450. For a full listing, check our website at http://www.law.ku.edu/clinics.

Alumni Network - We have more than 7,000 alumni working in all fifty states and 14 foreign countries. They are passionate about KU Law and support our students and our school like no other alumni.

Location - Lawrence, Kansas is one of the best college towns in America. It's fun, energetic and intellectually exciting. Nearly all of our students and most of our faculty live here which helps us build a strong community.

I could add a lot more, but I'll leave you with the above items. I encourage you to visit us this fall, we'd love to show you what we have to offer.

[haus]

When you state that your incoming class comes from 67 different colleges and universities, is this refering to the schools which your incoming students earned their undergraduate degrees only, or does this also include schools where other degrees may have been earned (e.g. Masters, PhD, etc.).

[JayhawkLaw]

@ haus

Good question. That's 67 different undergraduate institutions.

[ineptimusprime]

I'm a 1L (non-Kansan) at KU law and am loving Lawrence and KU so far. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Sorry for hijacking the thread. Move along.

[jayhawkgirl]

If an applicant applies in mid-September, how early would he/she hear back from your school?

[Unoriginalist]

What kind of scholarship opportunities can out of state applicants expect? Thanks!

[JayhawkLaw]

@jayhawk girl

Decisions start going out in mid-January. Applying early will ensure that you'll receive your decision around that time.

[JayhawkLaw]

@ unoriginalist

Thirty-five percent of our incoming class are non-Kansans, so that's a great question to ask. With few exceptions, all of our scholarships are open to out-of-state applicants. The only exceptions are the Rice and Elkouri scholarships which are for Kansans.

About 70% of the incoming class received some form of scholarship ranging from the $2,500 per year Golden Plains scholarship to full-tuition scholarships like the Rice Scholarship. We award scholarships at the same time we make admissions decisions, so you'll know what we've granted when you receive your offer.

[JayhawkLaw]

I am often asked, "I have a biochemical engineering degree, can I go to law school?" Short answer...yes.

From today's National Law Journal...

"The merger would come as patent litigation has surged to an all-time high. The number of patent infringement filings shot up by 22 percent during 2011 compared with the year before, reaching the highest level ever recorded, according to a study released last week by PricewaterhouseCoopers."

There are definitely some ups and downs in today's legal market - but one area that is all up is Intellectual Property, specifically patent prosecution and litigation. Patent law is a great field to get into if you have a science or engineering degree. While demand is high, the supply of patent attorneys is limited due to the requirement that members of the patent bar must have a science or engineering degree. And patent prosecution and litigation can lead to some very exciting work. Just this month, we've seen the Apple vs. Samsung case, one of the most high profile civil litigation matters in recent memory.

KU Law is a great place to learn patent law. Professors Andrew Torrance (http://www.law.ku.edu/andrew) and Mike Kautsch (http://www.law.ku.edu/kautsch) are our lead faculty in this area with expertise in patent, media, trademark and copyright law. Being part of an AAU research university is another great asset with opportunities to collaborate with our technology transfer department as well as with the many technology and science based companies located in our region (Sprint/Nextel, Garmin, Cessna, LearJet). Our region is also big on agriculural and animal health sciences, another hot field of IP practice.


http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... 0820100018

[jared6180]

What about teaching? Does KU Law have a program/certification/field of study that emphasizes the teaching of the law? I would love to practice for a while and then teach at a law school.

[JayhawkLaw]

@ Jared

Although we do not have a specific concentration or program to become a faculty member, we certainly provide students the types of experiences that can lead to a teaching career. KU has a successful track record of producing law faculty as we are among the top 50 law schools in the nation for having alumni in tenure or tenure track teaching positions.

How does someone become a law professor? Like many things in life, there is no one path to becoming a law professor. And please keep in mind it is very competitive to become a law professor. No matter the law school, every law faculty posting receives hundreds of resumes. Although there might not be one path, if you look at the bios of law professors, you'll notice a few common experiences among many of them. For example, most of them were on law review during law school and graduated with high honors. Post law school, many professors served as federal circuit court clerks. Further, many published at least a student article before seeking a law professor position. You'll also notice an abundance of graduates from Harvard, Yale & Stanford. But I also have friends who are law professors from schools like Alabama, Temple and of course, Kansas.

Another track for becoming a law professor is to have practice experience in government or non-profit positions. For example, Professor Valdez was both a prosecutor and a legal services attorney before becoming a clinical professor here at KU. Similarly, our Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Professor Melanie Wilson was a state and federal prosecutor in Georgia before becoming a law professor.

How will KU help you achieve this goal? Most important is our faculty who are very supportive of students seeking an academic career. By serving as a professor's research assistant or by taking an independent study class with a professor, you will have the chance to learn about scholarship first hand. The KU Law Review and the KU Journal of Law and Pubic Policy are both highly regarded law reviews. You will want to serve on one of those and hopefully publish a student paper. This is another great way to learn about scholarship.

Hope this helps.

[jayhawkgirl]

Thank you for answering my previous question. Can you talk a little bit about your early decision program? I have not been able to find much information about that online. Thanks!

[JayhawkLaw]

@ jayhawk girl - we do not have an early decision option. We review applications on a rolling basis, so applying earlier typically results in receiving an earlier decision.

[JayhawkLaw]

Turning of the tide?

Survey reports 15% increase in summer associate programs.

About halfway into this AmLaw article comes this encouraging news, "the summer hiring survey found that the 92 responding firms that provided data for the past two years hired 15.5 percent more summer associates in 2012 than they did in 2011, with the average class size among those firms growing to 44."

Ok, it's one survey and it's among the biggest of the big firms. Although most law students do not end up practicing at big firms, increased hiring at these firms can drive employment across many sectors. So let's keep our fingers crossed that this is a trend and not a blip.

http://www.americanlawyer.com/PubArticl ... 0827135252

[JayhawkLaw]

Notes from the road...

During the fall, we travel all over the country visiting prospective law students to answer their questions about KU Law. Last week our alumni recruiter Alyssa Boone (L'12) travelled all over Texas visiting UT-Austin, Texas A&M, SMU, UT- San Antonio and UT - Dallas. Our Assistant Director Rae Nicholson (L'08) just returned from El Paso and St. Louis. As for me, I've had a wonderful two weeks visiting the upper midwest, with a quick stop in Houston.

Two weeks ago I travelled to Nebraska, my first time ever in the Cornhusker State. Driving down Sheridan Boulevard was a real treat, with the beautiful houses lining the way. The highlight of my visit was meeting with the University of Nebraska Pre-Law Society. A large group turned out for Valentino's pizza and Q & A. After Lincoln, it was on to Iowa City (with a stop in Omaha to buy new front tires for my '97 Acura). What a sight to see - it was the first day of voting in Iowa and there were hundreds of students lining up outside the main public library to vote. Pretty inspiring. Sadly, U. of Iowa does not allow contraband pizza into the Student Union Building, but the Iowa City phi alpha delta group came out despite this hardship and we had a great discussion about The Future of Legal Education and what KU Law has to offer.

...

[JayhawkLaw]

Houston was my next stop. It's always nice to attend the Houston LSAC forum because 1) there's always a big turnout, and 2) we get to stay at the JW Marriott at weekend rates. It was still summertime muggy, but the humidity felt nice. I met with more than thirty students during the day, thanks to everyone for showing up.

Last Thursday and Friday, it was time to hit Chicago. Forgoing my usual deep-dish pizza run, I tried an Al's Italian Beef. Tasty and greasy in the best way, but in dire need of a good Italian hoagie roll like they make back in my hometown of Philadelphia. I attended graduate fairs at both U. of Illinois and U. of Chicago. My first visitor at U. of Illinois was a mom with her baby - always a great way to start the day.

This week I'm off to New York City followed by trips to Colorado and Utah. Look forward to seeing everyone!

Steve

[basketball law guy]

I appreciate this thread and your willingness to address our questions. I just took the October LSAT. I also play basketball and will be unable to take December or February LSAT ( if needed) because of basketball schedule. Kansas is in my top 4 with Missouri, Iowa and Illinois. GPA of 3.87. I am not sure how I did on LSAT but, assuming the worst, how would a 155 look for admission and any scholarships (out of state)? I know you can't be specific and I have checked out lawschoolnumbers.com. Thanks for any insight.

[cahwc12]

I just want to say that it seems like you're an upstanding person who does seem to genuinely care about the welfare of your students, current and future. In the interest of helping prospective students make the most informed decision possible, would you consider submitting your NALP report to Law School Transparency for the graduating class of 2011 as more than 50 other ABA-approved schools have done?

[JayhawkLaw]

@ basketballlawguy

We're always happy to make the final four here at KU - so thanks for your interest in our school. As you suggest, I can't offer personalized admissions advice in a forum like this. We require personal statements and letters of recommendations for a reason - we include them in our decision making process. We share our entering class profile with prospective so that you can have a general idea of your chances for gaining admission. According to our applicant profile graph located in the ABA-LSAC guidebook, an LSAT of 155 with a GPA of 3.87 puts you in the "Good Possibility" category. So that should give you confidence going in that you have a better than average chance of gaining admission. Your athletic experience will certainly help too, as you have likely demonstrated the dedication and determination necessary to achieve at a high level.

Thanks again for contacting us - I look forward to finding your application and having you here for a visit.

[JayhawkLaw]

@ cahw

We're strong advocates of transparency, which is why we post extensive, detailed employment information on our website (http://www.law.ku.edu/success-stats). If you have additional questions about our employment statistics, I encourage you to post any questions here at TLS or send me a personal e-mail.