University of Houston Law Center

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The University of Houston Law Center is an American Bar Association accredited law school founded in 1947 and is one of the 13 colleges at the University of Houston. It awards the Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees. In 2007, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center 60th among the nation's "Top 100 Law Schools". The Law Center's Health Law concentration is currently ranked second in the nation. The University of Houston Law Center is one of three accredited law schools located in the city of Houston and is considered the most prestigious.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Academics 2.1 J.D. program 2.2 LL.M. programs 2.3 Joint degrees 2.4 Institutes 3 Student organizations 4 Notable Alumni 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

The college of law at the University of Houston was founded in 1947 with an inaugural class consisting of 28 students and a faculty with only one professor.^[2] The college of law was housed in several locations on campus in its first few years, including temporary classrooms and the basement of the M.D. Anderson Library.^[2] The college of law moved into its current facilities, located in the northeast corner of campus, shortly following its groundbreaking in 1969.^[2]

[edit] Academics

[edit] J.D. program

The Doctor of Jurisprudence program consists of 90 semester hours. UH Law Center offers two programs: a three-year full-time day program and a four-year part-time evening program.

First year law students take a combined 14 hours their first semester consisting of:

• Civil Procedure (4 hours),
• Contracts (4 hours),
• Torts (4 hours), and
• Legal Research and Writing (2 hours).

First year law students take a combined 16 hours their second semester consisting of:

• Constitutional Law (4 hours),
• Property (4 hours),
• Criminal Law (3 hours),
• Elective course (3 hours), and
• Legal Research and Writing (2 hours).

[edit] LL.M. programs

The Law Center offers six LL.M. areas of concentration:

• Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Law
• Health law
• Intellectual Property & Information Law
• International law
• Tax law
• Foreign Scholars LL.M. Program

[edit] Joint degrees

The University of Houston Law Center also offers several joint degrees.

• JD / Master of Business Administration
• JD / Master of Arts in History
• JD / Master of Social Work

In addition, the Law Center has partnered with other institutions to offer other joint degrees.

• JD / MPH with the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health
• JD / PhD in Medical Humanities with the University of Texas Medical Branch
• JD / PhD in Criminal Justice with Sam Houston State University
• JD / MD with the Baylor College of Medicine

[edit] Institutes

The Law Center also has various specialized institutes:

• Blakeley Advocacy Institute
• Center for Consumer Law
• Criminal Justice Institute
• Health Law & Policy Institute
  • The Health Law & Policy Institute has never ranked lower than 2nd among such programs at U.S. law schools^{[citation needed]}
• Institute for Energy, Law & Enterprise
• Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance
• Institute for Intellectual Property and Information Law
  • The Institute for Intellectual Property & Information Law is consistently ranked at or near the top 5.

[edit] Student organizations

• The Advocates
• American Constitution Society (ACS)
• Asian Law Students Association (ALSA)
• The Association of Women in Law (AWIL)
• Black Law Students Association (BLSA)
• Christian Legal Society (CLS)
• Corporate and Taxation Law Society (CTLS)
• Criminal Defense Law Students Association (CDLSA)
• Delta Theta Phi - Cullen Senate
• Energy and Environmental Law Society (EELS)
• The Environmental & Energy Law & Policy Journal (EELPJ)
• Evening Law Students Association (ELSA)
• Federalist Society
• Health Law Organization (HLO)
• Hispanic Law Students Association (HLSA)
• The Honor Court
• Houston Association of Counsel for Children (HACC)
• Houston Business and Tax Law Journal
• Houston Journal of Health Law and Policy
• Houston Journal of International Law (HJIL)
• Houston Law Review
• Human Rights Alliance
• Intellectual Property Student Organization (IPSO)
• International Law Society (ILS)
• Journal of Texas Consumer Law
• J. Reuben Clark Law Society
• LawHorns UT Law Students Association
• Legalese
• Lex Judaica
• Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA)
• Ombudsmen
• Order of The Barons
• OutLaw: Students for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Concerns
• Phi Alpha Delta (PAD)
• Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity - Hutcheson Inn
• Public Interest Law Organization (PILO)
• Society of Law and Politics (SLAP)
• South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA)
• Sports and Entertainment Law Student Organization (SELSO)
• State Bar of Texas - Texas Young Lawyers
• St. Thomas More Society (STMS)
• The Student Bar Association (SBA)
• Society for Computer & Information Law (SCIL)
• Texas Aggie Law Students Association (AgLaw)

[edit] Notable Alumni

• Congressman Gene Green
• Richard Haynes
• John O'Quinn
• Judge Gray H. Miller
• John Moores
• State Representative Dora Olivo
• State Representative Larry Phillips
• Congressman Ted Poe
• Star Jones Reynolds
• State Senator Royce West
• State Senator John Whitmire

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• University of Houston Law Center
• Environmental & Energy Law & Policy Journal
• Houston Business and Tax Law Journal
• Houston Law Review
• Houston Journal of International Law
• University of Houston Law Center: Top 25 Underrated Law Schools in the Nation