University Of Utah Law School
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The S.J. Quinney College of Law is a professional graduate
law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...
at the
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
. It is located in
Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...
. The law school was originally called the University of Utah College of Law, changing to its current name on November 2, 2001, in acknowledgement of a $26 million gift from the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Foundation.


History

The school was established in 1913. It is a member of the
Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 175 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non- ...
and is accredited by the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
. The law school was originally called the University of Utah College of Law, changing to its current name on November 2, 2001, in acknowledgement of a $26 million gift from the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Foundation. S.J. "Joe" Quinney (1893–1983) was a Utah attorney who helped develop the
Alta Ski Area Alta is a ski area in the western United States, located in the town of Alta, Utah, Alta in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, in Salt Lake County. With a skiable area of , Alta's base elevation is and rises to for a vertical gain of . One of the ...
. In 2019, Elizabeth Kronk Warner became the 12th dean of the S.J. Quinney College of Law. She is the first woman and Native American named to deanship in the college's history.


Campus

The law school building is located in the south-west corner of the University of Utah campus, directly north of the Stadium light rail station and
Rice–Eccles Stadium Rice–Eccles Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium located on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home field of the Utah Utes football, Utah Utes of the Big 12 Conference. It was built to serve as t ...
, and approximately 2.5 miles from downtown Salt Lake City. The James E. Faust Law Library (formerly the S.J. Quinney Law Library) is integrated into the law school building. The first floor, parts of the second floor, and the sixth floor of the building are open to the public; materials located on upper floors can be retrieved for public patrons. Utah Law's $62.5 million building was opened on September 1, 2015.


Reputation

According to the USNWR 2024 Law School Rankings, the S.J. Quinney College of Law was named a "Top Tier" Law School and was ranked #28 out of 196 law schools in the United States. As of 2024, Utah Law has the second lowest student to faculty ratio at 4.2:1, behind only the
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
. Utah Law also has the third highest first-time in-state bar passage rate, and its environmental law program is ranked #7 nationally.


Admissions, and bar passage

The 2024 incoming class of 105 students had a median LSAT score of 165 and median GPA of 3.86.ABA Disclosures » S.J. Quinney College of Law University of Utah
/ref> 1L tuition and fees at S.J. Quinney School of Law for the 2024–2025 academic year were $34,789 for residents and $45,102 for non-residents. As of 2024, Utah Law offers a juris doctor (JD), a master of laws (LLM) in environmental and natural resources law, a master of legal studies (MLS), an undergraduate minor in legal studies, and micro-credential courses in mediation. The overall bar passage rate in 2024 was 94%.


Scholarly publications

The S.J. Quinney College of Law publishes the legal journal ''Utah Law Review.''


Organizations

Campus organizations in alphabetical order include: * Business Law Society – student organization for anyone interested in the law and business. Events focus on how the law and business intersect. * Environmental Law Forum – Open to all Utah Law students with interests in
environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...
. *
Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism, textualist an ...
– The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of conservatives and
libertarians Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
interested in the current state of the legal order. * J. Reuben Clark Law Society – The JRCLS is an international organization of law school students and graduates with over 65 chapters throughout the world. Although closely associated with the
LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded during ...
, membership in the church is not required to join JRCLS. * Minority Law Caucus – a student organization at the University of Utah S.J Quinney College of Law * National Lawyers Guild * Pride Law Caucus – An association of LGBTQ+ and allied students. * Public Interest Law Organization (PILO) – to promote scholarship, activism, and career opportunities for law students interested in working for the public interest. This includes local, state, and federal government, as well as non profits and other organizations. * Student Immigration Law Association (SILA) * Student Intellectual Property Law Association (SIPLA) – Open to all students interested in intellectual property law. * Sports Law Club – Provides a forum for students interested in sports law. * Student Bar Association (SBA) – The SBA is the official student government of Utah law. It plans student activities, organizes the mentor program for 1L students and other programs such as social events, philanthropies, and intramural sports. The SBA also serves as the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) and elected student government of the College of Law. As voting members of the College Council, SBA Board members represent the student body to the law school faculty and administration. * Women's Law Caucus – Promotes interest in issues of particular concern to women.


Notable alumni

;State Supreme Court justices *
Roger I. McDonough Roger I. McDonough (September 29, 1892 – November 25, 1966) was an American judge. He presided over Utah's Third Judicial District Court for ten years. Then in 1938 he was elected to the Utah Supreme Court, where he went on to serve as chief ju ...
(graduated 1925), Chief Justice,
Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice ...
, 1947–1948, 1954–1959 * Richard C. Howe (graduated 1948), Chief Justice,
Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice ...
, 1998–2002 * Richard J. Maughan (graduated 1951), Chief Justice,
Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice ...
, 1981 * Gordon R. Hall (graduated 1951), Chief Justice,
Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice ...
, 1981–1993 *
Michael Zimmerman (jurist) Michael David Zimmerman (born October 21, 1943) is an American lawyer who served as the chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court. He is also a Zen Buddhist teacher and received shiho from his teacher, Dennis Genpo Merzel, in December 2006. Late ...
(graduated 1969), Chief Justice,
Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice ...
, 1994–1998 * Cynthia Meyer (graduated 1987),
Idaho Supreme Court The Idaho Supreme Court is the state supreme court of Idaho and is composed of the chief justice and four associate judge, justices. The decisions of the Idaho Supreme Court are binding on all other Idaho State court (United States), state court ...
, 2024–present *
Jill Pohlman Jill McKee Pohlman is an American lawyer from Utah who serves as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court. From 2016 to 2022, she was an associate presiding judge of the Utah Court of Appeals. Education Pohlman was born in Ogden, Utah and attended ...
(graduated 1996),
Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice ...
, 2022–present *
Diana Hagen Diana Hagen is an American lawyer serving as a justice on the Utah Supreme Court. She served as a judge of the Utah Court of Appeals from 2017 to 2022. Education Hagen attended Ben Lomond High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts in speech ...
(graduated 1998),
Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice ...
, 2022–present ;Utah Court of Appeals judges *
Michele Christiansen Michele Mladejovsky Christiansen Forster (born 1970) is an American lawyer who has served as a judge of the Utah Court of Appeals. Early life and education Forster was born in 1970 in Utah. She attended Lawrence University in Appleton, Wiscon ...
, Judge, 2010–present ;State government officials *
Herbert B. Maw Herbert Brown Maw (March 11, 1893 – November 17, 1990) was an American politician and educator who was the eighth governor of Utah. He served as governor from 1941 to 1949. He was a Democrat and was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of L ...
(graduated 1916),
Governor of Utah A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
, 1941–1949 * Myron E. Leavitt (graduated 1956), Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, 1979–1983 *Henry Adams (graduated 1959), Assistant Attorney General of Utah and first Black graduate of Utah Law * Paul Van Dam (graduated 1966),
Attorney General of Utah The Attorney General of Utah is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the state government of Utah. The attorney general is the chief legal officer and legal adviser in the state. The office is elected, with a term of four y ...
, 1989–1993 * Larry J. Echo Hawk (graduated 1973),
Attorney General of Idaho The attorney general of Idaho is an elected office that assists local law enforcement agencies in the state of Idaho. They provide legal representation for state agencies, state corporations and any persons holding ownership of property, as well a ...
, 1991–1995; US Assistant Secretary for
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...
, 2009–2012 *
Jan Graham Janet Ann Graham Hunt ( Crump; July 19, 1949 – January 29, 2024), best-known as Jan Graham, was an American lawyer from Utah who served as State Attorney General from 1993 to 2001. Other than candidates for Lieutenant Governor running on a tick ...
(graduated 1980),
Attorney General of Utah The Attorney General of Utah is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the state government of Utah. The attorney general is the chief legal officer and legal adviser in the state. The office is elected, with a term of four y ...
, 1993–2001 ;Federal judges *
David Thomas Lewis David Thomas Lewis (April 25, 1912 – September 28, 1983) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Education and career Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Lewis received a Bachelor of Arts degree ...
(graduated 1937), US Court of Appeals for the 10th circuit, 1956–1977 * Aldon J. Anderson (graduated 1943), US District Court for Utah, 1971–1984 * Marion Callister (graduated 1951), US District Court for Idaho, 1976–1989 * Bruce Sterling Jenkins (graduated 1952), US District Court for Utah, 1978–1994 * John Thomas Greene Jr. (graduated 1955), US District Court for Utah, 1985–1997 *
Kent Dawson Kent Joseph Dawson (born June 13, 1944) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Early life and education Dawson was born in 1944 in Ogden, Utah, and attended Weber State College i ...
(graduated 1971), US District Court for Nevada, 2000–present * David G. Campbell (graduated 1979), US District Court for Arizona, 2003–present * Carolyn B. McHugh (graduated 1982), US Court of Appeals for the 10th circuit, 2014–present ;Federal legislators and government officials *
William A. Dawson William Adams Dawson (November 5, 1903 – November 7, 1981) was a U.S. Representative from Utah. Biography Born in Layton, Utah, Dawson attended the public schools. He graduated from the law department of the University of Utah in 1926. He wa ...
(graduated 1926),
US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
from Utah, 1947–1949, 1953–1959 * Reva Bosone (graduated 1930),
US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
from Utah, 1949–1953 *
Allan Turner Howe Allan Turner Howe (September 6, 1927 – December 14, 2000) was a U.S. representative from Utah. Born in South Cottonwood near Murray, Utah, Howe attended public schools before receiving a B.S. from the University of Utah in 1952 and a J.D.L. f ...
(graduated 1954),
US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
from Utah, 1975–1977 *
Wayne Owens Douglas Wayne Owens (May 2, 1937 – December 18, 2002) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Utah's 2nd congressional district from 1973 to 1975 and again from 1987 to 1993. He was posthumously ...
(graduated 1964),
US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
from Utah, 1973–1975, 1987–1993 * S. Lane Tucker (graduated 1987), US Attorney for the District of Alaska, 2022–present * Trina Higgins (graduated 1995), US Attorney for the District of Utah, 2022–present *
Melissa Holyoak Melissa Holyoak is an American lawyer serving since 2024 as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. She previously served as the solicitor general of Utah from 2020 to 2024. Education Holyoak graduated from the University of Utah in 2000 ...
(graduated 2003), commissioner of the
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
, 2024–present


References


External links


Official law school website

Official University of Utah website
{{authority control University of Utah Law schools in Utah Environmental law schools Universities and colleges established in 1913 Buildings and structures in Salt Lake City Natural resources law 1913 establishments in Utah