Practice Management

I do not believe you should shy away from new, even if the law school is unproven. But, there are risks. One risk is ABA accreditation.  You hope the law school is provisionally approved by the ABA before you graduate. The law school is also unproven as to bar passage. So, there is a leap of faith involved. Law school cost a lot of money. Therefore, you want the degree to mean something.

Now, I am not talking about rankings. I think that is fool-hearty stuff. If your objective is to practice law, then your objective is to get a good basic education, pass the bar in the state in which you want to practice, and get on with your real legal education -- the practice of law.

The new schools do often offer those with lower LSAT scores a real opportunity to get in on the ground floor, so to speak, of a really good opportunity. New law schools, seeking ABA accreditation, have other fish to fry. They understand the risk to those they admit. Therefore, they do not often pretend to tackle or participate the rankings game, which artificially promotes higher LSAT scores.  After all, there are graduates of colleges that demonstrate that they are good students, but they have difficulty on standardized testing such as the LSAT. That does not mean they will not prevail in law school. It does not mean they will not do well in the practice of law.

Location is also an issue. Some new law schools are located in the area of the country in which you might wish to practice. If not the same state, then the same region. Some are located in parts of the country that offer a cheaper cost of living. That is vitally important these days.

So, it is with some interest that I have looked at Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law. Named in honor of Tennessee Congressman John James Duncan, Jr the school is located in Knoxville, Tennessee.

There are somethings that greatly improve the odds of achieving with an LMU-DSOL law degree.  First, DSOL has been approved by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners.  This means, if nothing else, you will be able to take the Tennessee bar exam upon graduation and practice in that state.

Second, the law school is actively seeking ABA approval.

Third, and related to above, LMU, with which DSOL is associated, is a well established university in the area. It also has the Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine. So, it has experience in guiding a school through the national approval process.

Fourth, it has already seated its inaugural class.

This is what I mean by opportunity. Its median GPA was 3.05 and its median LSAT was 149. But, the main point is that the law school only had 243 applicants, it offered admission to 125 of those or 51.4%.

You might wish to give LMU-DSOL a gander if you are looking for a centrally located law school, in a beautiful setting, with a lower cost of living and a good chance of achieving ABA approval before graduation.