Practice Management

Maybe it is just because I try to be a good Catholic boy, but I very much like the concept of Ave Maria School of Law, and there is no reason why you should not give it serious consideration when trying to decide on which law schools to which you should apply.

I just like law schools that by their very nature try to be different and fulfill a purpose of developing well rounded attorneys that are, to paraphrase Hillary Clinton, prepared on day one.  If Ave Maria does not meet that standard, it is my opinion that it at least tries and should be given credit for doing so.

The law school is in a serious state of transition now, but to some extent it is an exciting time for the law school and it could be an exciting time for any new law student.  For the 2009-2010 school year Ave Maria is relocating to Collier County, Florida from Michigan to a brand new town or community and a brand new university campus centered around the school.

The overall mission of the law school is now about to be transformed into the overall mission of a new university and a new community in Florida.

Ave Maria University is a new private university with a Roman Catholic character and liturgical tradition being built in southwest Florida.  Like the law school before it, Ave Maria University was founded in 2003 by Tom Monaghan, a Catholic philanthropist and retired founder of Domino's Pizza with a donation of $250 million. The university moved into its permanent campus, situated in the planned town of Ave Maria just 17 miles east of Naples, Florida in August 2007.  It is the first Roman Catholic University established in over 40 years.

Ave Maria School of Law graduated its first class and its first class achieve an unheard of bar passage rate of of 93% among first-time takers, which was the top rate in Michigan. In 2004, the school had 100% Michigan bar passage rate, and in 2006, the passing rate was 96%, which is the highest overall among Michigan law schools.  The bar passage rate fell somewhat in 2007.  The law school achieved full accreditation in 2005.

It is true that a move to Florida is going to create a mild and temporary impediment to the law schools accreditation.  But, as I understand it, under ABA rules the law school will not lose accreditation, but it will be placed back on provisional accreditation and will have to again achieve permanent accreditation.  This, however, would not seem to be an overwhelming problem for a school that is well capitalized, as it the university, and which is moving into newly constructed facilities, built for it, in a new master planned community.

To me a law school situated in a beautiful master planned community with malls, shopping, and well priced housing would seem to be a respite of such from law schools, most of which are placed in an urban setting.  It is at least different and probably worth the experience.

Ave Maria Law School does have rather high tuition, but it should be noted that it is also listed as one of the most generous of private law schools in granting scholarships and tuition breaks to its students in the country.

If you would like to go to a national law school in a beautiful town in Florida, this might well be the school for which you are looking.  And, the law school might not suite everyone's needs.  To those there are other law schools offerings throughout the country.