The Case for WVU Law

Our Students Say

Cost of Education   |    Location   |    Reputation   |    Faculty

Our Faculty and Staff Say

• Low student debt – $89,635 vs. $104,503 national average
• Individual Attention/Great Student to Faculty Ratio – 6.9:1
• High Graduate Employment Rate – 76.5%—including higher than national average for Private Practice (54.7%), Clerkships (13%) and Public Interest (11.9%) jobs. (ABA, Class of 2018, full-time/long-term positions.)

Successful Employment Outcomes

Class of 2018 ABA data; full time/long term employment 10 months after graduation.

• Bar Passage Required – 66.3%
• J.D. Advantage – 7.1%
• Private Practice – 54.7%
• Judicial Clerkship – 13%
• Business & Industry – 8.3%
• Government – 3.5%
• Public Interest – 11.9%
• Education – 2.3%
  
  Career Services Center

Average Salary

Class of 2018 NALP data, full time, 10 months after graduation.

• Bar Passage Required – $62,586
• Salary range: $26,000 to $165,000 (all graduates, all jobs)

Clinical Law Opportunities Providing Experiential Learning

• Litigation and Advocacy (aka General Practice)
• Child & Family Law Clinic with Medical-Legal Partnership
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Immigration
• Innocence Project
• Taxpayer Advocacy
• Land Use & Sustainable Development
• United States Supreme Court Clinic
• Veterans Advocacy (part of Litigation and Advocacy clinic)
  
  Clinical Law Program

Academic Support

• Academic Excellence Center
• LARW/Professional Writing Center
• George R. Farmer, Jr. Law Library

Individual Attention

• Small college with access to all the amenities of a large research university in a vibrant, small city.
• Student-centered with accessible faculty and staff.
• Small first-year class size by design.
• Legal Analysis, Reading and Writing classes of just 15-20.
• All first-year (1L) students are assigned to small groups that have every class together. All 1Ls have every class together by the end of the first week.

Other Strengths

• Ultimate Bar Passage Rate of 85.57% (takers within two years of graduation). More than 10 points higher than the ABA requirement.
• As the only law school in the state, we prepare lawyers by providing exceptional practice-/client- ready learning opportunities and unparalleled access to leaders in the legal community.
• Leaders in public interest law and energy law and policy.
• Well-established college with the 4th oldest student-published Law Review the country.
• Dual Degree Programs — JD/Executive MBA, JD/MPA (Master’s in Public Administration), JD/LL.M. in Energy and Sustainable Development
• Low cost of attendance.
• Scholarships for more than 73% of students.
• J.D. concentrations: Energy & Sustainable Development, Public Interest, Labor & Employment, and International law.

• Study abroad opportunities in Mexico, Brazil and Switzerland.

What Others Say

• Top Law School for Trial Advocacy & Litigation Law (A) and Intellectual Property Law (A-)—preLaw Magazine (2019)
• Best Law Schools: Energy and Environmental Law (grade A) — preLaw Magazine (2019, 2018)
• Best Law Schools: Employment (grade A) — preLaw Magazine (2019, 2018)
• Best Law School (tied for 100) — U.S. News & World Report 2020 Rankings (2019)
• Top 100 Law Specialties: Environmental Law #74, Health Care Law #76, Tax Law #96—U.S. News & World Report 2020 Rankings (2019)
• Top 100 Law School, U.S. News & World Report 10-year average (95.6)—ind. research/USNWR data (2019)
• Best Value Law School — preLaw Magazine/The National Jurist (2018, 2017, 2016, 2015)
• Best Specialties: Public Interest Law — preLaw Magazine (2018)
• Best Law Schools: Employment — preLaw Magazine (2018)
• #34 Most Affordable Law School — Student Loan Hero (2018)
• #31 Law School for Federal Clerkships — independent research, ABA data (2018)
• #2 Law School for Greatest Community Impact —The National Jurist (2017)
• #14 “Cheapest” Law School — law.com (2017)
• #28 Law School for State Attorneys/Solicitors General — Empiricalscotus.com (2017)
• #13 Law School for Lowest Student-Faculty Ratio — Internet Legal Research Group (2017)
• Top Law School for Public Interest Law (A) and Criminal Law (B+) — preLaw Magazine (2016)
• #44 for employment rate (80%)—The Faculty Lounge (2016)
• #42 “Go-To” Law School — National Law Journal, 2015
• Top 25 Law School for Corporate Leadership — SEC data of publicly traded companies, independent research, 2014
• Best Law School for Employment (A-) — preLaw Magazine, 2014
• 2012 Excellence in Pro Bono Award (Clinical Law Program) — Super Lawyer, 2013

Location

• WVU Law is within a day’s drive to over half the population of the United States.