Cumberland School of Law | |
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Established | July 29, 1847 |
School type | Private |
Dean | Henry C. Strickland, III |
Location |
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. 33°27′57″N 86°47′32″W / 33.46570°N 86.79214°WCoordinates: 33°27′57″N 86°47′32″W / 33.46570°N 86.79214°W |
Enrollment | 426 |
Faculty | 45 professors, 43 adjunct / student to faculty ratio of 20:1 |
Bar pass rate | 92% (Official ABA Data) |
Website | cumberland |
ABA profile | [2] |
Rascal – Cumberland School of Law Mascot |
Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, it is the 11th oldest law school in the United States and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices;Nobel Peace Prize recipient Cordell Hull, "the father of the United Nations"; over 50 U.S. representatives; and numerous senators, governors, and judges.
The school offers two degree programs: the 90-hour Juris Doctor (J.D.), and the Master of Comparative Law (M.C.L.), which is designed to educate foreign lawyers in the basic legal principles of the United States. The school also offers six dual-degree programs, and is building a biotechnology law emphasis through its research center.
According to Samford's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 57.8% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
This summary is based on From Maverick to Mainstream, a review of Cumberland's history and the development of the American legal education system.
Langum and Walthall summarize the history of Cumberland Law School as:
From its very local, Tennessee origins in 1847, Cumberland...emerged as a premier law school with a national status. It excelled in faculty, teaching methodology, and numbers of students. Following the American Civil War, Cumberland rebuilt itself and ultimately succeeded on a grand scale with its single-year curriculum.
Cumberland School of Law was founded on July 29, 1847 in Lebanon, Tennessee at Cumberland University. At the end of 1847, there were 15 law schools in the United States. Founder and first professor Judge Abraham Caruthers said,