Coordinates: 35°54′31.08633″N 79°2′32.73″W / 35.9086350917°N 79.0424250°W
The University of North Carolina School of Law is a professional school within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the nation and is the oldest law school in North Carolina. It is consistently ranked in the top-tier of law schools, and its 2014 US News and World Report ranking is 31st. Further, according to the US News and World Report, "Carolina Law " is among the top 10 public law schools in the Nation" -- and 17th in reputation among lawyers and judges and 20th among scholars. In 2013, U.S. News & World Report also ranked Carolina Law 2nd in the nation on “return on investment” for its J.D. program.
The law school has just over 700 students at any time, and retains a student-faculty ratio of 13 to 1. The entering class of first-year law students in 2013 was composed of 238 students from 28 states, the District of Columbia, and China. Seventy percent of students were from North Carolina, and students of color made up 24 percent of the class. Men and women were each 50 percent of the class.
UNC Law has increased their tuition 71% for in-state residents since 2007-2008 at a time when law school graduates have faced a sharply declining legal job market. According to UNC's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 69% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
Following discussion in the North Carolina legal community, on December 12, 1842, the Trustees of the University of North Carolina authorized the University President, David L. Swain, to review and establish a law professorship. In 1845, William Horn Battle was named the first professor of law, and legal instruction began at the university. In the years following, assistant professors and later an organized faculty and law library were added.