Boyd School of Law Maintains Position in Rankings of Nation's Best Law Schools

Evening Program Rises 13 Places to 21 in the Country The William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV maintained its position in the U.S. News & World Report's annual national rankings of the best law schools and specialty programs released Thursday. The law school was ranked 78th of 189 law schools. This ranking, just off last year's ranking of 75 shows that the law school has maintained its strength through the economic downturn. Last year's ranking of 75 represented a 25 place improvement in the past two years for the law school, which was established just 12 years ago. "We have worked hard to maintain the strength of the law school, the top programs that define our unique approach to legal education, and the top faculty that are responsible for our programs' success. The U.S. News ranking is but one indication of our success at building a world-class faculty and innovative program of legal education, notwithstanding the economic downturn," said John Valery White, dean of the law school. "The law school's greatest achievement is building a great faculty and attracting a strong student body. Our success in doing so has created a great institution, providing students with an excellent legal education that emphasizes academic rigor, professionalism, skilled representation of clients, and community service." The Boyd School of Law's programs continue to be regarded as among the best in the country.

• Boyd's Lawyering Process Program – which emphasizes professionalism, the relationship between legal analysis and lawyering skills, including legal writing, research, oral advocacy, client interviewing, counseling and negotiation – is the fourth ranked program of its kind.
• UNLV's Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution ranked the nation's tenth best dispute resolution program.
• The Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic ranked 28 in clinical training.
• In a category ranking part-time law programs, UNLV's law school was ranked 21 out of 84 accredited law schools. This represents a 13 place improvement in our ranking.

The Boyd School of Law and Legal Education Programs

The William S. Boyd School of Law has more than 450 students and offers three juris doctor degree programs: a full-time day program, a part-time day program and a part-time evening program. The school also offers three dual degree programs: a J.D./MBA, a J.D./M.S.W. and a J.D./Ph.D in Education. It is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the American Association of Law Schools – accomplishments it achieved in record time.

Lawyering Process Program

The Lawyering Process program emphasizes professionalism and prepares students to enter the workforce proficient in the key language skills of legal practice.

Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution

Established in 2003, the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution is dedicated to advancing education in the field of alternative dispute resolution and provides a venue for advanced study of the nature of conflict and the methods through which conflicts may be resolved. The Center is the 2008 recipient of the prestigious Ninth Circuit ADR Education Award.

Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic

The Thomas and Mack Legal Clinic represents clients in cases involving juvenile justice, immigration, education, post-conviction and criminal appeals.

The law school's externship programs offer students integrated academic and practice-based educational experiences. The programs teach students how to be reflective practitioners and multi-disciplinary professionals, how to improve the quality of and access to legal systems and how to provide service to communities in need of legal assistance in Nevada.

For more information about the William S. Boyd School of Law and its programs, go to www.law.unlv.edu. A complete list of rankings is available on the U.S. News & World Report Web site here: .