The University of North Texas and the City of Dallas have selected a location for the proposed University of North Texas College of Law. On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council agreed to spend over $16 million renovating the old Dallas City Hall to make it the home of the “first public law school in North Texas.” Built in 1914, the building served as the Dallas City Hall until 1978. It is in the parking lot of this building that Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963.
While the City of Dallas and the University of North Texas prepare to open the doors of the new law school in 2010, the proposal for the new law school has yet to receive legislative approval. In April 2007, the Texas Senate approved Senate Bill 105 authorizing the creation of the school, but the measure has yet to be approved by the House. A similar measure died in the House in 2005.
The announcement comes just days after the Associated Press reported on the growth of new law schools outpacing the number of jobs available to law students. A debate hosted by Robert Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams between Dean Chemerinsky (of Duke, who heading to the new UC Irvine) and Dean Guernsey (of Albany) on the issue of whether the nation has too many law schools can be found here.
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I remember driving by that magnificent building in downtown Dallas, seeing it all boarded-up, and wondering why the City had let such a striking structure languish into disrepair.
Am glad someone is going to make good use of it, but agree there are waaay too many lawyers for the available positions as it is. That fact–of course–is not emphasized much, if at all, to most potential law students.
I agree there are alot of building in disaray in downtown dallas. I think atleast it will improve the citys environment.
020033, the building is not boarded up. It is currently in use for municipal (traffic) courts. I think you had the wrong building.
There are too many lawyers in Texas and especially the DFW area. It is very hard to find a job once a person graduates with a law degree. There is no need for another law school in town, private or public. Most law students are ambitious and would consider more than just location in finding a law school. This is pure waste of taxpayer funds.
To all pundits and skeptics who lobby against the proposed UNT Law School, I submit the following:
This law school will benefit all those students who can’t afford SMU’s over $1,000 per credit hour tuition costs. Texas Wesleyan is not that much cheaper either. The fact is, law school is out of reach for a lot of people in the DFW area. Right now the choices are: faces $100k in debt or move away. That’s not fair to people who can’t leave DFW and who can’t afford massive debt. i.e. single parents.
Regarding the number of attorneys: I can tell you that there are not enough lawyers in DFW helping those people out there that really need qualified legal advice and assistance. I dare any of you to go to the Legal Aid office in South Dallas and see how many people need qualified legal advice, but can’t get it. Look around at those small business owners out there that need guidance on employment issues and tax advice, but can’t afford it. They’re forced to rely on legal software and forms without the advice of an attorney.
If people are forced to burden themselves with debt in order to get a legal education in the DFW area, they are more likely to take a legal job that promises a hefty salary because they have so much debt. In other words, they are defending huge multi-national corporations instead of helping small businesses and less fortunate individuals.
And to Sam’s last comment, this is not a waste of tax payer money. You want more lawyers because more competition drives down prices. That’s good news for anyone that’s been on the other side of a legal bill. It also benefits our economy to have this school here because people will be more likely to stay here locally after they graduate. DFW imports the majority of its attorneys, which requires competitive legal salaries to attract those candidates and as a result, drives up legal fees.
In closing, I urge lawmakers and the DFW community to work to make this law school a reality so that students can stay here locally to obtain an affordable legal education, which will benefit the community at large by providing more competition, lower legal fees, and legal help for those who really need it.
The University of North Texas should allocate its resources to degree programs with an existing demand for graduates. There is a huge glut of lawyers not only in Texas but, throughout the nation. Many, many newly minted lawyers simply cannot find jobs and must seek work outside the legal profession. Texas already runs four state law schools while New York only operates two. The Legislature should not force Texans to subsidize yet another law school with millions of taxpayer dollars for each and every year the school is in operation. What a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars!
Practicing law in Texas or the United states is not the only place for lawyers. I want to practice law around the world after I get my law degree. We should stop limiting ourselves to Texas or the United states.
I really hope the plan falls through to open this new law school in Dallas. I graduated from an out of state university and I have been in the workforce for about 5 years. Now that I am financially stable, I plan to attend law school. After reviewing the options available in North Texas, I was in disarray. It has taken me the last five years to get out of debt and the tuition prices of the two pre-existing schools in the area is discouraging. On a final note, if the school is approved and opened, I will be attending.
[...] Benson Varghese noted in Res Ipsa post last year, many contend we have too many law schools already. A murkier question is why we have too many [...]
Any word if the first class will really be in 2011?
Will those classes be held in DT Dallas or in Denton?