Students at the center of a personal, experiential, rigorous and professionally connected legal education

Elon University School of Law provides students with an array of experiential learning opportunities, including full-time residencies in the practice of law and professional mentoring that readies students for success at all levels of law and society. The school’s rigorous curriculum, taught by a highly accomplished faculty, prepares excellent and ethical lawyers who have the knowledge, skills and judgment to make significant contributions in service to clients, the profession and society.

National Recognition

Elon Law’s innovations in legal education have earned the school recognition from The National Jurist, which has twice named Elon Law one of “America’s 20 most innovative law schools.” Elon Law made the Top 10 of preLaw Magazine’s “Best Schools for Practical Training” when it was ranked #5 for hands-on learning in the widely read publication’s 2023 annual feature. In 2013, Elon Law’s leadership program won the ABA’s E. Smythe Gambrell Award, the top national award for excellence in legal professionalism education. Also in 2013, Elon Law was featured for “getting serious about business skills” by the National Law Journal. In 2015, The National Jurist named Elon to its honor roll of best law schools for practical training and U.S. News & World Report featured Elon Law’s new curriculum as one of the most far-reaching innovations in legal education.

Groundbreaking New Curriculum

In 2014, Elon Law announced a groundbreaking new model for legal education, building on the school’s nationally recognized programs and developed following a two-year strategic planning process. The school’s new curriculum provides the breadth of knowledge, skills and professional competencies needed for graduates to excel as 21st century lawyers. Developed to achieve exceptional student outcomes, Elon Law’s JD degree program features highly personalized career development; an integrated sequence of courses and legal practice experiences that engage students intensively in knowledge and skills development; an emphasis on legal writing, oral advocacy and broader professional competencies not traditionally taught in law schools; experiential learning opportunities throughout the curriculum; and an 86-credit, seven-trimester model that enables students to spend more time in the classroom than previously, while completing their course of study in less time than the traditional law school curriculum. Elon Law’s new approach is anchored in the school’s substantive law courses and distinctive skills development programs, taught by faculty members known for innovative teaching, influential scholarship, contributions to clients while in practice and enduring commitment to the educational and professional success of students. Building on this foundation, the new curriculum adds significant innovations.

Deeply Experiential

Students benefit from Elon Law’s first-in-the-nation program to provide all students with full-time, course-connected residencies in the practice of law. In addition, students at Elon Law engage the legal profession in meaningful ways throughout their course of study, including first-year lab courses, attorney shadowing, five law clinics, trial and appellate advocacy, moot court and mock trial programs, team-based legal projects for nonprofits and public agencies and Bridge-to-Practice courses, reflecting the school’s full integration of experiential education in its curriculum.

Value-focused

Elon Law’s innovative curriculum enables students to graduate in December, following their second year of study, reducing tuition and the cost of living during law school while providing students with post-graduate career advantages. Elon Law’s total tuition cost for the entering class of 2022 is more than 20 percent below the average cost at other private law schools across the country. Members of the entering class are guaranteed there will be no tuition increases during their course of study.

The law school’s high-tech facilities are in downtown Greensboro, the legal hub of central North Carolina. Elon Law’s primary H. Michael Weaver Building is home to the North Carolina Business Court, making Elon one of the few law schools in the country that is home to an active court. Students benefit from regular interaction with leaders in law, business and civic life, including members of the law school’s advisory board, chaired by a former adviser to four U.S. presidents, and including three former Chief Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court and a past president of the American Bar Association. The law school was established in 2006, with a dedication ceremony headlined by U.S. Supreme Court Justice (ret.) Sandra Day O’Connor. Elon Law exhibits the key strengths of Elon University, home to 6,500 students, ranked higher than any other university in the nation for academic programs that are “focused on student success” and the number one master’s-level university in the South (U.S. News & World Report, 2014).

Elon Law’s 10-to-1 student-faculty ratio, with 25 students or less in a majority of classes, reflects the school’s emphasis on the individual development and success of each law student. Through its groundbreaking model for legal education, Elon Law is integrating courses and legal practice experiences in a strategically sequenced progression of learning and lawyering. Elon Law’s experiential emphasis is designed to broaden and deepen students’ legal knowledge and skills, while enhancing their professional development, career success and capacity to serve and lead in law and society.

Nondiscrimination Statement

Elon University, including Elon University School of Law, does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, creed, sex, national or ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or veteran’s status (collectively, “Protected Categories”) in the recruitment and admission of students, the recruitment and employment of faculty and staff, or the operation of any of its programs. Consistent with our nondiscrimination statement, the university does not tolerate discrimination or harassment of employees, students or other individuals associated with the university including, but not limited to, vendors, contractors, and guests on the basis of any of these protected categories. Any person associated with the university who fails to comply fully with this policy will be properly disciplined. Any employment agency, vendor or contractor used by the university will be informed of this policy. This policy applies to, but is not limited to, recruitment, employment, promotion, demotion, transfer, position advertising, reduction in force, termination, rates of pay, and selection for training.

Information regarding completion and graduation rates may be obtained from the Office of Admissions or at elon.edu/research.