Elon Law is named one of the nation’s best law schools by The Princeton Review, which released its guide to law schools on Oct. 6.
“The schools we selected … offer academically outstanding degrees: we recommend them highly,” said Robert Franek, Senior Vice President and Publisher at The Princeton Review. “Their program offerings vary considerably, and we salute and highlight those distinctions in our profiles.”
The Princeton Review’s list of best law schools is based in part on its survey of 19,700 law students, including Elon Law students. Excerpts from The Princeton Review’s profile of Elon Law, featuring quoted Elon Law student commentary, follows:
“Established in 2006, Elon University School of Law ‘is an emerging talent’ that ‘emphasizes leadership in the community’ and developing practical skills. Situated in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, a location that students say ‘is perfect to be able to connect with lawyers, judges, and legal professionals outside of the classroom,’ Elon strives to provide ‘practical experience’ and to stand on the ‘front line of innovation in the legal education field.’ Students praise the school’s ability ‘to adapt to change’ as well as ‘its focus on experiential education’ and innovative approaches.
“The recent arrival of a new dean, who will be ushering in ‘a new curriculum starting within the next year [now implemented as of fall 2015],’ has spurred many of these developments.
“Students say that they are confident that the administration has a ‘progressive understanding of what the profession wants from law students,’ and ‘is not hesitant about accommodating those needs in the curriculum.’ Largely, students ‘strongly believe Elon’s new push for experiential education is cutting edge, and will put Elon at the forefront of legal education in the next ten to twenty years.’
“One of these approaches is Elon’s ‘preceptor program.’ The preceptorship—a term Elon borrowed from medical education—pairs a student with a working professional to gain technical skill and industry insight. There are more changes and new approaches coming down the pipe for Elon students, including guaranteed full-time residencies-in-practice.
“Students speak warmly about their professors who ‘genuinely care about the students’ success and grasp of the subject matter’ and ‘make sure they are accessible outside the classroom for questions.’ Some even ‘go out of their way to develop mentoring relationships with students.’ One student enthusiastically endorses the ‘handful of professors who are extremely invested in their students: in making sure that we have a full understanding of the subject matter, that we are prepared to practice, and that we remain successful even after finishing their classes.’”
The Princeton Review features Elon Law in the new 2016 edition of its annual book, The Best 173 Law Schools (Penguin Random House / Princeton Review Books, October 6, 2015, $24.99) and on its site at http://www.princetonreview.com/law-school-rankings/best-law-schools.
Elon University School of Law is leading innovation in legal education by integrating traditional classroom instruction with highly experiential full-time residencies-in-practice in a logically sequenced program of professional preparation. This unique approach to legal education provides graduates with the knowledge, skills and ethics focus necessary to excel as 21st century lawyers. Designed to accelerate professional maturation, Elon Law’s groundbreaking approach is accomplished in two and one-half years, which provides distinctive value by lowering tuition and permitting graduates early entry into their professional careers. Learn more at law.elon.edu.