Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School

Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School in Provo, Utah is known for “excellent externship program” and low tuition, which creates a value that “simply cannot be beat.” Affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the school “is not nearly as religious or conservative as I was expecting,” one student, who also earned an undergraduate degree from BYU, told us. Students would still characterize the school as “conservative,” but “debate is encouraged and frequent,” and “a growing segment seems to be leaning left, which has likely helped increase dialogue.”
Students appreciate that their professors “all have very impressive experience—many having previously clerked at the Supreme Court.” Even the 1L “faculty is top-notch,” including “a current Utah Supreme Court Justice” who teaches “statutory interpretation in my 1L year.” Attending a religious institution, students enjoy that their professors “discuss and bring in religion where appropriate,” but that they also “maintain the legitimacy of the academic experience by not drowning it in religion.” Faculty create close relationships with students, “handing out phone numbers” in their classes and having “lunch with every student in small groups.” These lunch meetings are financed by the school “to foster an open-door policy between professors and students.”
Students have also been enjoying “more practical and clinical opportunities” than they had in the past, including “courses for negotiation, transactional law, legal drafting, [and] litigation.” In addition, “a robust externship program that allows for more practical experience.” However, students say that “the system isn’t set up for specializations,” and they would like to see “better course offerings.” While most students say that “many more graduates go to firms than, for example, to the government,” those looking for non-firm jobs find support, too. “Sure, lots of firms come to interview,” one student who was pursuing public-sector work said, “but some government offices come as well. . . . The career services office has been very helpful and proactive in setting me up with alumni contacts in government offices.” Recent renovations to the law building means that the “law school is slowly but surely improving aesthetically.” Yet, “spotty” Internet connections are common, and the problem “is frankly one of the most frustrating parts of the library.” The Career Services office is generally “incredibly helpful when it comes to [job leads in] Utah,” and students who “place well (top 30 percent) at BYU and reach out to alumni . . . can get into major firms throughout the country.”

Students abide by a strict honor code on- and off-campus. “Almost everyone is a member of the LDS Church, and many are already married,” which creates a “family-friendly” environment: “Everyone is very nice and . . . there’s even a reading room with toys and children’s books.” But that is not to say that there is no social scene for the school’s single population. There is no drinking, but “the singles still get together for sports, movie nights, and dinner parties.” This isn’t to suggest that there is no social contact between the single and married students. One student explained, “You find your people, and we support each others’ lifestyles. I’ve become good friends with a few of the spouses of my married classmates.”
Additionally, “Provo is paradise for the active, outdoor type.” Situated “at the mouth of rock canyon,” students enjoy “hikes to waterfalls and hot springs,” rock-climbing and spelunking, and even “mountain-side paragliding.” In the winter months, “this area is home to some of the greatest skiing and snowboarding on earth.” One student said that “BYU students are also known for long boarding down Provo Canyon,” adding that “Law school is stressful; it’s nice to live in a place where you can let loose and decompress on the weekends.”
Students are competitive but “because we are religious we are not cut-throat.” One student clarifies, saying, “It’s very competitive in that the students are all very smart and on top of things, but no one is going to sabotage your work, and everyone is willing to help out if you need notes, have a question.” Because many students “have served LDS missions which requires working for the church at like eighty to ninety hour weeks for eighteen to twenty-four months,” students “are used to working longer hours.” Students say they have no cliques or exclusive study groups. They keep the atmosphere “very collegial and congenial,” and “many study groups are a combination of people in the top of the class and people in the bottom.”