Drake University - Law School

Located in Des Moines, Drake University is a “small school” where the professors are “kind and patient” but also “demand a lot out of students.” Drake offers “world-class caliber” instruction and is known for its “legal research and writing program” that “none of the other schools in the region seem to have,” says one student. Drake’s Career Opportunity Program (COP) allows “for qualified law students to pursue their law degree on a part-time basis.” The research program at Drake Law “allows students to experience a variety of research sources and methods,” many of which “students at other law schools don’t touch until after they graduate.” For example, in their first year students “watch the entirety of a trial,” and are able “to discuss various aspects of the trial with professors, the judge, jurors, and practicing attorneys”—an invaluable learning experience. Students also praise Drake’s legal clinic, in which students give “legal aid to people who couldn’t otherwise afford it,” and cite it as a “great opportunity for practical experience.”
Classes are “small enough” that students feel they can “engage effectively, but large enough that there are always competing points of view.” Though class sizes are small, physical “classrooms are large but feel comfortable” and many have been “recently renovated.” Students find Drake Law “the perfect amount of challenging.” They are “continuously pushed” to their “intellectual limits” and their “academic skills have flourished under the pressure.” Though some professors may be “intimidating” in the classroom, they are “very open to meeting with students” during their office hours, and will “frequently stop and talk with students in the halls.” They “also attend social events so you can get to know them better.” You definitely “get what you put in,” notes one student, but “professors, peers, staff, and administrators always want to help each other.” The school’s administration is “absolutely amazing.” The “staff learns your name right away,” and “it’s very easy to find answers to questions.”
Students also find the location and networking opportunities quite beneficial. Drake is “very in touch with the legal community” and the “opportunities for employment and networking are endless.” Since “Drake Law is situated in a capitol city,” students are “able to obtain internships with state-level governmental entities” and in a “diverse range of businesses and practice fields.” The alumni network is also quite robust. As one student notes, “nearly every lawyer and judge in the area went to Drake, so it has a very strong network.”

The small class size “helps the school feel like a family,” and students have many opportunities to bond and network outside of the classroom. The city of Des Moines, “has a plethora of cultural opportunities, festivals, activities, bars, and restaurants,” for students to enjoy. The university also hosts several networking events each year for its students. “If you show up to the networking events,” notes one student, “you will know many of the attorneys in the area and most of the Iowa Supreme Court by the time you have completed your 2L year.” Many attorneys in the “Des Moines area graduated from Drake and love coming back to volunteer their time with the students.” Drake also boasts “two student law review bodies,” and practice teams are that are “nationally ranked and frequently in the top five to ten.”
Drake University has also recently undergone some major renovations to their facilities to improve student learning and life including the addition of “large, multi-media classrooms, new furniture, podcasted lectures,” and a “large communal area with floor-to-ceiling windows and microwaves and refrigerators to accommodate [students’] busy schedules.” “The classrooms are all technologically modern,” notes one student “and the students have easy access to the most recent research systems.” What the library may lack “in physical sources, it makes up for through online sources.”