Elon University - School of Law

The Elon University School of Law believes that experience is so crucial to a legal education that it was the first university to offer a two-and-a-half-year curriculum, which allows students to “move at an accelerated pace … while [still] getting all the required courses.” The shortened in-class curriculum offers the opportunity to get more hands-on experience in the field. And students are big fans for multiple reasons: “I love the [shorter] program, and so does my wallet,” says one. Additionally, “the residency program is a tremendous asset to this school,” and students are able to influence their placements based upon their own special interests in specific areas of the law, choosing to work in a judicial clerkship, government, corporate, nonprofit or private law office, or one of the school's five legal clinics (which include the Wills Drafting Clinic and a Small Business & Entrepreneurship Clinic). The curriculum also lets students use the skills they're acquiring in team-based public interest legal projects or to take part in third-year Bridge-to-Practice courses, which typically involve either a law practice simulation or live clients. Starting off early, legal practice labs are implemented even for first years, exposing them to case simulations led by attorneys. Plus, every student is assigned an attorney-mentor upon the first day of classes for shadowing opportunities, including observation of trials, interviews, depositions, and mediations. Finally, the school shares a space with a working court (the North Carolina Business Court), so students are able to watch trials and interact with courtroom figures on an even more regular basis. As one student puts it, “Practice teaches you so much more than sitting in a class does,” and they get plenty of it at Elon.

While the academic opportunities are great, the professors “are what make this school shine.” Elon Law's faculty are “approachable and interested in teaching.” They're also “very helpful in crafting the legal learning process” rather than just using cut-and-dry methods. They “take time to listen to the students and want them to have a successful law career,” so they “are always ready to lend a helping hand (in school and personal situations).” But they also "maintain the rigor expected at a law school [while going] beyond that to help give the school a better reputation.” Perhaps they're able to do this because the small class sizes—Elon has a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio—give students the chance “to participate in numerous extracurriculars that you would not be able to … at a larger school.” As for the classrooms themselves, they “are new and multifunctional.” Similarly, the “library is big with many areas to study, along with a common area that allows for studying as well.” And the librarians “are the best [in] the business” because they “are passionate, patient, and precipitant in academic success.” The helpfulness of the faculty doesn't end there, though: The “individuals who work in [the Office of Academic Success] are truly devoted to helping the students,” and the “responsive administration” is “constantly … seeking insight on improvement” by listening to the students. Overall, they are “well-organized for planning coursework and facilitating student connections with jobs and internships,” and they “really take the time to hire quality professors … who are experts in their field.”

Elon Law “has an amazing sense of community—for the most part,” but the proactive and recently-formed Community Inclusion Committee “is working to fix the few problems that do exist” in terms of racial divides. Aiding those efforts even further are “faculty [who] strongly support our open discussions about the issues that marginalized communities in our school face.” One student shares, “If you walk up to another group of friends and talk to them, everyone is plenty friendly and more than willing to talk.” So, while the school “is a fairly competitive environment,” students are still “able to enjoy going to grab a drink with each other.” And that's good news because “the law school is small, [so] you will know everyone in your class and in other classes.”