West Virginia University - College of Law

West Virginia University’s College of Law provides students with a “personal, yet professional, atmosphere,” where the “emphasis [is] on being a functional lawyer.” The dirt-cheap tuition (for in-state residents, who comprise the overwhelming majority of students here) and “passionate, intelligent, and helpful” people that make up the faculty, staff, and student body, all converge to offer a “great value” to the happy students that go here.
As one might expect from the only law school in the state, the school has “a great relationship with the state and state bar.” This you-rub-my-back-and-I’ll-rub yours relationship leads one second-year student to comment, “If you plan to practice law in West Virginia, the College of Law is a brilliant choice—who better to learn from than the justices and lobbyists who wrote the law?” Some of the greatest strengths of WVU Law are the clinical programs. “The school offers [nine] clinics ranging from general, family, tax, energy, and entrepreneurship. Clinics are offered to all 3L students; some clinics are open to 2Ls.” Most students do choose to practice within the state after graduation, which helps the school focus both its curriculum and its alumni network with stellar results. But there are “diverse courses in a variety of practice areas, and many students leave the state and successfully practice law in other states.” Career Services is “particularly strong” in placing students in jobs throughout West Virginia, attributable in part to “an active on-campus interview program and in part to WVU’s intimate connection with the West Virginia legal community.”
The College of Law enjoys faculty members who are a combination of “inspirational, well-published, and leading state authorities in their subjects.” Professors “care about students as individuals” and “encourage…and help them to achieve whatever types of goals that individual has.” All teachers “know material well and convey the information in an easy-to-understand way.” People are torn as to the efficacy of the Legal Research and Writing Program, which has undergone a recent revamping, but the Academic Excellence Center is available to “provide an essential foundation for struggling students.”
The administration at West Virginia University’s College of Law is “very laid-back” and follows the same open-door policy as the faculty. Although there are around 400 students, the administration “seemingly knows everyone’s names,” and it’s not unusual to see “both faculty and administrators lounging with students during lunch hours.” Students share some grievances regarding the rather clunky and inflexible registration system, saying “you get the classes at the times they pick, no exceptions.” Fortunately, the diversity of classes expands in the second year of law school. While students have said in the past that the online course registration process can feel like a “gladiatorial battle to get into the classes you like,” there have been recent improvements to the WVU online registration process.
The law school was “renovated [in 2014], receiving a $26 million dollar addition.” The classrooms within are “fantastic,” which is also how students describe WVU Law’s staff—particularly the “very friendly and helpful” library staff, which includes “a librarian that will literally help you at any hour of the night (she’ll even be your Facebook friend).”

The camaraderie among WVU Law students lends to an atmosphere that is “like one big family.” “West Virginia has a small bar and we will all be practicing together after graduation, so everyone treats each other with respect,” says a 2L. Students “form study groups, help each other out, and much more.” “We do not see one another as competition, but as colleagues,” says a student. The student body (and the faculty) is “not very racially diverse,” “not too competitive,” and there are “excellent relations amongst students.”
The school provides a good deal of social events for students to take part in. And take part they do: Students “work during the week, and cut loose on the weekends.” WVU football is the fulcrum of many social activities, and there is a fair amount of alcohol involved in the ample tailgating and extracurricular activities on offer here. Luckily, Morgantown is a “social city,” providing “ample opportunities to explore your social life to any extent to which you desire,” though students note it does help to have a car.