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Thursday, January 04, 2007

Ind. Law - "University of Saint Francis has begun exploring the possibility of opening a law school"

Nichole Lee of the Fort Wayne New-Sentinel reports today:

It’s still early in the process, but the University of Saint Francis has begun exploring the possibility of opening a law school. A task force comprising Saint Francis personnel, judges, lawyers and community members was formed in December, and the group plans to submit a feasibility report in May to USF President Sister M. Elise Kriss, according to spokeswoman Jan Miller.

A law school at Saint Francis would be the first in northeast Indiana.

“The university is always exploring potential for new programs, especially those that can be of service to the community,” said Dr. Dominic Aquila, task force chair and dean of the university’s School of Liberal Arts. “A law degree is among many of the ideas currently under consideration.” Miller said Kriss was unavailable for comment.

A law school in Fort Wayne would increase the available pool of talent for local firms, said Cindy A. Wolfer, president of the Allen County Bar Association and a lawyer at Rothberg Logan & Warsco in Fort Wayne.

Though she is not on the task force, Wolfer said residents wanting to pursue a law degree but who can’t afford to commute to other parts of the state would greatly benefit if Saint Francis moves forward.

“It could be helpful to students who want to live at home and go to law school,” she said, adding that the bar association has 15 to 20 student members. The bar association has some 750 members overall. * * *

The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Valparaiso University in Valparaiso and the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses of Indiana University currently operate the only law schools in the state.

This is a proposal for a private law school. See this ILB entry from Dec. 25, 2005, titled "Idea that landed with biggest thud of the year," for discussion of Indiana State University's efforts in 2005 for another publicly-funded law school.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 4, 2007 01:24 PM
Posted to Indiana Law