Savannah Law School

Savannah Law School

Type	Private
Established	2011
Dean	Malcolm L. Morris
Students	147[1]
Location	Savannah, Georgia, USA
Campus	516 Drayton St. Savannah, Georgia 31401
Website	www.savannahlawschool.org

Savannah Law School is located in Savannah, Georgia and takes a collaborative approach to legal education.^[2] Housed in the historic Candler building, directly across from Forsyth Park, Savannah Law School offers both full-time and part-time enrollment for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.^[3] Savannah Law School is a fully ABA accredited law school.

Campus

Savannah Law School

Savannah Law School building

Savannah Law School Law Library

Savannah Law School is housed in the historic, former Warren A. Candler Hospital building on Forsyth Park in downtown Savannah, GA. Constructed in 1819, among 26 Seaman’s Hospitals chartered by an Act of Congress in 1791, the building is the oldest hospital in the state of Georgia and used as such until 1980.^[4] The building served as both a Confederate and Union hospital during the Civil War. Several tenants occupied the building sporadically from 1980 until 2009.

In 2012, the Historic Preservation Board approved Savannah Law School's comprehensive restoration of the 110,000 square foot facility.^[5] The renovations meet federal historic preservation standards and were completed in 2014. The project represents one of the largest efforts to restore an historic property in the United States.^[6] In 2015, The Victorian Society in America and the Savannah Historic Preservation Board honored Savannah Law School with Preservation Awards for the renovation.^[7]

The Candler Oak Tree is also located on the campus. In 2004, the Candler Oak was placed on the National Register of Historic Trees and at approximately 300 years of age is thought to be one of the oldest living landmarks in the region. The Savannah Tree Foundation holds a conservation easement to the tree and helps care for the tree along with the law school.^[8] The law school adopted the tree as its logo.^[9]

Experiential Learning

Savannah Law School combines a practical and disciplined approach toward the study of law with a commitment to providing students with experiential learning opportunities that bridge the gap between law school and legal practice.^[10] Every student participates in a wide variety of opportunities to earn academic credit while working in legal offices under the supervision of practicing attorneys or judges.

Statistics

Savannah Law School has an 8-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio.^[11] The first-year section sizes are roughly half the size of many law schools with only 30 to 40 students per section. The median LSAT for the entire 1L class is a 151; however, the median LSAT for the full-time program is a 153 and the part-time program is a 149.^[12] 21% of the 2014 entering class are minorities, 17% are military veterans, and 71% are women, and 64% are from out-of-state.^[13]

Admissions

Admission to the law school is selective and admissions decisions are made by the SLS Admissions Committee. Savannah Law School runs on a rolling admissions basis and applications may be submitted through the Law School Admissions Council.^[14]

Savannah Law Review

The Savannah Law Review is an academic law review journal published by the Savannah Law Review student organization at Savannah Law School. The Savannah Law Review is published twice a year and is a member of the National Conference of Law Reviews.^[15] In September 2014, the Savannah Law Review hosted the (Re)Integrating Spaces colloquium to celebrate the historic renovations at the law school and featured national scholars and local practitioners.^[16] The colloquium discussed the parallel themes of historic preservation and transformation, as well as a societal sense of place, space, and meaning within the law.^[17]

Student Organizations

Students attending Savannah Law School may participate in an array of independent student organizations. These groups range in scope and cover such interests as cultural diversity, academic, recreational, professional, networking opportunities, etc.^[18] Student groups include:

• American Association for Justice
• American Constitution Society
• Environmental Law Society
• Federalist Society
• Law Students of the Lowcountry
• Mock Trial
• Moot Court Honor Board
• O’Fitness Intermeddlers
• OUTLaws & Allies
• National Black Law Students Association
• National Women Law Students' Organization
• Maritime Law Society
• Phi Alpha Delta - Telfair Chapter
• Savannah Law Review
• Savannah Law Veterans Association
• Student Bar Association
• The Tunnel: Law and Humanities Society.

Relationship to AJMLS

The law school was first opened by Atlanta's John Marshall Law School in the 1970s, but the campus was discontinued in the 1980s. The American Bar Association acquiesced to law school’s re-establishment as a branch of AJMLS on December 5, 2011 and the class of 2015 enrolled in August 2012.^[19] The American Bar Association defines a branch as "the creation of a different law school."^[20]

References

Coordinates: 32°4′9.06″N 81°5′37.61″W / 32.0691833°N 81.0937806°W / 32.0691833; -81.0937806

External links

• Official Website
• Request Information