Welcome to the School of Law
An Invitation – Message
from the Dean
 If the
standard of a law school's greatness is
the success of its graduates, the dedication
of a faculty committed to teaching students
and pursuing legal scholarship, then there
is no doubt that Duquesne Law School stands
among the nation’s best. We are extremely
proud of all our graduates and faculty.
I would like to share with you some of the
characteristics that define the Duquesne Law
School.
Duquesne is a Catholic law
school.
We teach
the same basic courses at Duquesne as other
law schools, but we do present them with an
ethical and a moral perspective that most law
schools lack. We also enrich our curriculum
with courses that can build your personal and
ethical perspectives, such as Law and Philosophy,
Law and Religion, Jewish Law and Canon Law.
These courses are optional, but they will offer
you a chance to enlarge your personal horizons
as a lawyer. Being Catholic also affects the
way we treat our students. We believe in the
God-given dignity of every human being, and,
as a result, the teaching and learning of law
at Duquesne is never a dehumanizing process.
Duquesne is a teaching
law school.
Our focus is on the classroom that is our learning laboratory. The assistant
deans all teach at Duquesne. The Chancellor of the University, Dr. John E. Murray,
Jr. the nationally renowned contracts scholar, teaches a six-credit course on
Contracts. Every year, we survey our students anonymously on the teaching effectiveness
of the faculty, and every year, our students rate our faculty at 4 to 5 on a
five-point scale.
Duquesne is a skills-based
law school.
The Law School operates three live-client, in-house clinics in Criminal Law,
Economic Development Law and Family Law, in some of the most modern, best-equipped
clinical spaces in the nation. In addition to these real client opportunities
for our students, our clinical externship program provides more than 200 placement
sites in judges’ offices, in public law offices (district attorneys,
public defenders, federal prosecutors, environmental agencies, etc.) and in
the law departments of numerous public charities (hospitals, colleges, church
organizations).
Duquesne is a community of scholars.
You cannot get lost here. The deans and professors will know you from the day
you walk in the front door, and you will know them. Classes are small. Professors
are easily accessible to students and spend many hours with them. You can see
any of the deans, including me, on a drop-in basis. There are no fences, no
class system that separates us from our students. Together we learn, we produce
scholarly works, and we make a difference in our community and in our world.
We are truly partners in Duquesne's success.
Duquesne is a cutting-edge international
law school.
We opened the first summer school for American law students in Beijing, China
in 1995. In 2000, we opened a Dublin-based
program in partnership with members of the law faculty of University College
Dublin, and have expanded that program to include faculty from The Queen's
University of Belfast. In 2001, we became the first American law school
to offer a summer program in Vatican City State. Since then, we have added
an exchange program with the University of Cologne, Germany, and begun discussions
with Cuyo University in Argentina, and the People's Friendship University
in Moscow. In 2005 we were proud to launch our LLM Program for Foreign Lawyers.
Duquesne University School of Law is committed
to legal education without borders because we know that your generation
of lawyers will be practicing law on an international basis.
Duquesne is proud of the accomplishments
of our alumni.
Our alumni have achieved top leadership
positions in government and in business, and
have excelled in private practice. We are proud
of the number of graduates who have attained
judicial office, not only in Pennsylvania,
but in New York, California, and many other
states. We are grateful to have active alumni
who contribute time, talent and resources on
behalf of their law school alma mater and our
current students.
Duquesne is focused upon moral, ethical and spiritual values
Finally, there is one factor that distinguishes our law school, and that, quite
simply, is the fact that we are part of Duquesne University, an institution
focused upon moral, ethical and spiritual values. In an era when ethical concerns
are among the most important questions facing the legal profession, Duquesne
University’s School of Law has, for nearly a century, reflected the University’s
unique emphasis on justice and service to others.
This unequaled combination of attributes, along with the convenience of full-time
day, part-time day and evening programs, and a surprisingly affordable tuition
rate, leads thousands of students to apply each year. The resulting mixture
of backgrounds and experiences among those chosen brings an atmosphere of openness
and diversity to the school’s academic and social settings.
You are invited to peruse our
site to learn more about the many dynamic opportunities
that the Duquesne University School of Law has
to offer and to consider becoming a part of its
tradition.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Guter L'77
Dean
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