Welcome to the School of Law

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.

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.

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