College of Law

Administration

Alberto R. Gonzales, Dean and Doyle Rogers Distinguished Professor of Law
Timothy P. Chinaris, Associate Dean for Information Services and Professor of Law
Deborah Farringer, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Associate Professor of Law, and Director of Health Law Studies
Andy Matthews, Associate Dean for Student Services
Kristi Arth, Director of Field Placements and Assistant Professor of Law
Tracey Carter, Director of Academic Success and Associate Professor of Law
Lisa Doster, Director of Career and Professional Development

Faculty

Kristi Arth, Travis Brandon, Tracey Carter, Timothy Chinaris, Don Cochran, Lucian Dervan, Deborah Farringer, Martin Edwards, Alberto Gonzales, David Hudson, Victor Johnson, Jeff Kinsler, Amy Moore, Loren Mulraine, Harold See, Charles Trost, Elizabeth Usman, Jeffrey Usman, Lynn Zehrt

Mission and Objectives

The Mission of Belmont University College of Law is to prepare qualified students with an excellent understanding of the law that will equip them to become professional counselors, advocates, and judges; researchers, teachers, and philosophers of the law; entrepreneurs; and engaged citizens. Belmont University College of Law is committed to the Christian tradition. We believe that instilling the highest standards of personal and professional conduct is our ethical and communal responsibility. We seek to ensure that the knowledge and values that we transmit to our students serve the ends of justice.

The Objectives of Belmont University College of Law are as follows:

• The College of Law shall offer an innovative curriculum that integrates traditional legal analysis and practical skills.
• The College of Law shall instill ethics, professionalism, and integrity into curricular and co-curricular activities.
• The College of Law shall graduate practice-ready attorneys and community leaders.
• The College of Law shall make legal education available to diverse and non-traditional law students.
• The College of Law shall offer specialty programs that complement Belmont University’s areas of expertise and that are suited to the Nashville area.
• The College of Law shall offer legal education in a global context.
• The College of Law shall appoint a local attorney as a mentor for each new law student.

Admissions Requirements

An applicant to the College of Law must have a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university and a satisfactory undergraduate record.  An application for admission filed during the final year of undergraduate studies, prior to receiving a baccalaureate degree, can be approved by the College of Law, subject to the applicant’s receipt of the baccalaureate degree prior to matriculation in the College of Law.

An applicant must present a satisfactory score on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). 

The selection process is based on a number of different factors.  The two principal factors are the applicant’s cumulative undergraduate GPA and LSAT score (or LSAT profile if taken more than once).  Other factors that may be considered include:  undergraduate and graduate institutions; majors and/or disciplines; activities in school and professional organizations; community service; and employment experiences.

Transfer Credits for Law Students

All academic credits accepted for transfer must have been completed at an ABA-approved law school.  No more than one-third of academic credits required for graduation at the College of Law shall be accepted for transfer (i.e. 29 academic credits).  The College of Law shall accept transfer credit only for courses in which the grade received is equal to or higher than the grade point average required for graduation at the College of Law.  Credit for any course required for graduation from the College of Law shall be accepted for transfer only when the course was comparable to the course offered at the College of Law.

All grades for which credit is transferred shall be entered as “Pass” on the student’s records and shall not affect the student’s cumulative grade point average.

Status of Law Students

All students must be full-time students.  Full-time students must enroll in a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 17 credit hours each semester.  Full-time students must enroll in the complete prescribed sequence of courses for each semester in which they are enrolled.

Good Standing

Students are expected to maintain a cumulative GPA of least 2.50 to be in good standing.  Students’ academic progress will be reviewed at the end of each semester.  Upon completion of the first semester of law school, any student who has a cumulative GPA below 2.65 will be placed on Academic Warning during his or her second semester of law school.  Students on Academic Warning are required to participate in the Academic Success Program and may be subject to other conditions prescribed by the Dean or Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.  A law student will be dismissed from the program and excluded from further study for failure to maintain a cumulative average of 2.50 or above at the end of the student’s first two semesters or at the end of any subsequent semester.  

A student excluded from the program whose cumulative GPA is lower than 2.30 may not petition for readmission or be allowed to continue in the program.  A student whose cumulative GPA is below 2.50 but at least 2.30 may petition to be allowed to continue in the program on academic probation by writing a letter to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs indicating why the student should be allowed to continue and the Associate Dean will forward the request to the Academic Standards Committee (referred to in this section as “the committee”).   The committee will determine whether to grant the request and will report its decision to the Associate Dean.  If the request is approved, the committee may fashion appropriate requirements for continuation, including but not limited to requiring repetition of a particular course or series of courses, requiring a remedial semester or semesters of academic work in the College of Law, requiring participation in the Academic Success Program, limiting involvement in co-curricular activities, and prohibiting employment during the academic year.  The committee also may set certain performance standards, such as a minimum grade in a course or minimum GPA for a semester, for continuation in the program. 

If a student in his or her final semester prior to graduation fails to maintain a cumulative GPA at or above the required GPA for good academic standing (at or above 2.50), the student will be permitted to file a petition for review with the committee, requesting an evaluation of his or her academic performance and asking to be allowed to continue as a student on academic probation until the requirements for graduation are met.

Curriculum

In 2007, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching issued a landmark report on legal education in America.  In that report, the Carnegie Foundation concluded that law schools suffer from two deficiencies:  lack of attention to the skills necessary to practice law and inadequate concern for ethics, professionalism, and integrity.  Belmont University College of Law’s curriculum is designed to address the concerns raised by the Carnegie Foundation.  In particular, the College of Law’s curriculum integrates traditional core legal subjects, practical skills (both litigation and transactional), ethics, and professionalism.  Students are required to take a practical skills course each semester and are encouraged to complete a live-client experience before graduation.  Students also complete an ethics/professionalism course each year.  In addition, students are required to complete two semesters of legal research and writing and an upper-level rigorous writing requirement.  In short, the curriculum is designed to fulfill the College of Law’s mission: “to prepare qualified students with an excellent understanding of the law that will equip them to become professional counselors, advocates, and judges; researchers, teachers, and philosophers of the law; entrepreneurs; and engaged citizens.” 

Graduation Requirements

In order to graduate, students must satisfactorily complete and receive course credit for all required courses, including an upper-level rigorous writing requirement, and enough electives to reach the 88 hours required for graduation.  A cumulative grade point average of 2.50 or higher is required for graduation.  Graduates of the College of Law are awarded the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.

All coursework credited towards the completion of the J.D. degree must be completed no sooner than 24 months and no longer than 84 months after a student has commenced law study at the College of Law or a law school from which the College of Law has accepted transfer credit. 

Certificate Programs

The College of Law offers certificate programs in Criminal Law, Health Law, and Entertainment and Music Business Law.  The details of such programs may be found on the College of Law’s website.

Accreditation

Belmont University College of Law is approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-988-6738.