Law School Opens Year With Address From Tennessee Chief Justice

The University of Cincinnati College of Law officially opens the door on its 2006-07 academic year on Tuesday, Aug. 22, with the year starting with an opening address from one of the college’s most outstanding alums.

Mickey Barker, a member of the UC College of Law’s Class of 1967, rose to the position of Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court last October. Barker will be back at his alma mater on Monday, Aug. 21, to speak to the college’s current students as they begin their studies this fall. He will be speaking at the Myers Alumni Center during an 11:45 a.m. orientation luncheon that will mark the opening of the school year.

Earlier this year, Barker was awarded the College of Law’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.

This year’s incoming class is another strong one for the college, with 112 students expected to start school as part of the Class of 2009.

"We’re excited about opening another school year at the college," said UC College of Law Dean Louis Bilionis. "Our law school provides a close-knit, intimate educational environment where students can work one-on-one with outstanding faculty while drawing upon the strengths of a major research university and a classic American city.  It is a unique package that delivers the benefits of a small college experience with plentiful and rich opportunities that match those available at the largest law school."

The UC College of Law continues to be an attractive option for many of the nation’s best-qualified students. While the overall national applicant pool for law schools was about five percent lower this year, the UC College of Law topped the 1,150 applicant mark for the fifth consecutive year.

Also for the fifth straight year, the median LSAT score for the class is 160, while the median GPA is 3.6. Both figures are in line with the results from the recent high-quality classes the school has brought in.

The Class of 2009 is about 45 percent female, and about 20 percent minority students, including more than eight percent African-American.

The new school year will see three new faculty begin their teaching at the college. They include:

• Barbara Black, the new director of the Corporate Law Center. Black comes to UC from Pace University School of Law, where she was the founder and co-director of the Securities Arbitration Clinic.
  
• Jacob Katz Cogan, an assistant professor who will teach in the area of international law. Cogan comes from the U.S. Department of State, where he was an attorney-adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser.
  
• Timothy Armstrong, an assistant professor who specializes in intellectual property law. Armstrong comes to the college from Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, where he was assistant director.

This is the 174th year for the college, which operates on a semester system rather than the quarterly schedule used by most of the rest of the University of Cincinnati. The UC College of Law is the nation’s fourth-oldest continually operated law school. The academic year runs through Saturday, May 12, 2007, when the college will conclude classes with its annual Hooding Ceremony for its graduates.