TOP 50 CLINICAL TRAINING PROGRAM IN U.S.
Memphis Law’s Clinical Training program has been ranked as a TOP 50 program in the latest rankings for 2023 from U.S. News & World Report.
The innovative Memphis Law Clinical Training program was ranked as the 46th best clinical training program in the country in the latest rankings. This is an increase from last year’s already impressive ranking of #64, which was also an improvement of 5 spots from the 2021 rankings.
That’s a leap of more than 20 spots in the rankings in the last three years.
Additionally, the Clinical Training program is ranked as a Top 25 program amongst public law schools, coming in at #21 in the latest U.S. News Rankings in this group.
“This ranking is great recognition for Memphis Law and our Experiential Learning Program,” said Dean Katharine Schaffzin. “It is very rewarding to see the rest of the nation recognize what we have been steadfastly proclaiming for many years, that our law school excels at providing our students with real-world learning opportunities that translate to academic and career success. Our innovative Clinical Training Program and unique location have allowed us to build relationships and partnerships for years, which could not be done anywhere else, and the results are proof in themselves.”
“Seeing our Clinical Program ranking jump more than 20 spots over the past three years makes it clear to me that it’s not only our students and legal community who see the worth of our program, but also practitioners and law schools across the country recognizing the special work being done at Memphis Law,” Schaffzin concluded.
The James S. Gilliland Legal Clinic is composed of several area-specific clinics as part of our larger Experiential Learning program. The clinics are led by experienced faculty and staff members who are vital to the success of our clinical training program. These clinics and faculty/staff members include:
- Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, led by Professor Katy Ramsey Mason.
- Elder Law Clinic, overseen by Professor Donna Harkness.
- Mediation Clinic, taught by Adjunct Professor Stephen Shields.
- Neighborhood Preservation Clinic, led by Professor Danny Schaffzin and Adjunct Professor Steve Barlow from Neighborhood Preservation, Inc.
- Housing Adjudication Clinic, taught by Professor David Romantz.
“It is extremely rewarding to see our Clinical Training Program recognized nationally for the innovative and successful ways it helps prepare our students for practice in the real world,” said Professor and Director of Experiential Learning Daniel Schaffzin. “Students working in our legal clinics and externship program get to work with actual clients, negotiate with opposing counsel, and try cases in a real court of law, all of which helps contribute to their overwhelming readiness as a lawyer upon passing the bar. The hard work of our clinical faculty and staff, as well as our many dedicated externship supervisors and partner organizations, has been vital to our recent ascension in the US News rankings, seeing us move up substantially over the past three years with more exciting developments on the horizon and hopefully even more recognition of the success stories happening in our various clinics.”
The law school’s Legal Writing program was also prominently ranked at #62 by U.S. News, making it the fourth consecutive year in the Top 75 legal writing programs in the country, as ranked by the publication. The Legal Writing program was also ranked in the Top 35 amongst public law schools, coming at #34 in the country in that group.
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