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Fast Facts About George Mason School of Law

The School

• Established 1972 as the International School of Law in Washington, D.C.; merged with George Mason University in 1979 to become George Mason University School of Law
• Occupies two buildings on George Mason’s Arlington, Virginia, campus: the 150,000 square-foot Hazel Hall, opened in 1999, and Founders Hall, opened in 2011
• Accredited by the American Bar Association
• Member of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS)
• Host to research projects and centers:
  • Law and Economics Center
  • Center for Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security
  • Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property
  • Information Economy Project
• Approximate student enrollment: 750-800
• Day and evening programs offered
• 2012-2013 full-time student tuition:
  • In-State: $24,623
  • Out-of-State: $39,561

Faculty and Curriculum

• Mason Law faculty ranks 21st for Scholarly Impact in the 2012 study, Top 70 Law Faculties in  Scholarly Impact, 2007-2011.
• Faculty/student ratio: 1:14.2
• Full-time faculty: 47
• Innovative and demanding curriculum emphasizes the role of economic analysis in law (Economic Foundations of Legal Studies is a required first-year course), as well as legal writing skills and substantive preparation for practice
• Specialty concentrations offered in:  Communications Law, Corporate and Securities Law, Criminal Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Business Law, Legal and Economic Theory, Litigation, Homeland and National  Security Law, Personal Law, Regulatory Law, Patent Law, Tax Law, and Technology Law   

 Student Activities

• Number of student-edited professional journals and law reviews: 5
• Opportunities for real world experiences in domestic relations, immigration, law and mental illness, patent law, regulatory law, and a variety of Virginia practice areas through our clinical programs 
• Number of student organizations: 48
• Moot Court Board and Trial Advocacy Association host numerous competitions throughout the year and send teams out to compete in regional, national, and international competitions.

Degrees and Admissions

• Degrees awarded: Juris Doctor (JD) and Master of Laws (LLM)
• Joint degrees awarded: law and public policy
• Applicant pool represents 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and 64 foreign nations

Profile of 2012 Entering Class

• Entering class size: 147 (118 full-time; 29 part-time)
• Entering class median LSAT: 163
• Entering class median undergraduate GPA: 3.70
• Entering class drawn from 105 undergraduate institutions
• Entering class residency: 44% Virginia, 56% out-of-state
• Entering class makeup: 60% male, 40% female
• Entering class average age: 26 years
• Entering students hold a total of 20 graduate degrees

Alumni and Careers

Mason Law graduates can be found in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and at least 19 foreign nations. The most up-to-date employment information may be viewed here.

What Others Are Saying

 

"Law schools are awakening to a fact known to all practicing practicing EDD specialists—that trained graduates are desperately needed. They are beginning to see that they are in a unique position to bridge the EDD knowledge gap, and that this knowledge will provide their students with a competitive advantage (helpful in this harsh economy). Best of all, these classes can be taught at little or no cost.

"*Pioneer law schools include Georgetown University; Cumberland University; state universities in Florida, Maryland, and Maine; George Mason School of Law, and the University of Miami, among others* (http://tinyurl.com/LTN091RL3). But it's time for all law schools to add e-discovery to their curricula."

-Law Technology News

 

"It's no coincidence that George Mason is both one of the few law schools to evenly balance conservative and liberal thought and also the youngest top-tier law school in America. Half of America is conservative. Many of the brightest legal minds in America want to teach in an environment that welcomes all perspectives and allows ideas to stand or fall on their merits. And many of the brightest young conservatives in America want to attend a law school that will respect them and expose them to both sides of the debate."

-Sandy Froman, WorldNetDaily

 

"Professors at George Mason School of Law have been pioneers in promoting the view that economics and the law often overlap and the government should consider economic impacts when developing and enforcing the laws. The school has become a nursery for hatching some of the most innovative (and conservative) legal theories in America."

-Ed Lasky, American Thinker, July 11, 2007

“Given that not a single justice agreed with the views put forward by profs at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, NYU, Chicago, Penn, etc., it seems fair to say that George Mason has the most competent professors of any law school in the nation.”

-Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal Editor James Taranto, March 8, 2006, after George Mason was the only law school to file a brief on the winning side of Rumsfeld v. FAIR, in which the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 

 

“Those who want to celebrate diversity ought to cheer for Mason, because it provides a much-needed dose of true diversity—the intellectual type—to the world of legal education.”

-John Miller, National Review, March 13, 2006

 

"Mason has emerged as one of the nation's premiere law schools. This is the result of a distinguished faculty, committed administration and outstanding students who go on to become outstanding legal professionals. Mason has also embraced a curriculum that breaks with traditional law school models, giving students an invaluable economic foundation for their careers in law that many other schools cannot provide. This helps ensure that Mason graduates have the greatest practical advantage in the marketplace."

-Edwin Meese III, former U.S. Attorney General; Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, the Heritage Foundation