31 University of Wisconsin—Madison Law School

RANK 31 University of Wisconsin—Madison Law School

MAILING ADDRESS1 REGISTRAR’S PHONE 975 Bascom Mall, 608-262-0050 Madison, WI 53706 ADMISSIONS PHONE MAIN PHONE 608-262-5914 608-262-2240 CAREER SERVICES PHONE WEBSITE 608-262-7856 www.law.wisc.edu

Overview2

The University of Wisconsin Law School is located on historic Bascom Hill in the heart of the beautiful UW–Madison campus. It boasts a renowned faculty, an extensive curriculum and a dynamic student body. As part of a world-class university located in the state’s capital, the Law School also offers an unparalleled wealth of experiences beyond its walls.

Wisconsin’s curriculum places emphasis on the dynamics of the law—how the law relates to social change and to society as a whole—while at the same time stressing skill development. In addition to nationally recognized programs in several substantive areas, the Law School also has one of the largest clinical programs in the country. UW Law School offers many dual degree programs, concentrations and certificate programs.

The UW Law School’s nationally recognized faculty and staff work together to provide an outstanding learning environment for future lawyers and leaders. The faculty and staff come from a wide range of backgrounds and bring varying experiences, views and approaches to the Law School. They are inspired by the UW’s distinctive law-in-action approach, and they are committed to helping students develop into confident, successful lawyers.

Student-Faculty Ratio3

11.0:1

Admission Criteria4

LSAT GPA 25th–75th Percentile 156-163 3.21-3.7 Median* 161 3.58

The above LSAT and GPA data pertain to the 2013 entering class.

*Medians have been calculated by averaging the 25th- and 75th-percentile values released by the law

THE 2016 BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH GUIDE TO AMERICA’S TOP 50 LAW SCHOOLS 1 schools and have been rounded up to the nearest whole number for LSAT scores and to the nearest one-hundredth for GPAs.

Admission Statistics

Approximate number of applications 1483 Number accepted 655 Percentage accepted 44.2%

The above admission details are based on 2013 data.

Class Ranking and Grades5

Law school rules generally prohibit computing and releasing class rank, based on a belief that the ranking process can exaggerate the significance of relatively small variations in student grades. Instead, Wisconsin provides tables relating grade averages to approximate position in the class, and a statement explaining the table.

The Law School, though it does not provide individual class rank information, does provide individual GPAs.

The grade tables are issued in 5% increments (except for the top 10%, which is provided in 1% increments; this is done to make our students more competitive for judicial clerkships). Even if a student’s GPA falls, numerically, in between the GPAs that are the cutoffs for two different percentiles (for example, if the top 30% GPA is 3.30, and the top 35% GPA is 3.25, and the student’s GPA is a 3.28), that student should not split the difference and claim to be in the “top 32.5%” of the class. In that situation, however, the student could state his or her class standing as an estimate or an approximation, using language such as “Approximately top one-third.”

University of Wisconsin Law School students receive letter grades for most law school courses. The grading scale ranges from A+ to F. For purposes of calculating student grade point averages, letter grades are converted to numerical equivalents according to the following conversion table:

Letter Grade G.P.A. A+ 4.3 A 4.0 A- 3.7 B+ 3.3 B 3.0 B- 2.7 C+ 2.3 C 2.0 C- 1.7 D+ 1.3

THE 2016 BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH GUIDE TO AMERICA’S TOP 50 LAW SCHOOLS 2 D 1.0 D- 0.7 F 0

The Law School’s guidelines for faculty to use in assigning grades provides that for all first-year courses, and for advanced classes with an enrollment exceeding 30, the mean grade (i.e., the class average) should fall between 2.85 and 3.1 on the 4.3 scale. For advanced classes with an enrollment of 30 or less, the mean grade should fall between 2.7 and 3.3 on the 4.3 scale.

All of the First-Year Program courses are letter-graded, and there is no pass/fail (that is, “satisfactory/ unsatisfactory”) option available. Generally, the second- and third-year courses are also letter-graded; however, some courses might be graded on a mandatory (as opposed to optional) Pass-Fail basis (see section 9.3, below). Clinical programs, Trial Advocacy, directed reading and directed research projects, the law journals, moot court, and the main Lawyering Skills course are graded on a mandatory pass/ fail basis. Additionally, every semester some faculty may elect to make their courses available for students to take pass/fail on an optional basis. The Pass-Fail option may be exercised in no more than two courses in one’s Law School career. A student may exercise the option twice in the same semester. Pass/fail grades are reported on the official University transcript as “satisfactory” (“S”) or “unsatisfactory” (“U”) as appropriate.

Honors6

Honor Criteria Order of the Coif top ten percent of the class Dean’s Honor List GPA of at least 3.3 Dean’s Academic GPA of 3.35 at the end of penultimate semester Achievement Award summa cum laude GPA of 3.85 or better magna cum laude GPA of 3.65 or better cum laude GPA of 3.35 or better

Awards7

Name of Award Awarded for/to Leon Feingold Award outstanding commitment to the Law School and greater community Leonard Loeb American dedication to Family Law and community service Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Award Gwynette Smalley Award special contributions to the Wisconsin Law Review Mary Kelly Quackenbush outstanding student articles in the Wisconsin International Law Memorial Award Journal Mathys Memorial Award success in Appellate Advocacy

THE 2016 BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH GUIDE TO AMERICA’S TOP 50 LAW SCHOOLS 3 Journals8

The Wisconsin Law Review is a student-run journal of legal analysis and commentary that is used by professors, judges, practitioners, and others researching contemporary legal topics. It includes professional and student articles with content spanning local, state, national, and international topics. In addition to publishing the journal, the Wisconsin Law Review sponsors an annual symposium at which leading scholars debate a significant issue in contemporary law. Students earn membership through a writing competition at the end of their first year.

The Wisconsin International Law Journal offers articles of scholarly and practical interest in various areas of international law. The Journal was established in 1982 and is written by both professionals in the field and by law students. Each spring, the student members coordinate a conference on recent topics of interest in international law.

The Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society is a student-edited journal with a national scope. The Journal, which was established in 1985, publishes contributions from faculty, students, and practitioners on a wide-range of legal topics. Its focus is on scholarship that examines the intersection of law and gender with issues of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation. The Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society is open to all students.

Moot Court9, 10

Moot Court is a mock appellate advocacy experience that helps law students develop strong writing and oral advocacy skills, intellectual flexibility, the ability to function well under pressure, and the self-confidence necessary to be successful advocates. Moot Court sends 16-17 teams to compete in competitions across the country in a variety of subjects. These “Mooters” work on teams to write briefs and prepare oral arguments as if they were appearing before an appellate court. Some of the moot court competitions in which the Moot Court Board participates are:

• National Criminal Procedure Competition • National Moot Court Competition • Appellate Lawyers Association Competition • Chicago Bar Association Moot Court Competition • Wechsler First Amendment Competition • Philip C. Jessup International Law Competition • Tulane Sports Law Competition • Vanderbilt First Amendment Competition • Saul Lefkowitz Intellectual Property Competition • Rendings Products Liability • UCLA Cyber Crimes Competition • Cardozo/BMI Ent. Comm. Competition • J. Braxton Craven, Jr. Memorial Competition • Ruby R. Vale Corporate Competition • Kaufman Securities Law Competition • National Tax Law Competition • Herbert Wechsler National Criminal Law Competition

Clinical Programs11

UW Law School is committed to practical experience as a part of legal education. UW Law was one of the first law schools to initiate a clinical program, and since then, it has strengthened and increased

THE 2016 BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH GUIDE TO AMERICA’S TOP 50 LAW SCHOOLS 4 the number of clinical opportunities it provides. Clinicals provide hands-on lawyering experiences with real people—clients, victims, witnesses, family members, lawyers, and judges—and give students a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a lawyer. Under the direct supervision of clinical professors or supervising attorneys, students meet with clients, perform factual investigations, research legal issues, prepare client letters, draft legal documents, and write briefs. The law school offers numerous clinical programs, including:

• Center for Patient Partnerships • Consumer Law Clinic • Criminal Appeals Project • Family Court Clinic • Family Law Project • Federal Appeals Project • Government and Legislative Law Clinic • Immigrant Justice Clinic • Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic • Legal Assistance to Institutionalized Persons (LAIP) • Mediation Clinic • Neighborhood Law Clinic • Oxford Federal Project • Prosecution Project • Public Defender Project • Restorative Justice Project • Wisconsin Innocence Project

Placement Facts12

Starting Salaries (2012 Graduates Employed Full-Time) Private sector (25th-75th percentile) $50,000 - $115,000 Private sector - Median $78,000 Public service - Median $49,429

Employment Details Graduates known to be employed at graduation 46.8% Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 72.5%

Areas of Legal Practice Graduates Employed In Percentage Law Firms 45.7% Business and Industry 20.3% Government 13.3% Public Interest Organizations 9.8% Judicial Clerkships 5.5% Academia 5.5% Unknown 0%

THE 2016 BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH GUIDE TO AMERICA’S TOP 50 LAW SCHOOLS 5 Externships/Internships

Externships13

Law Externship Program

In the fall of 2011, the Law School began a new externship initiative, allowing students to apply for a broad range of potential externship opportunities at government agencies and non-profit organizations and receive appropriate academic credit for participation. In order to receive academic credit for an externship, a student must devote a minimum of 45 hours of work for each academic credit, and must submit periodic reports on the externship experience, including a final paper reflecting upon the value of the externship. Students can extern with a host of organizations that already have established relationships with Wisconsin, and students are also free to craft their own internships to obtain special training and skills.

Internships14, 15

Judicial Internship Program

The Judicial Intern Program gives students an opportunity to work with trial and appellate judges and view the judicial process from the perspective of the decision maker. Placements include the Wisconsin Supreme Court; Wisconsin Court of Appeals; Dane County Circuit Courts; United States District Court in both Milwaukee and Madison; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (with the work being done in Milwaukee.).

The University of Wisconsin Law School offers internship programs to its students, including the following:

• ABA John J. Curtin, Jr. Justice Fund Summer Legal Internship Program • Peggy Browning Fund Summer Internship • Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) Summer Internships

Student Organizations16

• American Constitution Society • Asian Pacific American Law Students Association/South Asian Law Students Association (APALSA/SALSA) • Black Law Students Association (BLSA) • Business & Tax Law Association (BATLAW) • Children’s Justice Project • Christian Legal Society (CLS) • Elder Law and Estate Planning Society (ELEPS) • Environmental Law Society (ELS) • Federalist Society • Health Law Student Association (HLSA) • Indigenous Law Students Association (ILSA) • Intellectual Property Students Organization (IPSO) • Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) • Latino/a Law Student Association (LLSA) • Law School Family Association

THE 2016 BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH GUIDE TO AMERICA’S TOP 50 LAW SCHOOLS 6 • Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ) • Legal Assistance for Disaster Relief (LADR) • Middle Eastern Law Students Association (MELSA) • National Lawyers Guild (NLG-UW) • Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) • QLaw (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Law Students) • Sports and Entertainment Law Society • Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF) • Student Bar Association (SBA) • Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic (U Clinic) • Wisconsin Agricultural & Food Law Society (WAFLS) • Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (WACDL) • Wisconsin International Law Society (WILS) • Women’s Law Student Association (WLSA)

References 1. http://www.law.wisc.edu/about/contact.php 2. http://law.wisc.edu/about/ 3. http://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-wisconsin-madison-03170 4. http://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-wisconsin-madison-03170/admissions 5. http://law.wisc.edu/current/rtf/09.0.html (# 9.5.1, 9.5, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4) 6. http://law.wisc.edu/current/rtf/09.0.html (# 9.7.1, 9.7.2, 9.7.4) 7. http://law.wisc.edu/current/rtf/09.0.html (# 9.7.5) 8. http://law.wisc.edu/pubs/ 9. http://hosted.law.wisc.edu/wordpress/mootcourt/ 10. http://hosted.law.wisc.edu/wordpress/mootcourt/competitions/ 11. http://law.wisc.edu/clinics/ 12. http://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-wisconsin-madison-03170/career-prospects 13. http://law.wisc.edu/academics/externships/index.html 14. http://law.wisc.edu/academics/clinics/JudicialInternshipProgram.htm 15. http://law.wisc.edu/career/publicinterest/summer_funding.html 16. http://law.wisc.edu/current/orgs.html

THE 2016 BCG ATTORNEY SEARCH GUIDE TO AMERICA’S TOP 50 LAW SCHOOLS 7