A Message from the Dean
Welcome to the SMU Dedman School of Law! We are absolutely delighted that you are here and hope this catalog will give you some idea of the quality, richness and excitement of a legal education at Southern Methodist University. With an outstanding student body, a faculty with superb credentials and a beautiful tree-lined campus just minutes from the heart of vibrant downtown Dallas, the Dedman School of Law seeks to give each student a personal educational experience of the highest order. In addition to the outstanding J.D. program, the school has some of the oldest and most outstanding graduate legal programs in the country, including a Master of Laws in taxation, a Master of Laws in comparative and international law, a General Master of Laws and a Doctor of the Science of Law. We also offer joint degree programs with other colleges in the University, including the J.D./M.B.A. program with the SMU Cox School of Business.
As you will see in the following pages, the school has a diverse and highly talented faculty whose members are dedicated to teaching. Not only do they hold stellar academic credentials, but virtually all of them also had practical experience before entering their teaching careers. Consequently, they provide the invaluable link between the theory of classroom instruction and the reality of legal practice. Dedman School of Law enjoys a national and international reputation, with its graduates practicing in every state in the union and in many foreign countries.
We take pride in offering our students a total educational experience. Students have the opportunity to participate in four respected law journals; a summer program in Oxford, England; eleven legal clinics; and many externship programs. While our curriculum is extremely rich, we are still small enough to take a personal interest in each student. The school’s Law Quadrangle provides a beautiful setting for learning and includes the Underwood Law Library, a modern and comprehensive research facility equipped with state-of-the-art instructional technologies. Our Office of Career Services sponsors numerous programs throughout the year, including on-campus interview programs and off-campus job fairs, seminars and workshops, to provide a broad range of employment opportunities.
Our student body is diverse, intelligent and inquisitive. Students come from a variety of backgrounds and from all over the United States. The student body is enriched by the addition of students from many other countries who participate in the graduate legal programs. Upon graduation, students enter private practice, government practice and the corporate sector, or they may engage in public interest work, serve as prosecutors or defense attorneys, or obtain judicial clerkships.
I hope that you will visit our campus, interact with our students and experience SMU Dedman School of Law in a way that the pages of a catalog can only suggest. We wish you the best in your pursuit of a legal career.
JENNIFER M. COLLINS
Judge James Noel Dean and
Professor of Law
Information concerning admissions and financial aid is available online at www.smu.edu/law or from the address below.
(ZIP code information should be included on all return addresses.)
Office of Admissions
Dedman School of Law
Southern Methodist University
PO Box 750110
Dallas TX 75275-0110
ADDRESS ALL OTHER MATTERS TO THE OFFICE OF THE DEAN.
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