Law School

Students admitted to the highly competitive programs of the Law School receive a breadth and depth of training that prepare them to function in the wide range of activities that occupy the professional lawyer’s life. Students gain firsthand experience with a variety of teaching and learning methods, among them Socratic or inductive teaching, problem solving, seminars, individual research, and clinical experience.

The specific objective of the curriculum is to maximize the student’s mastery of legal reasoning and legal method—in addition to teaching a core of the basic substantive rules of law and imparting an appreciation for its institutions and traditions.

Students are taught to analyze complex factual situations; to separate the relevant from the irrelevant; and to reason inductively, deductively, and by analogy. Students are also schooled in the arts of written and oral advocacy.

Two degrees are offered through the J. Reuben Clark Law School: Law-JD and Comparative Law—LLM. The university has also approved programs whereby qualified students can obtain a concurrent master’s degree in business administration, public administration, accountancy, education, or public policy while pursuing a law degree.

The Law School seats approximately 140 students each year in its first-year class. The juris doctorate (JD) may be completed no earlier than five fall or winter semesters and no later than sixty months after a student has begun law study at an ABA-approved law school. The LLM students receive their degree on completion of 24 credit hours earned during at least two semesters in residence.

Fax: (801) 422-0389

Dean:  Gordon Smith
Associate Dean: D. Carolina Nuñez
Associate Dean: Michalyn Steele
Assistant Dean and Graduate Coordinator:  Anthony Grover
Admissions Director: Andrea Fitzgerald
Admissions Coordinator:  Amber Moore

Resources & Opportunity:

J. Reuben Clark Law School Building. The J. Reuben Clark Law School building is located near the eastern edge of campus. Its five floors house classrooms with electrical connectivity to each student seat, wireless capabilities from all locations within the building, faculty offices, and the law library.

Howard W. Hunter Law Library. The Howard W. Hunter Law Library is one of the leading law libraries in the country and contains an extensive collection of legal materials in both print and electronic format. In addition to offering the latest in technological facilities and services, the library also provides individual study carrels with hookups for computer access to networks, as well as study rooms for group use. Law students also have access to the holdings in the university library, the Harold B. Lee Library.

Cocurricular Programs. Law students publish the Brigham Young University Law Review and the BYU Journal of Public Law. Law students also participate in the Moot Court and Trial Advocacy programs.

Externship Program. This program offers an opportunity for students to participate in practical training with private law firms, the judiciary, governmental offices, or international regional offices of legal counsel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in many foreign nations.

Student Organizations. Within the Law School, students may participate in a number of organizations, including the Student Bar Association, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Society, the American Constitution Society (ACS), the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), the Asian Law Students Association (ALSA), the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), the Corporate Law Society, the Debating Society, the Environment, Energy, & Resources Society (EERS), the Federal Bar Association – BYU Law Chapter, the Federalist Society, the Government & Politics Legal Society (GPLS), Health Law, Immigration Law Forum (ILF), the International Law Student Association (ILSA), the J. Reuben Clark Law Society (JRCLS), the Latino/a Law Student Association (LLSA), the Law School Choir Club, Legal Hackers, the Military & National Security Law Club (MNS), the Minority Law Students Association (MLSA), the Native American Law Students Association (NALSA), the Pacific Islander Law Students Association (PILSA), Phi Delta Phi, the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF), the Sports & Entertainment Law Society (SpEnt), Storytelling & the Law, the Student Intellectual Property Law Association (SIPLA), the Tax & Estate Planning Society (TEP), and Women In Law (WIL). For spouses of married law students there is the Law Spouse Association (LAWSA). Many law students also participate in the 6th Grade Mentoring Program.

Financial Assistance:

Some scholarship and loan funds are available to law students. Those interested in these opportunities should inquire at the Law School Admissions Office and the BYU Financial Aid Office.

Tuition. Since a significant portion of the cost of operating the Law School comes from the tithes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, students and the families of students who are tithe-paying members have already made a significant contribution to the university and are thus charged a lower tuition than nonmembers. This disparity is similar to the higher tuition charged by law schools of state universities to nonresidents.

Annual tuition: $15,076 LDS
$31,152 non-LDS