S. College St. near South St. at Law School,Carlisle
Marker Text
Oldest law school in Pennsylvania; founded in 1834 by the Honorable John Reed, eminent jurist, and author of "Pennsylvania Blackstone".Andrew Curtin, Civil War Governor, was one of earliest graduates.
Dickinson Law at night
The Law School offers J.D. and LL.M. degrees in law and hosts visiting scholars. The Law School was opened by Judge John Reed in 1834 as the law department ofDickinson College, named forFounding FatherJohn Dickinson.[4] It received an independent charter in 1890 and ended all affiliation with the college in 1917.[5]
In 2000, Penn State and The Dickinson School of Law completed a merger that began in 1997. From 2006 until 2014, Penn State's Dickinson School of Law operated as a single law school with two campuses – one inCarlisle, Pennsylvania and one in University Park, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2014, Penn State received approval from the ABA to operate the two campuses as two distinct law schools (now known asPenn State Law and Dickinson Law), both of which share the history and achievement of The Dickinson School of Law.
In November 2022, Penn State PresidentNeeli Bendapudi announced a task force to implement the recommendation that the two schools be merged into a single entity, with the primary location to be at the Carlisle campus.[6]
Lewis Katz Hall is named in honor of philanthropist and businessman Lewis Katz for his $15 million gift to the Law School as the principal donor to the construction and renovation project that began in January 2008. Completed in January 2010, the transition marked the end of a two-year, $52 million construction project which included the addition of the elegant, new Lewis Katz Hall which leverages advanced high-definition, digital audiovisual telecommunications systems to connect Dickinson Law to not only Penn State's University Park campus but to locations around the world.
The project included an extensive renovation of historic Trickett Hall, the Law School's home since 1918, which houses the Law School's library, named in honor of H. Laddie Montague, Jr., a prominent Philadelphia lawyer and trial attorney who has committed $4 million to the school. As a design companion to Penn State Law's Lewis Katz Building, Dickinson Law's Lewis Katz Hall was renovated and rebuilt to comply with LEED Silver standards. The facilities feature classrooms, a courtroom/auditorium, an exterior courtyard, and a vegetated green roof.[citation needed]
At Dickinson Law, students must earn at least six of 12 required experiential learning credits in a real-world practice setting, such as a certified legal internship within one of the Law School's in-house legal clinics; an internship with a government, nonprofit or private office; or full immersion in the Semester-in-Practice program; or an international venue. The second and third years at Dickinson Law are distinguished by "The Lawyer As...": electives and experiential learning opportunities organized by the way lawyers use their training. Required courses after completion of the first year include Problem Solving III: The Lawyer as Persuader and Practicing Law in a Global World: Context and Competencies II.
Students may earn up to six credits towards the J.D. degree from approved graduate-level courses offered by other Penn State departments. Students also may enroll in one of an array of joint degree programs, graduating with both a J.D. from Dickinson Law and a master's degree from a coordinate department of Penn State. Current joint degree offerings include a J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A., J.D./M.P.H., J.D./DRPH. Dickinson Law also offers certificate programs in which students may hone their expertise in a specific area by taking a prescribed combination of core and elective courses. Current certificate offerings include Corporate Compliance Certificate, Cyber, Privacy, and Data Security Certificate, Government Affairs, Health Law and Policy, and Litigation and Dispute Resolution.
Dickinson Law features three scholarly journals, including theDickinson Law Review. The Law Review was founded in 1897, and is one of the oldest continually published law school journals in the country. In addition, the school also publishes the Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs, and The Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation.
According to Penn State Dickinson Law's official 2022 ABA-required disclosures, about 91% of the class of 2022 obtained full-time, long-term, J.D.-required employment nine months after graduation.[7]
The total cost of attendance (including tuition and related expenses) at Dickinson Law to earn a J.D. or LL.M. degree during the 2020-2021 academic year is $67,656.[8]
^"PHMC Historical Markers Search".Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Archived fromthe original(Searchable database) on March 21, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 25, 2014.
