Southern University Law Center is apubliclaw school inBaton Rouge,Louisiana. It is part of thehistorically BlackSouthern University System and was opened for instruction in September 1947. It was authorized by the Louisiana State Board of Education as a Law School for Blacks to be located at Southern University, a historically Black college, and to open for the 1947-1948 academic session.
The school offers full-time, part-time, and evening programs. For students who want to pursue the JD and MPA, the school offers a joint-degree program in cooperation with the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern. SULC's students learn two different systems of law: Louisiana is a civil law jurisdiction (in the tradition of France and Continental Europe), while law in every other state is based on the British common-law tradition.
In 1946, Charles J. Hatfield, III, an African-American veteran of Louisiana, applied to Louisiana State University Law School, the only state school that offered a law degree. Although he was academically qualified, he was rejected because of his race, as the state system was segregated. Hatfield filed suit against the state for rejecting his application. While he did not win in court, the State Board of Education decided to found a law school for African Americans.[5]
The State Board of Education responded by deciding at its January 10, 1947, meeting to found a law school at Southern University to serve African-American students, to open in September of that year. On June 14, 1947, the Board of Liquidation of State Debt appropriated $40,000 for the operation of the school. The Southern University Law School was officially opened in September 1947 to provide legal education for African-American students in the state. The first dean of the law school was Aguinaldo Alfonso Lenoir, Sr. After 38 years of operation as a School of Law, the Southern University Board of Supervisors re-designated the school as the Southern University Law Center. The building that houses the law center is named A.A. Lenoir Hall after its first dean.
The Southern University Law Center 2025 first year class had an admission rate of 56.6% with 43.1 % of admitted students enrolling, enrolled students having an averageLSAT score of 147 and averageGPA of 3.15.[2]
In July 2025, the Louisiana bar examination passage rate for the law school’s first-time examination takers was 75%.[7] The Ultimate Bar Pass Rate, which theABA defines as the passage rate for graduates who sat for bar examinations within two years of graduating, was 76% for the class of 2022.[4]
A study-abroad program is offered in London, in which students take courses with international subject matter. SULC publishes two legal journals: its traditionalSouthern University Law Review andThe Journal of Race, Gender and Poverty.
At Southern University Law Center, clinical education is available to second and third-year students but not required.
According to SULC's official ABA-required disclosures, 46% of the Class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment (i.e., as attorneys) ten months after graduation, excluding solo-practitioners.[8]
In 2025, National Jurist included Southern University Law Center in its Best Law Schools for Practical Training rankings, assigning the school an A− grade for experiential legal education.[9]
In 2024, National Jurist recognized Southern University Law Center as a top law school for racial justice, assigning the school an A grade.[10]
In 2019,PreLaw Magazine ranked Southern University Law Center second nationally among law schools for African American students, based on data from the American Bar Association and participating institutions.[11]The publication reported that African Americans comprised more than half of the Law Center’s student body at the time.
In 2019, Southern University Law Center, in partnership with Penn State Law, was selected as a winner of the Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory Leading Edge Prize for Educational Innovation.[12]
Jeff Cox -- judge of the 26th Judicial District in Bossier and Webster parishes since 2005[15]
Cleo Fields (1987) -- politician, former United States Congressman for Louisiana's 4th Congressional District 1993-1997, former gubernatorial candidate
Randal Gaines -- member of the Louisiana House since 2012 for St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes[16]
Rick Gallot -- tenth president ofGrambling State University and Democrat member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature: House (2000-2012), Senate (2012-2016)[17]
Kip Holden (1985) -- mayor of Baton Rouge (2005–2016)
Edmond Jordan -- member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 29 in West and East Baton Rouge parishes since 2016[18]
Sherman Q. Mack (1999) -- former District 95 Louisiana state representative[19]
Robert M. Marionneaux (1995) -- Louisiana State representative from District 18 from 1996–2000, Louisiana State Senator from District 17 from 2000 to 2012
Jesse N. Stone, Jr. (1950) -- Louisiana Supreme Court associate justicepro tempore, chancellor of SULC 1971-72, president of SU System 1975-85, civil rights attorney, and political leader
Ledricka Thierry (2003) -- politician, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for St. Landry Parish since 2009[21]
