| Suffolk University Law School | |
|---|---|
 Suffolk Law School building | |
| Motto | Honestas et Diligentia(Latin) "Honesty and Diligence" |
| Parent school | Suffolk University |
| Established | 1906 (119 years ago) (1906) |
| School type | Private |
| Dean | Andrew M. Perlman |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Enrollment | 1,176 (2021)[1] |
| Faculty | 153 (2021)[1] |
| USNWR ranking | 130th (tie) (2024)[2] |
| Bar pass rate | 80% (July 2021, First Time Takers)[3] |
| Website | www |
| ABA profile | 509 Information Report[1] |
Suffolk University Law School (also known asSuffolk Law School) is theprivate,non-sectarian law school ofSuffolk University located indowntownBoston, across the street from theBoston Common and theFreedom Trail, two blocks from theMassachusetts State House, and a short walk to the financial district. Suffolk Law was founded in 1906 byGleason Archer Sr. to provide a legal education for those who traditionally lacked the opportunity to study law because of socio-economic or racial discrimination.[4]
Suffolk Law school has full-time, part-time evening, hybrid online, accelerated and dual-degree JD programs.[5] It has been accredited by theAmerican Bar Association since 1953 and theAssociation of American Law Schools since 1977.[6]
According to Suffolk's Office of Professional and Career Development 2021 ABA-required disclosures, 82.8% of the Class of 2021 obtained full-time, long-term, bar admission required or JD advantage employment nine months after graduation.[7]
One ofNew England's oldest law schools, Suffolk was founded in 1906 by lawyerGleason Leonard Archer as the "Suffolk School of Law." The school was named after its location inSuffolk County, Massachusetts. Archer's goal was to provide immigrants and the working class with the opportunity to study law. In 1907, Archer moved the school fromRoxbury, Massachusetts to downtown Boston. Suffolk Law School's first student passed the bar in 1908. By 1930, Archer developed Suffolk into one of the largest law schools in the country, and the law school received full accreditation from theAmerican Bar Association (ABA).[8] Originally an all-male school, with theNew England School of Law serving as asister school, Suffolk became co-educational in 1937.[8] In 1999, Suffolk Law School opened its new building at 120 Tremont Street, near theBoston Common.[9]
Many alumni were historically notable for breaking boundaries in the legal field. Suffolk University founder Archer Gleason wanted to "open the doors to higher education to all capable students," and as a result the school was more inclusive of students from marginalized backgrounds.[10]
Thaddeus Alexander Kitchener, a Jamaican immigrant, was the firstperson of color to graduate from Suffolk Law, earning his degree in 1913.[11] Louis Eugene Pasco, who earned his degree in 1914, was the first Latino to graduate from the school.[12] In 1922, Shichiro Hayashi became the first Asian alumnus of Suffolk Law.[13] In 1925,Nelson D. Simons,[14] future chief of theMashpee Wampanoag Tribe, was the first Native American to graduate from the school.[10] After graduating from Suffolk Law in 1929, Harry Hom Dow[15] went on to become the first Chinese-American to pass the Massachusetts Bar Exam.[16] The first woman to graduate from Suffolk Law was Marian Archer MacDonald in 1937.[17]Charlotte Anne Perretta, the first woman to sit on theMassachusetts Appeals Court as an associate justice, graduated from Suffolk Law in 1967.[18]Linda Dalianis became the first female appointee to theNew Hampshire Superior Court (1980) and theNew Hampshire Supreme Court (2000), and chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 2010.[19]
Suffolk Law has full-time, part-time evening, hybrid online, accelerated and dual-degree JD programs. Academic concentrations are available in intellectual property, international law, business law & financial services, health & biomedical law, legal innovation & technology, and trial & appellate advocacy.[20] Dual degree options include: JD/MBA; Accelerated JD/MBA (three years for both degrees); JD/Master of Public Administration; JD/Master of Science in finance; JD/Master of Science in crime & justice studies; JD/Master of Sciences in law: life sciences; and the Accelerated JD/LL.M. in Taxation (three years for both degrees). The school also offers the Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD).
Accelerated JD students begin first year (1L) classes in May and attend classes year-round so they can earn their degrees one year faster than traditional JD students (two years full time; three years part-time). Accelerated students have the same required coursework, take the same number of credits, and pay the same per-semester cost as traditional JD students— but graduate one year earlier.
Part-time evening JD students take a reduced schedule with all classes offered after 6 p.m. Evening students can choose the traditional or accelerated track, to graduate in as few as 2.5 years (including two summers) or up to four years (classes in the fall and spring semesters only).
Hybrid Online JD students earn a JD with a mix of in-person and online classes. They take their first 30 credit hours in-person at Suffolk Law in Boston then enroll in the remaining JD coursework (54 credits) online or a mix of in-person and online. The Hybrid Online JD is available for full- or part-time evening students who achieve a 3.0 during their first year of law school.[21]
Students at ABA-accredited law schools can enroll in summer courses at Suffolk Law. All summer classes are offered after 6 p.m.[22]
Foreign-educated attorneys may enroll in up to 15 non-degree credits at Suffolk Law to satisfy the requirements of Massachusetts Rule 6 and sit for the Massachusetts Bar Exam.[23]
In 2023, Suffolk received 2,899 applications for its entering class students of 395 students, which included 299 full-time students and 96 part-time evening students. The school accepted 1,864 applicants having an acceptance rate of 64.30% with 13.38% of applicants enrolling. The medianGPA for incoming 2023 Suffolk Law students was 3.55, and the medianLSAT score was 154.[24] The 25th-75th percentile GPA was 3.33-3.72 and the 25th-75th percentile LSAT was 150–158.[24] Incoming Suffolk Law School students in 2022 came from 37 states, 7 countries and 211 colleges and universities. The incoming class of 2023 remained among the most diverse since 2014, with 28% of incoming students identifying as ethnically diverse.[25] In addition, 25% of incoming students identified as beingfirst-generation college students.[25]
In its 2025 guide,U.S. News & World Report ranked Suffolk as the 130th Best Law School.[26] In theUS News Best Law Schools guides from 2017 to 2025, Suffolk's clinics, legal writing, trial advocacy, and dispute resolution programs have all ranked in the top 35 (top 20 percent)--the only law school with this distinction.[27]
Suffolk's legal writing program (No. 3 in 2025 Guide) has ranked in theUS News top 10 for twelve consecutive years. The clinical program (No. 12) has placed in the top 20 for nine consecutive years. Trial advocacy (No. 31) has been ranked in the top 35 for nine consecutive years. Dispute Resolution is ranked No. 21 and has been in the top 30 for 12 of the last 13 years. Intellectual Property is ranked No. 36.[27] In 2021 (the most current numbered ranking), Suffolk Law's legal technology program was named No. 1 in the nation byPreLaw magazine and is perennially listed among the top programs in the nation.[28]
Suffolk's National Trial Team has won the New England regional championships in the American Association of Justice Student Advocacy Competition or the National Trial Competition 29 times in the last 39 years (as of 2024).[29]
In 1999, after construction of the new law school building was completed, theJohn Joseph Moakley Library moved to its new home, on the fifth through seventh floors, in Sargent Hall. The library contains over 450,000 volumes, and budget of new acquisitions reaching approximately $2 million, coveringcommon law andstatutes from all major areas of American law in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and with primary legal materials from theU.S. federal government, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, and theEuropean Union.[30][31]
The library also features a substantial treatise and periodical collection and houses the John Joseph Moakley Archive and Institute.[32] Some of the collections in the Archive include the Congressman John Joseph Moakley Papers, a collection of the lateU.S. Representative's papers which he gave to the school in 2001; the Gleason L. Archer Personal Papers, founder of the Law School and University; the Harry Hom Dow Papers a 1929 Law School graduate; the Jamaica Plain Committee on Central America Collection; and the Records of Suffolk University.[33] The Library also houseslaw review journals from all ABA accredited law schools in the United States as well as numerous journals from European and Canadian law schools. Suffolk also records and broadcastsoral arguments for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and has archives of those proceedings available in the library and online.[34]
Suffolk University Law School maintains five student-run publications.
| Law Review | Founded | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Suffolk University Law Review[35] | 1967 | The oldest continuously published scholarly publication at Suffolk Law. |
| Suffolk Transnational Law Review[36] | 1976 | Focuses on international legal issues and is the second oldest international law review in existence. |
| Journal of High Technology Law[37] | 1998 | Focuses on publishing works related to High Technology Law. |
| Journal of Health & Biomedical Law[38] | 2004 | Focuses on cutting-edge legal developments in the field of health law. |
| Suffolk Journal of Trial and Appellate Advocacy[39] | 2005 | Provides practical, in-depth analyses of current legal issues relating to trial and appellate practice. |
According to Suffolk Law's office of Professional and Career Development ABA-required disclosures, 83.3% of the Class of 2023 obtained full-time, long-term, bar admission required or JD advantage employment ten months after graduation.[40]
The tuition at Suffolk Law for the 2022–2023 academic year is $53,920 for the day division and $40,440 for the night division.[41]
Throughout Suffolk's history, faculty and alumni have played prominent roles in many different fields. Its 24,000 alumni are found in high-level judicial, political, and private positions throughout the United States.
In 1913, Thaddeus Alexander Kitchener, a native of Jamaica, was the first "colored" graduate of the law school. A scholarship is named for him.[42] He went on to help lead theBoston Chronicle newspaper with other West Indian immigrants in Boston. Thomas Vreeland Jones was another early Black graduate and Louis Eugene Pasco was Black and Mexican.[42]
SeveralState Supreme Court judges, including associate justices of theMassachusetts Supreme Judicial CourtElspeth B. Cypher (retired),Frank Gaziano, andSerge Georges Jr., graduated from Suffolk Law.[43] Other alumni include Chief JusticePaul Suttell and senior justiceMaureen McKenna Goldberg of theRhode Island Supreme Court, and Chief JusticePaul Reiber of theVermont Supreme Court.[44][45][46]
As of March 2021, 27% of active judges in Massachusetts had graduated from Suffolk Law School, more than any other law school. Out of a total of 440 judges at that time, including 41 federal and 399 state, 118 or more than one out of four sitting judges, were Suffolk Law alumni.[47] As of 2021, more than 40% of all judges in Rhode Island were Suffolk Law graduates.[48]
Several federal judges graduated from Suffolk Law, including:[49]
Graduates of the school include the U.S. Ambassador to IrelandClaire D. Cronin,Massachusetts Secretary of StateWilliam F. Galvin, General Counsel for theUnited States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Brett Freedman, as well asU.S. RepresentativesBill Keating andMartin "Marty" Meehan (Meehan served in the House from 1993 to 2007, and is currently president ofUniversity of Massachusetts), and the lateCongressmanJoe Moakley (1973–2001).[50] Several members of theRhode Island House of Representatives are Suffolk Law alumni, including current Speaker of the HouseJoe Shekarchi and Senate Majority LeaderMichael McCaffrey.[51][52]
Alumni of the school also serve as district attorneys, including Jonathan Blodgett ofEssex County, Massachusetts, Timothy Cruz ofPlymouth County, Massachusetts, Michael Morrissey ofNorfolk County, Massachusetts, and Thomas Quinn ofBristol County, Massachusetts.[53][54][55]
Anthony J. Benedetti, Chief Counsel of theCommittee for Public Counsel Services; Jennifer Sellitti, Public Defender of New Jersey; and former Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety and SecurityAndrea Cabral are also alumni.[56]
Suffolk alumni have served in a variety of roles in the military. Notable examples include:
Many alumni are in-house counsel at notable companies and organizations. These include Scott Gerwin, senior counsel forGoogle, Inc; C.M. Tokë Vandervoort, chief legal officer of theEnvironmental Defense Fund; Debra Milasincic, senior vice president of Intellectual Property forModerna; Deborah Marson, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary ofIron Mountain; Matt Penarczyk, head of legal (Americas) for social media platformTikTok; John "Jay" Tangney, executive vice president and general counsel,Suffolk Construction Company; and Michelle M. Garvin, executive vice president and system general counsel and chief of staff atBoston Children's Hospital.[57][58][59][60]
Health Law Advocates' executive director Matt Selig,[61] andSetti Warren, executive director of theHarvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics and former mayor ofNewton, Massachusetts, are also graduates of Suffolk Law.[62] Warren was the first African-American to be elected mayor in Massachusetts through the popular vote.[63]
Suffolk Law graduates working in the sports industry include Larry Ferazani, General Counsel for theNational Football League; R. Stanton Dodge, Chief Legal Officer ofDraftKings; David Duquette, Assistant General Manager for theCharlotte Hornets; Jill Kelley, Vice President of Legal Affairs for theNew York Jets; Mandy Petrillo, Senior Club Counsel for theBoston Red Sox; Kim Miale,Roc Nation Sports NFL agent and general counsel; Kristen Kuliga, Principal and Founder of K Sports & Entertainment LLC.[64][65][66][67][68]
Many alumni of Suffolk Law have become heads of universities, such asMarty Meehan, president ofUniversity of Massachusetts,John D. Keenan, president ofSalem State University, andJo Ann Rooney, president ofLoyola University Chicago.David Sargent served as president of Suffolk University.[69]
Suffolk Law professor and legal scholarJoseph Glannon authored the nationally famous Glannon Guide to Civil Procedure.[70]
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