The Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law took the number one spot in PreLaw Magazine’s “Best Law School Facilities” rankings in their Fall 2014 issue.
The magazine also ranked the law school in the top 20 of the Best Value Law Schools in the nation, and gave it an A+ rating.
The article only confirms what dean and professor at the law school, Peter Letsou, already knew.
“We’re much more than a pretty face,” Letsou said. “And this ranking from PreLaw magazine confirms that.”
The issue ranks schools in many different categories, ranging from parking and dining services to the school’s interest in the importance of high technology and even to the luxuries provided for students and faculty such as lounge areas and study rooms.
Behind the law school are Marquette University at number two, Duke University at number three, Baylor University at number four, and University of Colorado coming in at number five. University of Richmond, Villanova University, Yale University, University of Notre Dame, and Pennsylvania State University round out the top 10.
The law school, which was founded in 1962 as the Memphis State University College of Law, was first located on the university’s main campus. In 2010, the school moved off campus into the historic U.S. Custom House/Courthouse/Post Office building on Front Street, overlooking the Mississippi River.
This move followed a $42 million renovation project, including modern classrooms, up-to-date technologies, and the Plough Foundation Law Library which contains hundreds of thousands of volumes of books including statutes, digests, encyclopedias, court reports, periodicals, treatises, and government documents.
The law school has made sure that while renovation has kept the school up-to-date, the building still shows its historical roots as a custom house, courthouse and a post office, with Pony Express emblems and Tennessee marble floors.
For Letsou, the beauty of the building it calls home is only part of what makes the law school great.
“It’s important to note that we have more to offer than just a beautiful exterior, given how students have come to rely on many of our technological and facility upgrades and advances for their learning,” Letsou said.
Even so, the building holds a special place in the hearts of many current and former law students and faculty, as Letsou explained.
“The building is a tremendous source of pride for our students, alumni, and Memphians in general,” Letsou said. “It’s an inspiring place to go to law school here. You can feel the power and majesty of the law in this building. You feel good about being here.”
