Founded in 1842, the law school at Indiana University in Bloomington became the Maurer School of Law (Indiana Law) after a $35 million donation in 2008 from an alumnus. Since its founding, the Maurer School of Law has occupied a central role in the education of lawyers in the region and has produced a number of notable jurists including one justice of the US Supreme Court and 14 justices of the Indiana Supreme Court. The law school is located just to the East of downtown Bloomington with beautiful Dunn’s Woods situated just behind the building. The Maurer School of Law is one of the top public law schools in the country admitting less than 10% of its over 1,800 applicants each fall.
Education
The Maurer School of Law requires all students to complete 88 hours of residential coursework. In the first year, law students study the core courses of American jurisprudence: civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, property, and torts. Students also study the basics of legal research and writing in a two-semester course and are required to take one course in professional ethics.
Prior to graduation, students must also complete a seminar-style course, a writing-based course, and earn experiential education credits. Upper-level students may opt to follow one of the law school’s dedicated focus areas including administrative law, family law, or even general practice law. For each area of focus, students are presented with core coursework, clinical and externship opportunities, and even student organizations which help students prepare for their careers.
Additional Programs
With over 100 years of history in advanced legal degrees, the Maurer School of Law provides one of the most complete graduate legal programs in the country. The flagship program is the Masters of Law (LL.M) degree which offers students one of six concentrations to continue their legal studies. The LL.M program requires one year of residential coursework to complete 24 hours of credits. Students who wish to pursue further academic degrees may also opt for the LL.M with a written thesis which adds a writing requirement to the traditional LL.M program. The law school also offers a Masters of Comparative Law (M.C.L) which focuses on international law in the context of the global legal community.
The Maurer School of Law also offers two post masters degrees programs. The first is the Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degree. The S.J.D. is limited to students who have completed an LL.M and who wish to continue into the academic practice of law.
The law school also offers a one-semester certification program for students trained in other disciplines but who still require a firm grounding in the American legal system.
In addition to their advanced degrees, the Maurer School of Law offers three highly regarded joint degree programs. Students in the Juris Doctor program can also earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. The combination of programs allows students to earn both degrees in only three years. Students can also combine their J.D. with a Masters of Public and Environmental Affairs from the top-ranked program in the country. Finally, students can pair their law degree with a unique and groundbreaking program in cybersecurity.
Career and Career Placement
Based on the most recent statistics, almost 90% of all graduates from the Maurer School of Law were employed in positions that preferred a Juris Doctor degree or required a law license with 10 months of graduation. Over half of graduates opted for 1 of 3 careers: large law firm work, a governmental role, or a career in the business sector. This diversity of career choices reflects the breadth of the education afforded by the Maurer School of Law. Most students remained in Indiana for their first careers although Illinois was a close second.
With a full-time staff of five counselors plus a dedicated faculty member focused on winning students judicial clerkships, the Maurer School of Law Office of Career Services (OCS) works closely with all students in guiding them through their education and into their careers. The OCS combines one-on-one counseling with a broad array of online resources. Students can gain invaluable help on preparing their cover letters, comparing job offers, and participating in any number of job fairs or on-campus interview programs.
Experiential Learning/Distance Education
Indiana Law maintains seven legal clinics that provide legal services to actual clients in a variety of practice areas. Students can participate in any of the seven clinics to earn experiential education credits while also building practical skills. Each clinic is also tied to traditional classroom work which helps bridge the space between traditional education and the actual practice of law.
Indiana Law also offers semester long externships in seven different areas where students spend the entire semester engaged in the legal practice in a specific field. While most of the externships are local, some allow students to spend a semester in Washington, D.C. or abroad. The Maurer School of Law also has seven distinct, student-run law projects which allow students to gain practical experience while helping to represent traditionally under-represented communities.
Student Life
Indiana Law offers its students a myriad of opportunities as well as one of the most renowned academic settings in the country. The law school is famed for its competitive mock trial and moot court teams that compete across the country each year. The student body runs a broad and diverse set of student organizations and publishes several journals. Throughout each year, the school hosts a number of social activities including a formal ball, a softball tournament to raise money for public interest careers, and a trick or treating event each fall.
The city of Bloomington, Indiana is a quintessential college town of just over 70,000 residents most of whom have ties to the University. Located in the southwest corner of campus, the law school is in the heart of downtown Bloomington providing students with immediate access to dining and nightlife. Housing–both on and off campus–is extremely affordable. Students enjoy all the excitement of Indiana University’s football and basketball teams as well as close proximity to Indianapolis.