Arizona Summit Law School

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Arizona Summit Law School
Established 2005
School type For profit, Private
Dean Shirley Mays
Location Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Enrollment 789[1]
Faculty 18[1]
Website www.azsummitlaw.edu

The Arizona Summit Law School, known until 2013 as the Phoenix School of Law, is a for-profit, private law school located in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2005 and accredited by the American Bar Association in 2010,[2] SummitLaw is the only private law school in Phoenix, Arizona, and asserts to have had a bar pass rate of 100 percent. However, according to the Supreme Court of Arizona Committee on Examination, the bar passage rate for first time test takers in the July 2015 Bar Exam was a mere 30.6%.[3] Comparatively, the other two law schools in Arizona, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, had first-time bar passage rates for the July 2015 Bar Exam of 83.7% and 83.6% respectively.[4] SummitLaw is part of the InfiLaw System of independent law schools, which includes Florida Coastal School of Law and Charlotte School of Law, owned by Sterling Partners.[5][6] The retired Dean of the University of Alabama School of Law, Ken Randall, who has been credited to have raised the rankings and reputation of the school over the last quarter century has since joined InfiLaw.[7]

According to Arizona Summit's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 40.5% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners.[8]

Employment

According to Arizona Summit's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 40.5% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners.[9] Arizona Summit's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 31.5%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[10]

ABA Employment Summary for 2013 Graduates [11]
Employment Status Percentage
Employed - Bar Passage Required
  
 57.71%
Employed - J.D. Advantage
  
 18.64%
Employed - Professional Position
  
 10.75%
Employed - Non-Professional Position
  
 2.15%
Employed - Undeterminable
  
 0.36%
Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time
  
 2.15%
Unemployed - Start Date Deferred
  
 0.0%
Unemployed - Not Seeking
  
 3.23%
Unemployed - Seeking
  
 4.66%
Employment Status Unknown
  
 0.36%
Total of 279 Graduates

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Arizona Summit for the 2014-2015 academic year is $64,856.[12] The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $243,864.[13]

Campus

The school is located in the Phelps Dodge Tower, a 20-story building in downtown Phoenix, occupying the eight top floors (13-20), across from CityScape, at One North Central Avenue.

Academics

SummitLaw's mission is based upon three pillars: 1) a student-centered educational experience; 2) supporting programs that allow for professionally prepared graduates; and 3) commitment to underserved communities.

  • Clinical Programs: SummitLaw houses a Mediation Clinic and other clinical programs designed to develop and enhance practice skills. Courses are offered in trial and appellate practice, mediation and alternative methods of dispute resolution. Clinical methods are used in various courses throughout the curriculum.
  • Externships: SummitLaw offers qualified, upper-level students in good academic standing opportunities to participate in a for-credit externship program. Students attend a classroom component that provides a link between the placement setting and the learning process. A faculty member coordinates and supervises the externship program.
  • Mentoring Programs: Each student is assigned a faculty member as their mentor. The faculty member helps to guide the student through their law school experience and form a professional relationship that will carry into their future career.[14]

Student organizations

  • Delta Theta Phi, Law Fraternity, International
  • Black Law Student Association
  • Jewish Law Students Association
  • Phi Alpha Delta, International Law Fraternity- Goldwater Chapter
  • Hispanic Law Students Association
  • Intellectual Property Law Society
  • J. Reuben Clark Law Society
  • St. Thomas More Society
  • Justice for All
  • Juvenile Law Society
  • Parents Attending Law School (PALS)
  • Public Interest Law Project
  • Legal Aid Work for the Protection of Animal Welfare Society (LAWPAWS)
  • Student Bar Association
  • Night Student Society
  • Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA)
  • SummitLaw Women's Association
  • Federalist Society
  • Real Estate Club
  • International Law Society
  • Moot Court
  • Law Review

Reputation

  • Previously ranked in the "4th Tier", the lowest ranking possible, of American Law Schools by U.S. News & World Report. Under U.S. News's new ranking system it is "2nd Tier", which is now all schools that do not rank in the top 100.
  • The 2010 Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools shows an employment status of 88.2 percent nine months after graduation and a bar pass rate of nearly 97 percent.[15]
  • In 2008, 97 percent of the graduating class passed the Arizona bar exam.[16]
  • In 2009, PhoenixLaw was ranked #8 for the "Most Diverse Faculty" in the Princeton Review's "Best 174 Law Schools Rankings".
  • In 2010, PhoenixLaw was honored as a Best Value Law School by the National Jurist.[17]
  • The 2014 edition of Princeton Review's "The Best 169 Law Schools" features Arizona Summit Law School as top ten "Most Chosen by Older Students".
  • The July 2015 bar passage rate for first time bar takers from Arizona Summit Law School was 30.6%. Out of 144 first time takers, only 44 achieved a passing score on the bar. With those retaking the bar included, the passage rate sinks to 26.4%.[18][19]
  • Students admitted for the Fall of 2014 to Arizona Summit Law School had a median GPA of 2.94 and a median LSAT Score of 144.[20]

Previously, the Chairman of the Board was Dennis Archer, a former Mayor of Detroit, Michigan Supreme Court justice and the first African-American president of the American Bar Association.[21]

References

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  15. ↑ Phoenix School of Law
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  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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