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Academics
Welcome to the Academics page at St. Mary’s University School of Law, where we are dedicated to fostering your talents and preparing you for a successful legal career. Here, you will gain the practical skills needed to become a professional leader and an advocate for justice. St. Mary’s is committed to providing a comprehensive legal education, from diverse degree programs to hands-on experience through special programs and clinics. With the guidance of our expert faculty and a strong alumni network, you’ll be equipped to navigate the complexities of the legal field. Explore the resources and opportunities available to you, and discover how St. Mary’s can help you reach your full potential.
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No. 1Advocacy Program in the nation (Tied in 2024)17,671service hours recorded in 202387%of graduates employed within 10 months (2023)
Summon Your Talents
St. Mary’s teaches students the practical skills that enable them to become professional leaders and effective advocates of legal and social justice.
Accreditation
The St. Mary’s University School of Law is approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-988-6738. The School of Law is also accredited by the American Association of Law Schools (AALS).
About
Founded in 1927, St. Mary’s Law has an active alumni network with more than 9,500 alums, spread across Texas and the nation, who serve as adjunct professors, student mentors and ambassadors for the school. More than 500 St. Mary’s graduates have served as elected or judicial officials. Learn more about the law school of San Antonio.
Degree Programs
Along with full-time or part-time J.D. programs and a Master of Jurisprudence degree, the School of Law offers three flexible LL.M. degrees: International and Comparative Law, American Legal Studies and International Criminal Law. In cooperation with other departments of St. Mary’s University, several joint-degree programs are also available for law students, as well as an early admission program for exceptional St. Mary’s University undergraduate students.
Special Programs
St. Mary’s Law equips students with practical, real-world legal skills through our Advocacy Programs, Judicial Internships, the Center for Terrorism Law, our study abroad programs in both Austria, and China, and our Center for Legal and Social Justice, which includes our clinical programs in criminal, civil, and immigration and human rights law.
Faculty
The faculty of St. Mary’s Law are renowned legal experts in specialties from business law to international law. Our professors pride themselves on being approachable and accessible for student learning and staff members help ensure your success throughout your legal studies.
Student Learning Outcomes
Skills
Student must be able to demonstrate competency in the following areas:
- Legal drafting and writing
- Critical reading
- Legal analysis/critical thinking
- Public speaking
- Effective listening
- Technology
- Legal research
- ADR
- Litigation skills
- Applying canons of statutory interpretation
Legal Principles
Student must be able to demonstrate knowledge of:
- Sufficient substantive law to pass the bar exam and be proficient in a basic law practice
- The theoretical bases for and public policies of various types of substantive laws
- The relationship between substantive law and potential clients
Professionalism and Identity
Students must demonstrate knowledge of and practice:
- Legal ethics
- Work ethic
- Professionalism
- Time management and timely arrivals and submittals
- Email etiquette
- Ability to evolve with the future of law as the practice changes
Service and Justice
Students must recognize:
- Principles of justice
- Pro bono/community service
- Marianist principles
Study Abroad
St. Mary’s School of Law offers unique programs for international study: the Institute on World Legal Programs in Innsbruck, Austria; and the Institute on Chinese Law and Business. Both offer summer study abroad options for students at St. Mary’s and other law schools. We also offer a Legal and Cultural Spring Break in Mexico.
Law Success
Your success is our mission. The Office of Academic and StudentAffairs provides support for law students throughout their studies, from helping first-year law students develop basic law school skills to helping students prepare for the bar examination.
Law Journals
St. Mary’s Law is home to three law journals: The St. Mary’s Law Journal, The St. Mary’s Journal on Legal Malpractice and Ethics and The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Race and Social Justice.
Sarita Kenedy East Law Library
A federal depository library, the collection consists of print, microfilm and multimedia items totaling more than 400,000 volumes covering a wide range of searchable subjects. The features large reading rooms and shelving spaces, computer labs, a Rare Book Room, the Law Alumni Room, the Law Commons, conference rooms, study carrels, media and instruction classrooms, and copy and printing centers.