Media, Law & Policy

College of Law welcomes Class of 2015 and inaugural LL.M. students

Monday, August 20, 2012, By Jaclyn D. Grosso

The Syracuse University College of Law welcomes its 116th first-year law class on Aug. 20 with 250 students arriving for a weeklong orientation program, including an expanded community service project to help local food pantries. New to campus this year are several Master of Laws (LL.M.) students for the LL.M. program at Syracuse University College of Law, a new 24-credit hour graduate program designed to offer students with a foreign (non-U.S.) law degree or its equivalent, advanced study in American law. This fall, students from China, Korea and Sierra Leone bring their rich and diverse experiences to the classroom.

Orientation session topics include faculty panel discussions, sessions on professionalism and building professional networks, wellness programming, as well as small-group meetings with 25 alumni who will return to campus to discuss legal career paths. An expanded session for family members (parents, partners and other family members) will complement this year’s program.

Noted author and lecturer Peter H. Huang, professor and DeMuth Chair of Business Law at the University of Colorado Law School, will present his work on “Mindset, Happiness and Law School.” The author of “Tiger Cub Strikes Back: Memoirs of an Ex-Child Prodigy About Legal Education and Parenting,” will address first-year law students on how wellness, balance and positive skill development can help lead to success in law school.

Law students will conclude orientation with a community service project at the Matthew 25 Farm in Tully, N.Y., and assist in the harvest and preparation for food distribution to local food banks.

Entering law students come from 33 states. While the average student age is 24, the range in age spans almost 40 years. Thirty-eight percent of the first-year class is female, while students of color account for 20 percent. Close to 40 percent of the students are non-New York state residents representing 143 undergraduate colleges and universities; 18 percent have advanced degrees.

“Orientation is a great opportunity for law students to adjust to life in law school, start building their professional network, and become immersed in the Syracuse community,” says Nikki Laubenstein, director of admissions for SU College of Law.