It was founded in 1895 as the Kansas City School of Law, a private, independent law school located in Downtown Kansas City, and was purchased by the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1938. The law school moved to UMKC's main campus soon after, where it is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
Rankings
The school is ranked #114 best law school in the U.S., placing it in the third tier according to the four tier system of law schools based on the U.S. News & World Report Annual Rankings (2023 rankings).[1] In 2017, the U.S. News & World Report ranked the Trial Advocacy Program as number 21 in the nation, tied with Stanford University, University of Georgia, University of Houston, and Campbell University (North Carolina).[3] UMKC School of Law has repeatedly been ranked as a "Best Value Law School" by The National Jurist. In the Fall 2017 of preLaw Magazine, UMKC was given an A− designation on the list of "Best Value Law Schools."[4] In the Winter 2018 issue of preLaw Magazine, a National Jurist publication, UMKC School of Law was ranked A− on the list of Best Schools for Trial Advocacy.[5] In Spring 2018, UMKC School of Law was recognized as a top Upper Midwest School for its Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation course and entrepreneurship concentration. In the same issue, it was given an A− on the list of "Best Schools of Practical Training." The law school was also given an A− in Intellectual Property and Tax Law and B+ in Technology Law.[6] In April 2018 a student team from UMKC was recognized as National Champion and also won the Best Draft Award at the Transactional LawMeet, the leading transactional moot court competition for law school students.[7][8] UMKC School of Law Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program was ranked the #1 traditional CLE program provider in the state of Kansas by the Kansas CLE Commission (Missouri does not have these rankings for CLE).[9]
Eight clinical programs permit students, acting under faculty supervision, to develop legal skills and learn professional values in actual practice settings:[13]
Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Employment
According to UMKC School of Law's official 2017 ABA-required disclosures, 74.07% of the Class of 2017 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage required ten months after graduation.[14] The same 2017 ABA-required disclosures reports that 89.62% of the Class of 2017 obtained bar passage required or J.D. advantage positions.[14] UMKC School of Law's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 23%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2016 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job ten months after graduation.[15]
Costs
Tuition and fees for 2017-2018, full-time, first year law students who are Missouri residents: $19,038/year. Non-resident fees are an additional $16,318, but many students qualify for non-resident fee scholarships that allow them to pay the in-state rate while they establish Missouri residency. The approximate cost of attendance (including the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at UMKC School of Law for the nine-month academic year for a typical first-year, Missouri resident, law student living off campus is $34,488.[16]
Stephen R. Bough (class of 1997), Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (2014-present)
Business and practice
Lyda Conley (class of 1902), first woman admitted to the Kansas Bar and first Native American woman to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court; championed Native American causes
Jay B. Dillingham (class of 1935), president of the Kansas City Stockyards and president of the Chambers of Commerce for both Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas.
^ a b"University of Missouri-Kansas City". Retrieved April 8, 2024.
^"ABA Bar Passage Outcomes University of Missouri Kansas City - 2018" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
^"US News and World Report Ranks UMKC Law Advocacy Program #21 in the Nation". Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^"preLaw magazine Fall 2017". bluetoad.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
^"The National Jurist, Winter 2018". The National Jurist. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^"Upper Midwest state of mind". preLaw. Vol. 21, no. 4. The National Jurist. Spring 2018. pp. 9, 51. Retrieved 21 September 2024 – via BlueToad.
^"National Champions in the 2018 Transactional LawMeet® Competition are Named" (PDF). www.lawmeets.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-11-09. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
^"UMKC School of Law #1 in National Transactional LawMeet Competition". www.law.umkc.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
^"UMKC Ranks As #1 CLE Provider In Kansas". UMKC School of Law Website. UMKC School of Law. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^"Historic Truman Courthouse". JCHS. Archived from the original on 2019-08-24. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
^"University of Missouri—Kansas City School of Law" (PDF). lsac.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2011.
^"UMKC Receives Private Papers of Alumnus Justice Charles Evan Whittaker". UMKC School of Law. Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
^"UMKC School of Law Clinical Programs". law.umkc.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
^ a b"2017 ABA Employment Data" (PDF). UMKC School of Law. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
^"University of Missouri - Kansas City". www.lstreports.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-20. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
^"Costs & Budget | UMKC School of Law". law.umkc.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-10-20. Retrieved 2019-10-20.