November 21, 1997

Loyola's School of Law offers top-rated public interest curriculum

Loyola University New Orleans School of Law is the highest ranked public service-oriented law school in the South and in the top 20 percent of law schools nationwide.

The National Jurist, a publication for law students, conducted the ranking in August and rated Loyola 31 out of 167 law schools based on its public interest curriculum. Loyola achieved a higher ranking than all other law schools in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Georgia.

The National Jurist examined four areas to develop the ranking: financial support or loan forgiveness for students who pursue public interests careers; institutional support for schools demonstrating commitment to the value of public interest law; the school's efforts to make public interest available to the students; and efforts to place students in public interest jobs after graduation.

According to William Quigley, director of Loyola's Gillis Long Poverty Law Center and the Loyola Law Clinic, Loyola offers several initiatives to encourage students to concentrate on careers in public service. Among those are a loan forgiveness program for graduates who earn $30,000 or less and the homeless advocacy program which helps individuals get back on their feet. Additionally, Quigley said there has been increased efforts in the law school's career services office to provide information on public service job opportunities.

"Loyola law school has demonstrated a steadily increasing commitment to public service which is consistent with the philosophy of Jesuit education. Loyola has expanded the opportunities for law students to learn and practice law in a way that makes service to people a reality," Quigley emphasized.

The National Jurist reported that the debate over the role of law schools in advancing public interest opportunities has prompted the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) this fall to appoint a commission to look into how law schools treat public interest law.

Law Dean John Makdisi, who is successfully building on Loyola's tradition of public service, said, "Public service is one of the best ways for our students to learn what it really means to be a lawyer-the giving of self in the service of justice without counting the cash."

—Angela R. Anthony, Assistant Director of Public Affairs