Wayne State University - Law School

A proudly local institution, Wayne State University Law School maintains deep ties in the city of Detroit and with an active alumni network throughout Michigan. “Being in right in Detroit is great [because] this is the heart of the legal community in Michigan.” Students get the chance to explore the multiple legal opportunities the city has to offer while still in school, and “Wayne State has a strong public interest focus, encouraging activity in Detroit and the metropolitan area.” Students say that the school’s clinic programs and practical work experience “[are] diverse and [have] a high level of participation. The access to community resources for placements is superior. Many students have clerk or intern positions during 2L and 3L years.” In terms of co-curricular activities, “Wayne State has one of the nation’s top Jessup International Moot Court teams,” and this often leads to post-law school job opportunities thanks to Wayne State’s “robust alumni network.” “Coupled with a strong moot court and tough curriculum, attorneys from Michigan, and even Chicago, are open to hiring Wayne State students for summer associate positions and post-graduate opportunities.” Students point to the Keith Center for Civil Rights as one of the school’s academic draws.
Wayne State further demonstrates its commitment to producing the next generation of Detroit lawyers through its traditional full-time JD program, as well as a combined dayevening program, and an evening program. “Wayne State Law has an excellent evening program, due in large part to the fantastic professors,” though “the [evening] course offerings are much less diverse—making it difficult to take courses in certain areas.” For all students, the JD curriculum begins with a set of core courses in contracts, civil procedure, torts, and other key areas like legal writing and research. After completing these required courses, the upper-level courses include an extensive list of elective courses and seminars, many of them interdisciplinary in nature, covering a broad range of subjects; recent elective options have included Advanced Bankruptcy, Animal Law, European Union Law, and Taxation of Corporations. One student points out, “As with any school, a course’s strength is determined by the professor” but on the whole, Wayne State students seemed pleased with the school’s offerings.
The professors at Wayne State are “knowledgeable, helpful, available, and interesting”— “not only do they know their trade, they know how to effectively communicate that skill to the student.” Students describe their professors as “approachable, knowledgeable, and obviously passionate about the law,” though one student laments that “some are more accessible than others.” The fact that “the faculty truly supports the students in their career goals” and takes “extra time to provide advice and connect students to resources” is of particular importance to law students. Unlike students at many other law schools, Wayne State students single out the Career Services department. “The Career Services Department connects students with employers and provides programs so that students can access programs” and “really works hard to connect you to the opportunities you are interested in—even if it’s not the conventional route.” The administration, however, does not always pass muster: It is “not very transparent and is apt to change rules and/or guidelines without much notice” and “good once you know them, but [administrators] do not make themselves accessible enough to new students.” When it comes to the nuts and bolts of buildings and classrooms, students note that there are “older facilities that are in serious need of updating” and “[Basic] maintenance issues . . . persist [with] significant flooding every year rendering certain rooms unusable or undesirable for days/weeks at a time.” Others counter that “the facilities, while somewhat outdated, have started to improve. The new classrooms and wings of the law school are wonderful and remind me of a well-funded law practice.”

The law school is located on Wayne State’s urban campus in midtown Detroit. Many Wayne students live in the suburbs and commute to the city for classes but say that “the area immediately around the campus is cool and well traveled.” Student organizations are “pretty prominent and provide many ways to get involved if you wish to do so” and the general feeling on campus is one of a “small, tight-knit community.” While some students say, “Racial diversity in the law school is not what it should be given our location in the heart of Detroit,” others counter that diversity is one of the school’s strengths and “there is an emphasis on diversity, which is great.”