First Monday - August 6, 2012

In this issue:

• College of Law Welcomes New Associate Dean and Faculty
• External Studies Show Cost-Effectiveness of an Idaho Legal Education

College of Law Welcomes New Associate Dean and Faculty

As the 2012-13 academic year begins, the College of Law is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Associate Dean for Students & Administration as well as the appointment of new faculty:

• Jeffrey A. Dodge (see photo), is joining the College of Law community as the new Associate Dean for Students & Administration.  Jeff comes to Idaho from the Hofstra University School of Law in New York (Long Island), where he served as Assistant Dean for Administration and Operations and, most recently, as Assistant Dean for Global Initiatives & Multicultural Affairs.  Jeff has served as Secretary of the Association of American Law Schools Section on International Legal Exchange. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Hofstra in 2006. While a law student he served as Managing Editor of the Family Court Review and received Hofstra’s Distinguished Service to the School Award. He received his undergraduate education, majoring in political science, at the University of California/San Diego, where he was elected as Student Body President.
• In our July edition of “First Monday” we were pleased to announce the appointment of business law scholar-practitioner Sarah Haan, a graduate of Yale College and Columbia Law School,to the faculty in Moscow. The College is now pleased to announce that one of its own graduates, Kristina (“Kristi”) Wilson Running (see photo), has been appointed to the faculty as a Legal Research & Writing Instructor in Moscow. Kristi received her Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from the College of Law in 2008. During her law study she served as Executive Director of the Idaho Law Review, President of the International Law Students Association, and student member of the faculty Curriculum Committee.  She came to the University of Idaho from the College of Idaho, where she received her baccalaureate degree summa cum laude in Business/International Political Economy and History. After graduating from law school she served as a judicial clerk to the Idaho Supreme Court (Hon. Roger Burdick) and as an associate attorney in the Boise law firm of Elam & Burke.

Further information about new faculty can be obtained from Professor Michael Satz, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs.

External Studies Show Cost-Effectiveness of an Idaho Legal Education

In challenging economic times, the value of a legal education is measured, not only by the quality of the faculty, the curriculum, and student outcomes, but also by the cost of a student’s investment. For that reason, as reported in the March, 2011, edition of “First Monday,” the law school ”rankings game” has come under increasing criticism for failure to take account of the cost-effectiveness of legal education. The University of Idaho College of Law has been ranked #31 out of approximately 200 American Bar Association-accredited schools in one study that took cost into account. See the “First Monday” story at The Rankings Game: Measuring True Educational Value.

Two additional external studies have affirmed the cost-effectiveness of a legal education at the University of Idaho. The first, published by a student advocacy group known as “Law School Transparency,” focuses on comparative tuition costs at American law schools. See Legal education costs more than $200,000, study finds. The dollar figures are daunting – especially to readers who attended law school many years ago -- because they combine all three years of legal education at full “sticker price,” and they include a cost-of-living factor.  Actual costs to some students may be reduced by grant-based scholarship aid, which the University of Idaho and other universities provide.  Even without such aid, however, the University of Idaho is identified as having one of the most reasonably priced legal education programs in the country.

The second study examines the trend of tuition increases in the cost of legal education. In February, 2012, National Jurist magazine featured an article tracking such increases during the decade from 2000 to 2010. See Tuition three times faster than inflation, but some schools buck the trend. Some law schools were listed as “bucking the trend,” either in terms of percentages or in terms of actual dollars charged to students. In the category of “tuition growth by dollars,” 36 law schools were listed as “bucking the trend” – including the University of Idaho, which was listed 23rd lowest within that group. There were approximately 185 law schools operating in the year 2000 and for which 2000-2010 data would be available.

Further information about law school costs can be obtained from Dean Don Burnett. Information about financial aid for students is available from Carole Wells (cwells@uidaho.edu), Director of Admissions at the College of Law.