Penn Carey Law

Penn Carey Law
Name	Penn Carey Law
Established	1850
Type	Private law school
Parent	University of Pennsylvania
City	Philadelphia
State	Pennsylvania
Country	United States

Penn Carey Law is the professional law school of the University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia. It offers the Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, and Doctor of the Science of Law among professional and graduate legal degrees. The school has produced leaders across the judiciary, legislature, academia, business, and diplomacy.

History

Founded in 1850, the school emerged during the same decade that saw transformations at institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, New York University, and King's College London. Early faculty and alumni intersected with figures associated with United States Supreme Court, Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Civil War, Reconstruction Era, Gilded Age, and the rise of corporate law in the late 19th century. Throughout the 20th century, its development paralleled reforms exemplified by American Bar Association accreditation, curricular shifts influenced by the Legal Realism movement, and interactions with public servants linked to New Deal, World War II, Cold War, and Great Society policymaking. In the 21st century, the school has engaged with issues reflected in rulings of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, legislation debated by the United States Congress, and scholarship circulating in journals like the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, and The Yale Law Journal.

Campus and Facilities

The campus occupies University of Pennsylvania grounds near landmarks such as University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Franklin Field, and the Institute of Contemporary Art. Facilities include classrooms, moot courtrooms modeled on venues like the Supreme Court of the United States courtroom, and research spaces adjacent to centers that collaborate with institutions such as the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital, and nearby legal organizations including the Philadelphia Bar Association and the American Civil Liberties Union. The law complex houses libraries that complement collections at the Library Company of Philadelphia, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Academics and Programs

Curricula encompass doctrinal courses referencing precedent from the United States Supreme Court, the Third Circuit, and state courts like the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, alongside interdisciplinary offerings that draw on scholarship from the Wharton School, the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, the Annenberg School for Communication, and the Fels Institute of Government. Specialized programs cover areas reflected in statutes and international instruments such as the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Geneva Conventions, and trade frameworks like the World Trade Organization agreements. Joint-degree pathways link to degrees at Wharton, Perelman School of Medicine, School of Social Policy & Practice, and the Lauder Institute. Students contribute to law reviews in the tradition of publications including the Columbia Law Review, Michigan Law Review, and Stanford Law Review.

Admissions and Student Body

Admissions draw applicants influenced by careers in venues such as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, federal agencies like the Department of Justice, state offices including the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and private practice at firms comparable to Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Sullivan & Cromwell, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The student body includes holders of prior degrees from institutions like Princeton University, Harvard College, Yale College, Brown University, and international universities such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, and University of Toronto. Admissions metrics often reference standardized testing practices paralleling those at Law School Admission Council-administered exams and credential reviews used by peer schools like Georgetown University Law Center and New York University School of Law.

Clinics, Centers, and Research Institutes

The school operates clinical programs engaging with litigation and policy matters similar to cases in the Federal Communications Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Environmental Protection Agency. Research centers collaborate on topics connected to institutions and initiatives including the Constitutional Law, International Humanitarian Law, Federalist Society, American Constitution Society, and thematic projects on issues appearing before the International Criminal Court and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Interdisciplinary institutes partner with entities like the Penn Institute for Economic Research, the Fels Policy Research Initiative, and global partners such as Chatham House and Brookings Institution.

Employment and Rankings

Graduates pursue clerkships with jurists from the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals, and state supreme courts including the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Alumni join corporations, non-profits, and governmental organizations such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Google, Microsoft, United Nations, World Bank, and public defenders’ offices akin to the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Rankings by periodicals and organizations that also evaluate Harvard University, Yale University, and Stanford University law programs influence public perception alongside employment reports tracked by the American Bar Association.

Notable Alumni and Faculty

Alumni have served as justices on courts like the United States Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, members of the United States Senate, representatives in the United States House of Representatives, governors, mayors of cities such as Philadelphia, cabinet secretaries in administrations including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and diplomats posted to missions at the United Nations. Faculty and former faculty include scholars recognized alongside figures from Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, and visiting professors who have lectured at institutions like Oxford University and Cambridge University.

Category:Law schools in Pennsylvania