Welcome to The John Marshall Law School

Our Mission

Honoring its history, The John Marshall Law School upholds, through its varied juris doctor and graduate degree programs, a tradition of diversity, innovation, access and opportunity, and consistently provides an education that combines the understanding of both the theory and the practice of law.

An Enduring Tradition 

For 110 years, The John Marshall Law School has been a pioneer in legal education. Guided by a tradition of diversity, innovation, access, and opportunity, our doors were open to women, minorities, and working-class students when others were closed. Our first classes, offered as evening and part-time programs, provided access to legal education when it otherwise would not have been possible. These principles have served us well, and they allow us continually to drive legal education into the future.

The John Marshall Law School strives to instill in its graduates the sense that an attorney must earn the public's trust by acquiring the learning, skills, and the values essential to fulfilling their responsibilities to the justice system and to those whom the profession serves. This standard has led John Marshall alumni (16,000 strong) to amass an enviable record of public and civic service. Service to the community has been a part of the John Marshall tradition since the law school's inception, and continues to inspire our students to professional excellence.

Today, The John Marshall Law School is forging a future of unparalleled achievement with:

• JD degrees with certificate options in alternative dispute resolution, elder law, intellectual property law, and trial advocacy;
• LLM and Joint JD/LLM degree options through the Midwest's largest selection of graduate programs offered by its Centers for Excellence, including Tax Law and Employee Benefits, Information Technology and Privacy Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, and Real Estate Law;
• Excellent hands-on legal experience available through our Fair Housing Legal Clinic and Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic, as well as through our Externship Programs.

The John Marshall Law School is committed to setting the standard in legal education. We will continue to experiment, innovate, and adapt to the changing demands of legal education, while holding true to those principles that have guided us to success. We will continue to educate and train effective advocates and counselors, instilling in them an appreciation for The John Marshall Law School.

Among our successes over the past year are:

• The 2010 edition of U.S. News and World Report's America's Best Graduate Schools has ranked The John Marshall Law School's Legal Writing Program fourth in the nation. The publication also ranked the Intellectual Property Program 14th.
• This year marks the 15^th anniversary of our relationship with China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO).  From those initial training sessions as sprung the Asian Alliance Program that includes an LLM degree program in intellectual property law for Chinese attorneys, as well as a comparative IP program for John Marshall students in conjunction with Peking University.
• Third-year student James Borkman has been elected chair of the American Bar Association's Law Student Division (ABA/LSD) for 2009-2010, a national position representing all law students across the country. John Marshall student Jennifer Furrow was elected as the 7^th Circuit ABA/LSD governor, serving law school students at Midwest campuses.
• The team of Cheyne Adam and David Lipschutz tied each other after two tie-breaking rounds for first place honors at the Animal Law Closing Argument Competition sponsored by Harvard Law School.
• First place national winners Justin Strane and Andrew Cook won over 30 teams at the BMI/Cardozo Entertainment Law Moot Court Competition. The competition focused on copyright law issues.
• Competing in the National Rounds of the Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition in Intellectual Property Law, the team of Matthew Christoff and Michael Karson took first place honors. The team argued a patent case dealing with inventorship and patent exhaustion. 
• Since its opening on Jan. 14, 2008, the Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic has responded to more than 590 requests for assistance; actively worked on 362 cases --researching, obtaining documents, and completing memos; referred 240 veterans to other agencies that could help with non-benefits related issues; and obtained pro bono legal representation for 54 veterans. The in-house 'staff' also is working on 99 cases.
• Professor Mary Jean Dolan's amicus brief, filed before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the International Municipal Lawyers Association in the case of Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, was quoted by the Court's majority it its decision in the case holding that permanent monuments in public parks are not subject the free speech analysis that applies to speeches and leaflets in public forums.
• The Armenian Bar Association presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to John Marshall Law School Professor Ann Lousin at a special ArmenBar Gala dinner May 9 in Glendale, Calif. The bar association recognized Lousin for her academic achievements and her work educating generations of American and Armenian lawyers, as it marked the group's 20th anniversary.
• An amicus brief, written by Professor Gerald Berendt helped decide the case of Smart v. Local 702, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.  The case was on appeal from a dismissal of the complex state antitrust action brought by a pro se employer against a downstate union.