Law

Major/Minor

Law touches every aspect of modern society, including all professional fields and industries. Hence a basic knowledge of this subject and its connection to society, politics, economics, and culture, is indispensable for any student aspiring to a professional career. Students pursuing a degree in law at Thomas More acquire strong research, analytical, and argumentative skills by engaging in a comprehensive and multidisciplinary study of law and legal systems, both domestic and international. As a result, Thomas More graduates are uniquely positioned to advance their career in a broad cross-section of professional fields or to present themselves as an attractive candidate to any law school.

Additionally, Thomas More offers a 3+3 program in cooperation with Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. This program allows a student to apply to either college of law during their junior. If accepted, they count their first year of completed courses in law school in place of their senior level law courses at Thomas More, thus earning both an undergraduate and law degree in six years. This uniquely designed program enables Thomas More students to matriculate at a local law school, and to save time and tuition. Thomas More is among very few universities offering an accelerated and cost effective program like this.

Who Will I be Learning From?

The Law Program curriculum is designed to prepare students to thrive in most professional fields, regardless of pursuing a law degree. Thomas More Law students engage in a rigorous multidisciplinary program of study: they learn constitutional law, civil and criminal law, business and administration law, international law and human rights, legal research and writing, as well as take courses in history, logic, political science, economics, philosophy, theatre, business and more. This multidisciplinary approach affords students significant freedom to customize their degree according to their academic interests and professional goals. Moreover, small discussion-based seminars enable our students to build meaningful and sustained relationships with their cohort and their professors; they also enable students to develop and hone their public speaking skills.

This degree is also a pathway to law school. Those students who intend to go to law school will receive: a strong foundation of analytical and critical thinking skills necessary for success in law school, career-oriented paid internships in the legal field, LSAT prep (a 10-week LSAT workshop in the summer, see below), as well as guidance on law school applications and admissions. Further, the option for the 3+3 program provides a valuable opportunity for students to save a year of time and tuition in the pursuance of a law degree.

First year students in the Law Program all take Introduction to Law, an interdisciplinary course designed to lay the groundwork for essential research, analytical, and argumentative skills. Students then develop and hone those essential skills along two interdependent academic tracks. The first is the law track, which includes (but is not limited to) constitutional law, civil and criminal law, business and administration law, international law and human rights, and legal research and writing. The second track is multidisciplinary, and it includes courses in history, political science, criminal justice, philosophy, theatre, economics, and business. For students planning to go to law school, Thomas More offers a free 10-week summer LSAT workshop (students are asked only to pay for the required textbooks). Students typically attend this workshop at the end of their junior year as they prepare for LSATs in the fall of their senior year.

Students will be learning from experienced lawyers and professors from both inside and outside of Thomas More University, including full-time faculty members holding Juris Doctorates. Students majoring in Law will also take courses from our History, Philosophy, Political Science, Criminal Justice, Economics, and Business Administration professors. The Law faculty at Thomas More University includes Robert Stern, Ph.D., Assistant Professor & Program Director of Law; Lynnette Guzzino, Esq., Associate Professor; Noah Welte, Esq., University Legal Counsel; Robert A. Arnold, J.D., Ph.D., MBA.

Thomas More’s 3+3 program allows our students, in their junior year, to apply to either Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law or University of Cincinnati College of Law. If accepted, the student can count their first year of completed courses in law school in place of their senior level law courses at Thomas More, thus earning both an undergraduate and law degree in six years.

Thomas More’s Law Program introduces students to a range of legal topics and prepares the students not only for an advanced level of study, such as law school, but also for professional opportunities, outside the legal field, in a variety of organizations, including regulatory agencies, small businesses, public offices, nonprofit organizations, and academia.

Students will gain experience through internships, opportunities for mock trial involvement, exposure to outside speakers and an extensive network of local and regional legal professionals and institutions.

Thomas More University’s extensive network of alumni in the legal field affords our students significant opportunities to engage in compensated, career-oriented experiences as a part of their degree. Engaging in multiple career-related experiences prior to graduation provides students an opportunity to develop hard and soft transferrable skills. It also enables students to build meaningful professional connections, which, in turn, give them a competitive advantage as they prepare for life after graduation.

We offer two scholarships for students at Thomas More, the Holbrook scholarship, and the Ziegler scholarship.

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