S.J. Quinney College of Law

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S.J. Quinney College of Law
S.J. Quinney College of Law Building
Established	1913
School type	Public university
Dean	Elizabeth Kronk Warner
Location	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States 40°45′44″N 111°51′07″W / 40.76222°N 111.85194°W / 40.76222; -111.85194
Enrollment	304 (2009)[1]
Faculty	55 (2009)[1]
USNWR ranking	28th (tie) (2024)[2]
Bar pass rate	86% (2009)[1]
Website	sjquinney.utah.edu
ABA profile	S.J. Quinney College of Law Profile

The S.J. Quinney College of Law is a professional graduate law school under the University of Utah. Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, the school was established in 1913. It is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and is accredited by the American Bar Association.^[4]

The school is named after S.J. "Joe" Quinney (1893 - 1983), a prominent Utah attorney who also helped develop the Alta Ski Area.

In 2019 Elizabeth Kronk Warner became the 12th Dean of the S.J. Quinney College of Law, succeeding Robert Adler who had been in place since 2014. She is the first woman and Native American named to deanship in the school's 106-year history.^[5]

The law school building is located in the south-west corner of campus directly north of the stadium light rail station and Rice–Eccles Stadium.^[6]

The James E. Faust Law Library (formerly the S.J. Quinney Law Library) is integrated into the law school building. The first, parts of the second, and the sixth floors of the building are open to the public; materials located on upper floors can be retrieved for public patrons.

A new $62.5 million^[7] law building was opened on September 1, 2015, which is LEED Platinum certified and includes a café, secured-access student study areas, a furnished and landscaped roof-top terrace, and a 450-person moot courtroom.^[8]

According to the USNWR 2024 Law School Rankings, the S.J. Quinney College of Law was named a "Top Tier" Law School and is currently ranked #28 out of 196 law schools in the United States.^[9] Utah Law has the second lowest student to faculty ratio at 4.2:1, behind only the University of Arizona. Utah Law also has the third highest first-time in-state bar passage rate, and its environmental law program is ranked #7 nationally.

Several University of Utah law students have been chosen for prestigious internships and clerkships, including four graduates who have served as clerks to Supreme Court Justices.^[10] Tyler R. Green, a 2005 graduate of the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas during the October 2009 term.

The 2023 incoming class of 108 students had a median LSAT score of 165 and median GPA of 3.87.^[11]

The overall bar passage rate in 2009 was about 85.5%, with 75% passing in February and 90% passing in July.^[11]

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at S.J. Quinney School of Law for the 2017–2018 academic year was $26,758 for residents and $50,816 for non-residents.^[12]

Campus organizations^[13] in alphabetical order include:

• Business Law Society – student organization for anyone interested in the law and business. Events focus on how the law and business intersect.
• Federalist Society^[14] – The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal order.^[15]
• Global Justice Think Tank^[16] – for research on contemporary global issues in partnership arrangements.
• International Law Students Association^[17][18]
• J. Reuben Clark Law Society^[19][20] – The JRCLS is an international organization of law school students and graduates with over 65 chapters throughout the world. Although closely associated with the LDS Church, membership in the church is not required to join JRCLS.^[21]
• Jackie Chiles Law Society^[22] – a student organization named after the famous Seinfeld attorney, Jackie Chiles.
• Minority Law Caucus – a student organization at the University of Utah S.^[13]
• NRLF – Natural Resources Law Forum: Open to all S. J. Quinney students, with interests in environmental law and responsible outdoor recreation.
• OUTLaws – The OUTLaws is an association of LGBT and allied students.^[13]
• PALS – The Persian American Legal Society (PALS), founded by Solmaz Copeland in 2009, dedicated to enhancing the awareness and appreciation of Iranian and other Middle Eastern cultural traditions.^[13]
• Public Interest Law Organization (PILO) - to promote scholarship, activism, and career opportunities for law students interested in working for the public interest. This includes local, state, and federal government, as well as non profits and other organizations.
• Student Immigration Law Association (SILA)^[23]
• SIPLA – The Student Intellectual Property Law Association is open to all University of Utah students.
• Sports Law Club - It provides a forum for students interested in sports law
• Student Bar Association (SBA)^[24] – The SBA is the official student government of the College. It plans student activities, organizes the mentor program for 1L students and other programs such as social events, philanthropies, and intramural sports. The SBA also serves as the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) and elected student government of the College of Law. As voting members of the College Council, SBA Board members represent the student body to the law school faculty and administration.^[13]
• Women's Law Caucus promotes interest in issues of particular concern to women.

The S.J. Quinney College of Law currently publishes three legal journals:^[25]

• Utah Environmental Law Review^[26]
• Utah Law Review^[27]
• Journal of Law and Family Studies^[28]

Utah Supreme Court justices

• Roger I. McDonough (1925), Chief Justice of Utah, 1947–1948, 1954–1959
• Richard C. Howe (1948), Chief Justice of Utah, 1998–2002
• Richard J. Maughan (1951), Chief Justice of Utah, 1981
• Cynthia Meyer (1987), Idaho Supreme Court (beg. 2024)
• Gordon R. Hall (1951), Chief Justice of Utah, 1981–1993
• Michael Zimmerman (jurist) (1969), Chief Justice of Utah, 1994–1998

Utah Court of Appeals judges

• Michele Christiansen, Judge, 2010–present
• Diana Hagen, Judge, 2017–present

State government officials

• Herbert B. Maw (1916), Governor of Utah, 1941–1949
• Myron E. Leavitt (1956), Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, 1979–1983
• Paul Van Dam (1966), Attorney General of Utah, 1989–1993
• Larry J. Echo Hawk (1973), Attorney General of Idaho, 1991–1995; US Assistant Secretary for Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2009–2012
• Jan Graham (1980), Attorney General of Utah, 1993–2001

Federal judges

• David Thomas Lewis (1937), US Court of Appeals for the 10th circuit, 1956–1977
• Aldon J. Anderson (1943), US District Court for Utah, 1971–1984
• Marion Callister (1951), US District Court for Idaho, 1976–1989
• Bruce Sterling Jenkins (1952), US District Court for Utah, 1978–1994
• John Thomas Greene Jr. (1955), US District Court for Utah, 1985–1997
• Kent Dawson (1971), US District Court for Nevada, 2000-present
• David G. Campbell (1979), US District Court for Arizona, 2003–present
• Carolyn B. McHugh (1982), US Court of Appeals for the 10th circuit, 2014–present

Federal legislators and government officials

• William A. Dawson (1926), US House of Representatives from Utah, 1947–1949, 1953–1959
• Reva Bosone (1930), US House of Representatives from Utah, 1949–1953
• Melissa Holyoak (2003), commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, 2024–present
• Allan Turner Howe (1954), US House of Representatives from Utah, 1975–1977
• Wayne Owens (1964), US House of Representatives from Utah, 1973–1975, 1987–1993

• Official law school website
• Official University of Utah website