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About the University of Houston Law Center

UH Law Center Overview

The University of Houston Law Center is the leading law school in the nation's fourth largest city. Founded in 1947, it is a top-tier institution awarding Doctor of Jurisprudence ( J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees. The Law Center operates with the approval of the American Bar Association and the Supreme Court of Texas, is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and has a chapter of the Order of the Coif, the national legal scholastic honor society.

UH Law Center Rankings

  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 6 in Intellectual Property Law. (2024)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 6 in Part-time Law. (2024)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 9 in Health Care Law. (2024)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 21 in Legal Writing. (2024)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 24 in Trial Advocacy. (2024)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 26 in Environmental Law. (2024)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 44 in Tax Law. (2024)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 47 in Business/Corporate Law. (2024)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 47 in Contracts/Commercial Law. (2024)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 50 in Criminal Law. (2024)
  • #32 in the nation *Law.com’s annual ranking of graduates hired as associates by the largest 100 law firms in the country (2023)
  • The University of Houston Law Center ranked Tax Law LL.M. is among the top programs in the country, according to Corporate Counsel's "Best of 2020" list.
  • preLaw magazine has commended the Law Center in the following categories:
    • Top School for Alternative Dispute Resolution (2023)
    • Top School for Intellectual Property Law (2023)
    • Top School for Advocacy/Litigation (2023)
    • Among the Most Diverse Law Schools (2023)
    • Among the Best Value Law Schools (2022-2023)
    • Top School for Health Law (2022-2023)
    • Best Moot Court (2022-2023)
    • Best School for Family Law (2022-2023)
    • Top Business Law School (2022-2023)
    • Top Criminal Law School (2022-2023)
    • Best Schools for Racial Justice (2022-2023)
    • Top Trial Advocacy School (2022)
    • Best Schools for Practical Training (2022)
    • Best School for Asians (2022)
    • Best School for Hispanics (2022)
    • Diversity Honor Roll (2022)
    • Employment at Law Firms Honor Roll (2019)

UH Law Center Faculty

The Law Center faculty are outstanding scholars. Twenty-one members of the Law Center faculty are members of the American Law Institute comprised of the most distinguished judges, lawyers and law professors. The scholarly productivity of the faculty has increased from 83 published books, book chapters, and law review articles in the 2015-2016 academic year to 150 in 2017-2018. This was the highest level of faculty productivity since 2013. Law faculty have published leading casebooks and treatises on a wide variety of subjects. Furthermore, in 2017-18, nine faculty members have published in some of the most prestigious law reviews - Boston University, Columbia, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Stanford, Indiana, Fordham, Notre Dame, William & Mary, Minnesota, and Yale.

UH Law Center Alumni

The Law Center has more than 13,000 alumni, and about 56% of them live in the greater Houston area. More than 700 Law Center alumni belong to the prestigious Order of the Coif, an honorary scholastic society that recognizes high achievement in law school.

 

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THE CASE FOR EXCELLENCE

The University of Houston Law Center is a Tier One law school ranked 48th among 200 law schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Students work toward J.D., LL.M. or joint degrees with other graduate schools. A globally-recognized faculty and a rigorous, enriching curriculum shape tomorrow’s top lawyers.

HOUSTON’S LEGAL CONNECTION

The Health Law & Policy Institute offers future lawyers supervised field work with government agencies and non-profit health institutions, including the Texas Medical Center. The Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center conducts research and provides a forum for education and discussion in those crucial fields. The Institute for Intellectual Property & Information Law is a recognized global leader in technology and information law, including patent, copyright, trademark and trade secrets law. Clinical programs serve Houston’s low-income residents involved in consumer, immigration and juvenile cases, among others. The Blakely Advocacy Institute is a national leader in teaching lawyering skills with an exceptional success rate in tournaments nationwide and abroad. A new Center for U.S. and Mexican Law works to improve understanding and cooperation between the two countries while a partnership with the University of Calgary provides joint J.D. degrees in the field of energy that will allow graduates to practice in both the U.S. and Canada.

ICON OF LEADERSHIP

The bronze statue at the entrance of UH Law Center honors Albert the Great, described historically as a “Man of Universal Knowledge.” The Law Center continues his legacy within its classrooms and beyond. A recent national study by the University of St. Thomas School of Law measured the “collective scholarship” of tenured faculty and ranked the University of Houston Law Center 51st out of 200 schools nationwide.

Students have the opportunity to learn the law from true experts and can choose from one of the largest course selections in the country. UH Law Center is committed to a broad and deep curriculum for first-year students. Requirements narrow in the second and third years to allow students to concentrate on specific areas, including practice clinics in Houston communities.

BusinessWeek has named Houston as its “Top City for New College Grads,” and the partnership between one of the largest legal markets in the nation and the Law Center may be the reason 56 percent of our alumni live and practice in Houston.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

  • UH Intellectual Property and Information Law Institute ranked 8th nationally by U.S. News & World Report based on assessment of peers in intellectual property. (2022)
  • The UH Health Law and Policy Institute is ranked 5th nationally by U.S. News & World Report. (2022)
  • The UH Law Center is ranked No. 20 in Environmental Law by U.S. News & World Report. (2022)
  • The UH Law Center part-time program is ranked 11th nationally by U.S. News & World Report. (2022)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 42 in Trial Advocacy. (2022)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 43 in International Law. (2022)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 45 in Contracts/Commercial Law. (2022)
  • U.S. News & World Report ranked the Law Center No. 46 in Legal Writing (A 55-point increase from the previous rankings.) [2022]
  • #32 Go-To Law School in the nation / 19% of recent graduates employed at the nation’s 100 largest firms according to Law.com
  • The University of Houston Law Center ranked Tax Law LL.M. is among the top programs in the country, according to Corporate Counsel's "Best of 2020" list.
  • preLaw magazine has commended the Law Center in the following categories:
    • Best School for Asians (2022)
    • Best School for Hispanics (2022)
    • Diversity Honor Roll (2022)
    • Top Trial Advocacy School (2022)
    • Top Business Law School (2021-2022)
    • Top Criminal Law School (2021-2022)
    • Top Health Law School (2021-2022)
    • Among the Most Diverse Law Schools (2021)
    • Best School for Family Law (2021)
    • Top School for Advocacy/Litigation (2021)
    • Top Alternative Dispute Resolution School (2021)
    • Top School for IP Law (2020)
    • Best for Practical Training (2019)
    • Employment at Law Firms Honor Roll (2019)