University of Maine School of Law

The University of Maine School of Law (UMaine Law or Maine Law) is a public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Maine System. The school's current dean is Leigh Saufley, who assumed the post in 2020. Until 1972 the School of Law was located at 68 High Street, Portland. In 1972, the School of Law moved to the University of Maine School of Law Building, which is adjacent to the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus. In 2023, the Law School moved to 300 Fore Street, on the waterfront of downtown Portland.

Many of Maine's judges, legal scholars, politicians, and community leaders are graduates of the law school. Notable alumni include Chief Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Valerie Stanfill, Leigh Saufley, Daniel Wathen, current governor Janet Mills, several former governors, former Maine Senate President Libby Mitchell, and U.S. District Court Judges John A. Woodcock and Lance E. Walker. According to Maine's official 2017 ABA-required disclosures, 62.7% of the Class of 2017 obtained full-time, long-term, Bar Passage Required/JD Advantage employment ten months after graduation.^[2]

Although the modern University of Maine School of Law opened in Portland in 1962, the institution traces its origins to 1898, when the University of Maine Law School was established in Bangor, Maine.^[3]

The creation of the original law school is generally attributed to five individuals: William T. Haines, later governor of Maine; Charles Hamlin, son of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin; Abram W. Harris, president of the University of Maine; Henry Lord, president of the University of Maine Board of Trustees; and A. E. Rogers, a professor at the university. At the time, there were only 45 law schools in the United States. These founders promoted the idea of a public law school for Maine and secured support within both the Maine Legislature and the University of Maine Board of Trustees. Contemporary accounts, including a 1913 Maine Law Review article by Dean William E. Walz, document these efforts.

The law school formally opened on October 5, 1898, when 26 students began classes on the third floor of the Exchange Building in Bangor. The original course of study was two years in length but was later expanded to three years to meet evolving national standards. In 1900, the school became one of the 27 charter members of the Association of American Law Schools. In 1905, the University of Maine renamed the institution the College of Law, and in 1908, students began publishing the Maine Law Review.

Enrollment declined sharply during the period surrounding the United States’ entry into World War I. In March 1918, Dean William E. Walz was dismissed following controversy related to allegations of pro-German sympathies. In 1920, citing financial difficulties and internal governance disputes, the University of Maine Board of Trustees voted to close the College of Law. As a result, Maine lacked a public law school for the next 42 years, although private institutions continued to provide legal education in the state.

In the fall of 1962, the University of Maine School of Law was reestablished in Portland, opening on High Street in a modest brick building located between the city’s downtown and waterfront. The school reopened with 27 students, three full-time faculty members, and a small collection of donated law books. The reestablished institution sought to create a modern law school focused on educating lawyers and civic leaders while contributing to Maine’s economic and social development, and it assumed responsibility for the tradition of legal education in the state carried by earlier predecessor institutions dating back to 1898.

Since its reopening, Maine Law has expanded substantially. Today, the school enrolls approximately 300 students, employs more than 20 full-time faculty members, and has over 3,300 alumni throughout the United States and abroad. Its graduates have pursued careers in public service, government, business, and the legal profession.

Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; the maximum number of credits varies and must be approved. Maine Law offers two dual degree options with the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine: Juris Doctor and Master of Public Health (J.D./M.P.H.)^[4] and Juris Doctor and Master of Policy, Planning and Management (J.D/M.P.P.M).^[5] Students may also earn a dual J.D./Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree, with the University of Maine School of Business. In addition, the Law School also offers LL.M. and J.S.D. programs.

Maine Law emphasizes hands-on training and offers an integrated clinical education program to students, including civil practice and criminal defense under the auspices of the Clinics at Maine Law^[6] (known as the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic until 2025). This clinic includes the General Practice Clinic, Prisoner Assistance Clinic (civil matters), Youth Justice Clinic, and the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic.^[7]

Students can also gain academic credit for work at many nonprofit and government agencies through an extensive externship program.^[8] Seminars in commercial law, consumer law, constitutional law, intellectual property law, and international law are open to second, third-year, and LL.M students.

Maine Law has emerged as a leader in the field of Information Privacy Law, and students can earn a Certificate in Information Privacy Law.^[9] The Law School's Center for Law & Innovation hosts an annual Information Privacy Summer Institute, with a series of well-attended summer courses on critical and current information privacy issues.^[10]

In 2020, Maine Law began offering a Certificate in Environmental and Oceans Law.^[11]

The Law School is also the home of the Center for Oceans and Coastal Law, a teaching and interdisciplinary research center devoted to law and policy of the oceans.^[12]

The Judge Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service^[13] is held annually, along with the Justice for Women Lecture Series^[14] and other lectures and similar events.  The Student Bar Association and other student organizations also offer guest lectures.

Maine Law has exchange programs with universities in several other countries, which enable students to experience a semester abroad, during which they gain an international perspective and develop a foundation in international law. The Law School currently offers international exchanges with Cergy-Pontoise University (France), City University of Hong Kong (China),  National University of Ireland (Galway), Reykjavik University School of Law (Iceland), Tsinghua University School of Law (Beijing, China), Universite du Maine (Le Mans, France), University of New Brunswick (Canada), and University of Rennes 1 (France).^[15]

Maine Law also offers a domestic exchange program with Howard University School of Law. A semester at Howard Law School gives students an opportunity to pursue specialized courses, such as further study in intellectual property law, while making connections with Maine Law alumni in the Washington D.C. area.

The school is home to the Maine Law Review and the Ocean and Coastal Law Journal.

During Spring 2025, U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Maine School of Law 88th on its list of Best Law Schools.^[16] This was a rankings gain of 32 spots from the school's 2024 ranking, representing the single-largest rankings gain of the year.^[17]

The Law School's student body is small—one of the smallest in the country—with an average of 80-90 students per entering class. There were 604 applicants for the class of 2020, of whom 325 (53.8%) were admitted, approximately two-thirds of them coming from Maine. The median LSAT score was 153, and the average GPA was 3.42.^[18] Over half (53.6%) of the students in the entering class were women; 15.5% were members of a racial minority group.^[19]

According to statistics published by the Law School Admissions Council, Maine Law currently has a student/faculty ratio of roughly 12:1.^[20]

Maine Law's official ABA-required Employment Summary for 2017 Graduates shows that 62.7% of that class obtained full-time, long-term, Bar Passage Required/J.D. Advantage employment ten months after graduation.^[21] Maine Law's Law School Transparency under-employment score for the Class of 2017 is 26.5%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2017 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.^[22]

Tuition and fees Maine Law for the 2022–2023 academic year was $23,190 for residents and $34,710 for non-residents.^[23] The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $136,087 for residents and $175,673 for nonresidents.^[24]

• Official webpage

43°39′40″N 70°16′44″W / 43.6611°N 70.2789°W / 43.6611; -70.2789