When I saw that there were no opinions about AU's law program I had to write one. I have been very happy with the legal education I received there.

I chose AU because I was living in the DC area and wanted to go to school at night. Law school is very expensive and I wanted to keep my day job to help pay for it! AU's night program is extensive and almost every class is available in the evening at some point. I never wanted to take a class but found it held only during the daytime. The night program consists of students with more life experience than your typical law student, i.e. military officers, lobbyists, hill staffers, etc. This means that an older student may find that he/she has more in common with the students in the evening section at AU than at some other schools.

The quality of the professors and classes was good, but not great. Some of the best professors are the adjunct faculty who conduct their practices during the day and teach in the evening.

The best part of the AU law program, however, is the clinical program. Although admission to the program is competitive, I learned far more there than I did in the rest of school combined. Students actually practice law in court under the supervision of teacher-attorneys. I was a participant in the criminal clinic where I spent one semester defending clients and the second semester prosecuting juvenile offenders in the juvenile court in Maryland. The clinical program is a reason to come to AU in itself.

All and all I was very happy with the education I received at AU and I now work for one of the largest law firms in San Francisco. The only drawback I have found is that AU has a regional reputation -- it is harder to sell the degree outside the mid-Atlantic so if you intend to leave the area, you are well advised to get very good grades.



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