What makes Idaho's College of Law distinctive?

Quality over quantity. This is one of America's most intimate, collegial law schools. No one is a mere number here. Every student has a name, a talent, a future, and a dream.

Real value. Law school is a big investment. When law schools are rated upon objective criteria, Idaho is recognized as one of the best values in the nation. The Winter 2004 edition of the Crittenden publication “PreLaw” rated law schools upon six objective criteria:  tuition levels (2002-03 data), bar passage rates, employment rates for graduates, median amounts of scholarship grants, “slots available for students in clinical programs," and faculty-student ratios.  Upon these standards, the University of Idaho College of Law received an “excellent value” rating -- making it the most highly rated public or private law school in the Pacific Northwest, and one of the most highly rated in the country.

A Legacy of Leading.  Our living alumni include the past CEOs of the Boeing Company and Washington Group International, the present and past Chief Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court, a U.S. Congressman, a past U.S. Senator, a past Idaho Governor, Idaho’s Attorney General, many of the state’s legislative leaders, and a majority of Idaho’s federal and state judges.


Dedication to Justice.  All of our students undertake a substantial project of pro bono service, under professional supervision.  It is an experience that combines good training with good feelings.  The University of Idaho College of Law recently was recognized in “National Jurist” magazine for the percentage of our students going into public interest law ("Where Public Interest Lawyers Go to Law School,” March, 2008).


Gateway to the region and the world. You will discover in our faculty -- and develop for yourself -- a level of expertise that prepares you for professional achievement at state, national, and international levels. Moreover, if you are thinking of making your career in the American West, you will be interested to know that the State of Idaho offers reciprocal admissions to the Bar in Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. An Idaho law graduate who practices three years in this state can apply for reciprocal admission in any of the other states. In addition, Idaho reciprocates with all other states that have reciprocal bar admission rules.


Small town collegiality, metropolitan opportunity. The "Idaho model" of legal education gives you a supportive learning experience on the friendly Moscow campus, coupled with the option, during summers or your last semester, to take advanced courses or externships in a metropolitan environment such as Boise (one of America's fastest growing and most liveable cities). A full "semester in practice" is available in Boise.

Will I like Idaho?

Short answer: yes! If you already live here, you know why. If you don't, you will enjoy finding out. Idaho has a rare combination of natural beauty and friendly people.

Diversity. There's more variety and richness here than many folks imagine. You'll find Americans of many European ethnicities, Asian-Americans, African-Americans, American Indians and other native peoples, Latino and Hispanic-Americans (more than 100,000 Hispanic Idahoans according to the last census!). Our law school community embraces women and men of widely ranging ages, backgrounds, and interests. All are valued. All are welcomed.

Balanced lives. You'll work hard here (beware schools that tell you otherwise), but you'll also be encouraged to develop and affirm a life beyond work. Personal growth, family and friends, health and a sense of purpose - these, too, are part of the Idaho experience.

Will I like the study of law?

It's more than just rules. Law school challenges you to think deeply about "why" questions - not just the "who" and "what" questions that characterize undergraduate education. You will analyze, reflect, criticize, and create. You will learn the dynamics, the possibilities, and the limitations of the law. You'll be strengthened in professional skills such as problem-solving and persuasion. You will be reinforced in personal and professional values such as truth-seeking, honesty, integrity and loyalty.

Law is a calling. You may become a transactional lawyer, a litigator, a judge, an administrator, a business entrepreneur, a teacher, a writer - - the J.D. degree can take you almost anywhere. Your Idaho legal education will sustain you wherever you go. But remember this: regardless of your career path, you'll be happiest if you make time to do good while you're doing well. Justice Louis Brandeis once said "there is a call upon the legal profession to do a great work for this country." If this stirs something inside you, if you want to become part of something noble and lasting… then, yes, the law is for you.

Now, tell me more about your place.

Let me share with you a portrait in words written by my colleagues including Professor and former Dean Jack Miller. We call it "The Idaho Difference." I also invite your attention to a recent campus-wide commencement address entitled “Something Complete and Great,” in which I have endeavored to express the spirit of this remarkable University.  After you've perused these offerings and explored the rest of our Web site, feel free to contact me (dburnett@uidaho.edu) or stop by and ask for me in the Dean's Office when you visit the College of Law.

I look forward to seeing you.

Don Burnett,
Dean and Foundation Professor of Law