Since its founding in 1973, Franklin Pierce Law Center, now the University of New Hampshire School of Law (UNH), has been a global leader in innovative legal education. The University of New Hampshire School of Law, an intimate, innovative law school, is committed to developing students who enjoy challenging dialogue from the first moments of orientation, embrace practice-based learning, grow through the collegiality of a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, and stand ready to join the ranks of alumni who are global leaders in intellectual property, general practice, social justice, commerce and technology. At the University of New Hampshire School of Law, diversity in perspective is foundational to effective, cooperative dialogue.

In its 2007 publication, U.S. News & World Report ranked Pierce Law in Tier 4. Pierce Law's intellectual property program has consistently ranked among the top ten law schools in the U.S.

Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program

In 2005, the New Hampshire Supreme Court launched an alternative bar licensing process at the state's only law school, Fraklin Pierce Law Center. The Daniel Webster Scholar Honors program, unique to the University of New Hampshire School of Law, is a two-year Bar practicum. Daniel Webster Scholars complement their UNH School of Law coursework with rigorous applied training in professional skills and judgment through simulated, clinical and externship settings.

Curriculum

Courses offered in pierce Law's Master programs bridge law, technology and management. Pierce Law offers over 30 courses in Intellectual Property and Technology allowing students to focus acutely in specific areas.

Graduate Programs

LL.M. degree  

The LL.M. degree program enables practicing attorneys to experience financial, career and personal success by earning the mark of distinction of the Master of Laws degree. Only a very small percentage of the world's lawyers distinguish themselves with a proven academic record of subject expertise.

Master degree

The interdisciplinary Master degree for non-lawyers focuses on the acquisition of both substantive knowledge and practical skills through innovative academic courses and internships with corporations, law firms and governmental agencies. The Master degree provides graduate-level academic experience to business executives, technology managers, administrators, patent and trademark practitioners, diplomats, human rights workers, and international policing specialists.

Diploma certificate        

The UNH School of Law's Diploma certificate was the first of its kind in the United States to provide legal training in Intellectual Property for managers as well as lawyers. The Diploma is an interdisciplinary program  designed to meet the needs of working professionals for a career in Intellectual Property or Commerce and Technology.

Externship Program

This program allows graduate (MIP and LL.M.) and second and third year law students to:

• Develop proficiency in professional skills and judgment;

• Reflect about the practice of law and the individual student's place in it;

• Develop proficiency in a specialized area of practice.

Students receive credit for working with experienced lawyers in all types of legal settings. Students can participate in both full or part-time externships. Graduate students can only participate in a full time externship.

Clinics

The University of New Hampshire School of Law's clinics bring law classes to life by allowing students to apply their knowledge to real cases. Experienced faculty members, all of whom practiced in their fields prior to teaching, supervise the clinical programs. All clinics include a classroom component, but their primary focus is on real-world experience, much of it in actual courtrooms. With the guidance of faculty members, students gain a solid background in legal research and analysis, legal reasoning, litigation, and counseling. Students also receive training in specialized areas such as trial advocacy, dispute resolution, and evidence presentation for today's high technology courtrooms. The University of New Hampshire School of Law's clinical programs benefit students and the community at large, since students often represent clients whose needs might otherwise go unserved. They offer seven clinical experiences: Consumer and Commercial Law, Criminal Practice, Intellectual Property and Transaction, Appellate Defender Program Mediation, International Technology Transfer Institute (ITTI) Clinic, IP Amicus Clinic.

Contact:

University of New Hampshire School of Law
Two White Street
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: (603) 513-5189
Fax: (603) 225-4016
Website: www. law.unh.edu