Groups » Valparaiso University School of Law

The Valparaiso University School of Law is located on the campus of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, a community located less than an hour from Chicago. Founded in 1879, the school was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1929 and admitted to the Association of American Law Schools in 1930.

The current Dean of Valparaiso Law is Jay Conison, Indiana Bar Foundation Fellow and American Bar Association Accreditation Committee Vice Chair, Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The law school currently has 39 full-time faculty and approximately 30 additional faculty members who teach the 562 enrolled students.
Campus

The city of Valparaiso, Indiana is located 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Chicago, and 10 miles (16 km) south of Lake Michigan and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

The law school is located in Wesemann Hall, in an area of Valparaiso University’s 320-acre (1.3 km2) campus known as “Old Campus” which is next to, and part of, the historic district of downtown Valparaiso. Wesemann Hall is adjacent to Heritage Hall, which was recently reconstructed and houses the Lawyering Skills Center and Law Clinic.
History

The school was originally named the Northern Indiana Law School and began operation on November 11, 1879. Tuition was set at $10 per term and the first term began with nine enrolled students. The school was one of the first in the nation to admit both men and women, and two women were among the original cohort. DeMotte became the school’s first dean and was one of the original three faculty members. During his appointment he developed the core curriculum that remains in use at Valparaiso today.

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