Law School News, 1221 WYBJ, Vol. 44 No. 6. 38
| Position | Vol. 44 6 Pg. 38 |
A Look Back at a Challenging Year 021 has turned out to be an extraordinary year for the nation, Wyoming and the University of Wyoming College of Law. We are still in the midst of a pandemic. We have a new President in the White House. Te State is emerging unexpectedly from one of the worst fiscal downturns in recent memory with the sudden inflow of federal stimulus funds. And the fall has been warm enough to watch a Pokes football game and fly-fish in shorts and a tee shirt.
At the College of Law, too, the year has been to psy-turvy and challenging. During the first half of the year, law school classes were taught via Zoom and the college was closed to in-person visiting lecturers, moot court competitions, and other events. We were fortunate enough to pull off a socially-distanced, in-person graduation ceremony in May for our 3L class. But the return to normal during the summer did not come as expected.
On a positive note, the College of Law improved its national ranking, maintained a steady bar passage rate, and increased its enrollment of incoming students significantly in 2021. In U.S. News & World Report, the College of Law jumped 14 spots to achieve a ranking of 119 among the nation’s “best” law schools. Te College also maintained its ranking by pre Law magazine as one of the top law schools in the nation for practical training and environmental law. In addition, notwithstanding the shift to online learning, our law graduates managed to pull off a respectable 75 percent bar passage rate in 2021, which was merely a few points off from last year. Many law schools around the country witnessed significant drops in their bar passage rates due to the pandemic.
Te most surprising statistic this past year was the College of Law’s increase in 1L applications and enrollment. Despite a six percent rise in tuition this past year, applications to the college rose nearly 15 percent, and 92 students enrolled in the J.D. program this fall. Te number of women increased in the 1L class to 49 (53%) and the percentage of minority students increased from the previous year to 16 percent. Much of the change in enrollment at the college was the result of an uptick in nonresident students, who indicated an interest in the college’s new curricular offerings in business and technology law (particularly block chain), health care and intellectual property law. It also...
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