Marquette Graduates Account for Just Under One Quarter of All Practicing Lawyers in Wisconsin

Based on information provided by the State Bar of Wisconsin, there were 23,761 active members of the Wisconsin bar at the beginning of June 2010. Of these, 5,818 (24.5 percent) are graduates of the Marquette Law School. The remaining 17,943 were almost evenly divided between graduates of the University of Wisconsin Law School (8,982) and graduates of out-of-state law schools (8,961).

Presumably, this means that 62.3 percent of Wisconsin lawyers were admitted pursuant to the diploma privilege, compared to 37.7 percent who either passed the bar examination or were admitted based on practice elsewhere.

Unfortunately, detailed information on the alma maters of those who attended law school out of state is not currently available. However, it appears that the schools with the largest number of alumni practicing in Wisconsin are located in states bordering Wisconsin.

Special thanks to James Behan, Database Support Analyst, State Bar of Wisconsin and to Marquette law student Colin Forester-Hoare for their assistance with the compilation of this data.

Continue ReadingMarquette Graduates Account for Just Under One Quarter of All Practicing Lawyers in Wisconsin

The New Law Building in 1924

Eighty-six years ago, the Marquette Law School community waited anxiously to move into a new law building.  The attached photograph is from the spring or summer of 1924 and shows the structure of what would later be known as Sensenbrenner Hall. 

The Sensenbrenner name would not be attached to the site for another three decades and, during its early history, the building was known simply as the Law Building.  (This apellation can be seen on the sign in the right hand bottom corner of the photograph.)

A note in the August 19 edition of the Milwaukee Journal newspaper indicated that by that date the building had been completed.  The official dedication ceremony—the subject of a forthcoming post—would be held later that month.

The Law Building was constructed on the site of the previous law school building, the renovated Mackie Mansion.  Where law school classes were held during construction in the spring of 1924 remains something of a mystery.  Older photographs show that the Mackie Mansion was set back from Wisconsin Avenue a good distance (while the new building fronted directly on the street), so it is possible that classes could have continued in the older building during the construction.

On the other hand, by the time of the construction of the new Law Building, Marquette University boasted a total of 15 university buildings, so there were likely a number of options where law classes could have been held.

(Editor’s note: The photo also shows the difficulty, even then, of finding an open parking space.)

Continue ReadingThe New Law Building in 1924

Comparative Law Scholars Gather

During the past week, comparative law scholars from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C. for the XVIIIth International Congress of Comparative Law.  The International Congress is a quadrennial event that was this year sponsored by the International Academy of Comparative Law and the American Society of Comparative Law and was hosted by the law schools at Georgetown, George Washington, and American Universities.

The seven-day conference began with a reception on Sunday evening and a Monday morning plenary session entitled “The Role of Comparative Law in Courts and International Tribunals” which featured speakers from the United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Constitutional Court of Italy, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the International Court of Justice as well as the current president of the American Bar Association and the Director of the Max Planck Institute.

A subsequent session featured Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the United States Supreme Court, and the concluding event, a plenary session focusing on the future of comparative law studies, entitled ”Comparative Law: Problems and Prospects,” was held on Saturday morning.

Once viewed as the province of specialists with little relevance to the practicing attorney, the field of comparative law has dramatically increased its role in the American law school curriculum in recent years.  A number of law schools, including Harvard and Washington & Lee , have added Comparative Law to their first year curriculums.  Others, like Marquette, have significantly increased the number of upper-level comparative law course offerings and have created special summer programs in comparative law in conjunction with law schools from other countries.  In Marquette’s case, these programs have involved the University of Queensland (Australia) and, more recently, the Justus Liebig University Law School in Giesen, Germany.

Under the direction of Prof. Alan Madry, currently the director of Marquette’s program in International and Comparative Law, Marquette has also put together an array of opportunities for students to spend a semester or a year studying at a law school in another country.

Marquette was represented at the International Congress by Professor Hylton (yours truly) who serves as a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Comparative Law.  Also present was Professor James Nafziger of Willamette University Law School who served as the Boden Distinguished Visiting Professor at Marquette during the 2009-2010 academic year.

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