Degrees:
Juris Doctor
Dean: Professor Barry R. Vickrey
Associate Dean: Thomas L. Sorensen
Assistant Dean: Angela Ericson
Program Description
The mission of the University of South Dakota School of Law is to prepare the lawyers and judges who will administer the Federal, State, and American Indian Tribal justice systems in South Dakota and to provide a legal education to South Dakota residents, along with nonresidents who choose to attend the school, which will serve as a solid foundation for the practice of law or other professional careers anywhere in the world. Students at the Law School are a highly selective group that has demonstrated intellectual aptitude and personal characteristics desirable in the law profession, such as a desire to serve others.
A primary objective of the Law School curriculum is to develop analytical and other skills that are fundamental for the legal profession. The faculty employ a variety of pedagogical techniques to achieve that objective, including Socratic dialogue, the case method, lecture, and simulation. The curriculum is designed to familiarize students with basic legal doctrines and to instill in them the values of the legal profession and the judicial system.
Students also have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of co-curricular activities at local, regional, and national levels. These student activities complement the formal components of the curriculum and assist in the development of legal skills. Skill-building activities include, but are not limited to, participation in the South Dakota Law Review, the Great Plains Natural Resources Journal, the Moot Court Board, the Client Counseling and Negotiation Board, and Trial Advocacy.
Faculty
Roger M. Baron, Professor, J.D., University of Missouri-Columbia. Member, South Dakota, Missouri, and Texas Bars. Courses: Civil Procedure, Family Law, Insurance.
David S. Day, Professor, J.D., University of Iowa. Member, California Bar. Courses: Advanced Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Rights, Employment Discrimination, First Amendment Rights.
Sheryl B. Etling, Assistant Professor, J.D., University of Missouri-Kansas City; LL.M., University of Michigan. Member, South Dakota and Missouri Bars. Courses: Appellate Advocacy, and Legal Writing.
Patrick M. Garry, Associate Professor, J.D., University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Ph.D., University of Minnesota. Member, Minnesota Bar. Courses: Media Law, Administrative Law, Advanced Torts, Education and the Law, Pretrial Process, Honors Seminar on Supreme Court and the First Amendment.
Thomas Earl Geu, Professor, J.D., University of Nebraska. Member, South Dakota, Nebraska, and District of Columbia Bars. Courses: Business Association, Employment Law, Intellectual Property, Modern Real Estate Transactions.
Randall J. Gingiss, Professor, J.D., University of Michigan; LL.M., DePaul University; M.B.A., University of Chicago; CPA, Illinois. Member, South Dakota and Illinois Bars. Courses: Estate and Gift Tax, Estate Planning, Property, Trusts and Wills.
John F. Hagemann, Professor and Law Librarian, J.D., University of Wisconsin. Member, South Dakota and Wisconsin Bars. Courses: Jurisprudence, Legal Research, Law and Literature, South Dakota Practice.
Mary Christine Hutton, Professor, J.D., Washburn University; LL.M., Harvard University. Member, South Dakota and Kansas Bars. Courses: Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Advanced Criminal Procedure, Evidence.
Patrice H. Kunesh, Assistant Professor of Law, J.D., University of Colorado. Member, South Dakota, Colorado, Connecticut, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court Bars. Courses: Indian Gaming, Indian Jurisdiction, Children & the Law, Legislation.
Michael Myers, Associate Professor of Law. J.D., University of South Dakota. Member, South Dakota and Iowa Bars. Courses: Elder Law, Health Care Law & Policy, Alternative Dispute Resolution, The Business of Law.
Jo M. Pasqualucci, Professor, J.D., University of Wisconsin; S.J.D., George Washington University. Member, South Dakota and Wisconsin Bars. Courses: Commercial Law, International Business Transactions, Public International Law, Secured Transactions.
Frank R. Pommersheim, Professor, J.D., Columbia University; M.P.A., Harvard University. Member, South Dakota and Oregon Bars. Courses: Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Education and the Law, Federal Jurisdiction, Indian Jurisdiction, Indian Law. Serves on six tribal courts across the U.S.
Charles M. Thatcher, Professor, J.D., Ohio Northern University. Member, South Dakota and Ohio Bars. Courses: Conflict of Laws, Contracts, Remedies.
Robert Ulrich, Associate Professor and Director of Externships, J.D., University of South Dakota. Member, South Dakota Bar. Courses: Trial Techniques, Externship.
Jonathan K. Van Patten, Professor, J.D., University of California at Los Angeles. Member, South Dakota and California Bars. Courses: Advanced Torts, Debtors’ and Creditors’ Rights, Negotiation and Settlement, Torts.
Barry R. Vickrey, Dean and Professor, J.D., Vanderbilt University. Member, South Dakota and Tennessee Bars. Course: Legal Profession.
Law School Admission Requirements
For degree-seeking students, four items are required to complete the application process:
- A completed application. A completed application form supplied by the School of Law or through the LSAC must be submitted with a non–refundable application fee of $35.
- An LSDAS Law School Report. The applicant must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and have each college send official transcripts to the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS), who will analyze the transcripts and send the analysis and LSAT score to any schools requested by the applicant.
- Two letters of recommendation. The applicant must submit two letters of recommendation from instructors, employers, or supervisors. Applicants who have received their undergraduate or graduate degree within the preceding three years must include an academic letter of reference.
- A personal statement. The personal statement must be typewritten, single-spaced, and not more than 350 words in length. The statement should detail evidence of qualities beyond academic abilities, such as leadership ability, service to others, maturity, organizational skills, familiarity with other languages and cultures, a history of overcoming disadvantage, extraordinary accomplishment, or success in a previous career. The statement should also explain what contributions the applicant may bring to The University of South Dakota School of Law and the legal profession.
For complete admissions information, please see the Admissions Guidebook found on the School of Law website at http://www.usd.edu/law.
Joint Degree Program Description
The School of Law offers a joint degree program with other colleges/schools of The University of South Dakota leading to the juris doctor degree and a master’s degree in one of the following nine disciplines:
- College of Arts and Sciences
JD/Master of Arts in English
JD/Master of Arts in History
JD/Master of Arts in Political Science
JD/Master of Arts in Psychology
JD/Master of Public Administration
JD/Master of Science in Administrative Studies
JD/Master of Business Administration
JD/Master of Professional Accountancy
JD/Master of Arts in Education Administration
Dual Degree Program in Environmental Law
Vermont Law School and The University of South Dakota School of Law offer a dual-degree program that enables qualified students to earn two degrees in three years: a J.D. from South Dakota and a Master of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School. The dual-degree program is composed of courses taught at Vermont Law School’s Summer Session and courses offered by distance learning from Vermont Law School during the regular academic year, or a combination of Summer Session, distance learning courses, and internships.
Flex-Time Option
The University of South Dakota School of Law has adopted a flex program into its traditional curriculum, which will permit certain well-qualified students to take less than the normal load of credits each semester and to graduate with a juris doctor degree within five years instead of three years. The program is not intended to affect the traditional curriculum or the course schedules, nor to increase the number of students in the Law School but, rather, to admit a limited number of well-qualified students who could not otherwise attend law school on a full-time basis. The Law School does not offer evening or weekend courses.
Accelerated Admission
An applicant may apply, become admitted to, and enroll in the Law School without completion of the requirements for the applicant’s undergraduate degree. It is required that the undergraduate degree actually be attained by the applicant prior to graduation from the Law School. Graduation from the Law School will not be permitted until the undergraduate degree has been awarded.
To be considered for accelerated admission, the applicant must have completed, prior to enrollment in the Law School, at least three-fourths of the required course work for the undergraduate degree. Additionally, the applicant must submit a plan that shows precisely how the applicant intends to complete the requirements for the undergraduate degree prior to graduation from Law School.
Graduate Student Enrollment in Law Courses
Graduate students who are not enrolled in the Law School may be allowed to take Law School courses for credit on a case-by-case basis, subject to approval by the professor teaching the course. Graduate students interested in doing so should consult the two-year course schedule (found in the Curriculum Guidebook on the Law School website at http://www.usd.edu/law) to see what courses are being taught in the current two-year rotation. They should then contact the Office of the Dean to indicate their desire to take Law School courses. The Dean’s Office will contact the course professors and notify the students that enrollment has been approved or disapproved. Notifications will include any conditions on enrollment.
Conditions on enrollment are determined by each individual professor and may include, but are not limited to, the following matters:
- Waiver of prerequisites, if required for law students
- Adjustment of course requirements
- Final examination requirements
- Evaluation of course performance on a separate scale from law students
Students should be aware that the Law School curriculum is rigorous and course content will not, on the whole, be adjusted to accommodate non–law students. First-year law classes (700 series) are not open to attendance by non–law students. In no case will a course be open to non–law students if sufficient space in the class is not available. Students who have not completed their bachelor’s degree will not be considered.
For Additional Information
The University of South Dakota
The School of Law
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069-2390
Phone: 605-677-5443
Email: lawreq@usd.edu
http://www.usd.edu/law
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