School of Law
Administration
Timothy M. Todd, B.S., M.S., C.P.A., ChFC®, J.D., Ph.D
Interim Dean, School of Law
Professor of Law
Suzanne F. Caruso, B.S., M.B.A., M.S., J.D.
Associate Dean for Assessment and Online Operations, School of Law
Joseph J. Martins, B.A., J.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Law
Professor of Law
Director of the Constitutional Litigation Clinic
David Miller, B.A., M.A.
Associate Dean for Administration and Student Development, School of Law
Susan K. Patrick, B.A., M.A., J.D.
Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, School of Law
Program Directors
A listing of program directors can be viewed on the Program Director webpage.
Purpose
The purpose of the School of Law is to develop leaders in the legal field through a superior education that integrates Christian faith and the Holy Scriptures. The curriculum fosters a deep understanding of the Western Legal Tradition and encourages critical thinking, effective analysis, and ethical communication, preparing graduates to excel as skilled legal practitioners and responsible societal leaders.
Distinctives
An emphasis on mastery of foundational legal subjects and skills. The objective of the School of Law is to equip and prepare students for success as legal professionals. Thus, there is an expectation by administration and faculty that students devote themselves with particular diligence to the subjects and skills identified as critical to professional excellence.
An emphasis on a rigorous and well-rounded intellectual life. Students are challenged intellectually at Liberty, not only with the technical aspects of law, but with a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to education and knowledge rooted in the Christian intellectual tradition. We firmly believe an educated lawyer should be thoroughly acquainted with the great thinkers and shapers of Western civilization and the Western legal tradition. Liberty University School of Law trains students to think analytically, a skill that can be developed properly only through an interdisciplinary approach to analyzing ideas.
An emphasis on understanding the significance of constitutional government with a special emphasis on the history and meaning of the United States Constitution and other foundational organic documents.
An emphasis on clear and persuasive writing. Liberty University School of Law requires six lawyering skills courses. Liberty graduates must excel in writing—one of the lawyer’s most powerful skills.
An emphasis on influential oral advocacy skills. A lawyer must be able to communicate effectively using the spoken word whether or not a litigation practice is an ultimate goal. Leaders in the legal profession know how to convincingly communicate with an audience. At Liberty, students focus on advocacy in many contexts and take part in demanding lawyering skills courses designed to develop oral communication skills.
An emphasis on teaching/mentoring. Liberty is a teaching law school. Members of the faculty are expected to display the highest degree of professional proficiency and scholarly research while prioritizing the teaching/mentoring role. Proficiency in teaching students is the Liberty Law professor’s first priority.
Accreditation
Liberty University School of Law is approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association;
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The American Bar Association (ABA) approval process is a thorough and careful process intended to ensure that law schools awarded approval meet all of the requirements set by the ABA to ensure a quality legal education.
Liberty University School of Law opened in August 2004 and completed the required full academic year to be eligible to apply for provisional approval by the ABA. On February 13, 2006, provisional approval was awarded. In March 2009, following the required two-year provisional approval time frame, Liberty applied for full approval. On August 5, 2010, Liberty University School of Law was approved by the ABA.
Liberty University School of Law is one of 197 ABA-approved law schools in the United States.
Curriculum Goals
The overarching goal of the faculty in designing and adopting the curriculum is to further the Mission of the School of Law, that is, to “equip future leaders in law with a superior legal education in fidelity to the Christian faith expressed through the Holy Scriptures.”
The particular goals of the faculty in designing and adopting the curriculum are to:
- Reflect the fundamental values upon which our legal system is based:
- that there is a corpus juris, a body of law, in which courses are related to one another as a logically consistent, comprehensive whole;
- that a government of laws is possible only where law reflects the truths that God has revealed to man and to which man is accountable; and
- that the preservation of the rule of law requires skillful and committed legal practitioners who are much more than mere technicians.
- Require courses that develop the body of knowledge, set of skills and professional values in which every lawyer must be grounded.
- Offer a range of electives that allows students to gain an introduction to various areas of law or to develop particular areas of competence.
- Prepare leaders for success in the two main phases of their professional lives, the study and practice of law.
- Prepare students to pass bar examinations in the states of their choice.