University of Oklahoma - College of Law

Students enjoy a “familial environment at [the University of Oklahoma College of Law] that isn’t found elsewhere.” A “a competitive program” in Norman, Oklahoma, OU Law is “affordable and practical” and “without the anxiety accompanied by many other similar programs.” It boasts great regional prestige, an “expansive course selection covering a broad range of practice areas,” as well as specialties like “the oil and gas programs and offerings [which] are some of the best in the country.” The facilities are “absolutely breathtaking,” including “a huge, beautiful courtroom that has been used by the Tenth Circuit to hold oral arguments.” Students feel like they are part of a tightly knit community: “Each and every student is competitive, but with themselves—not each other” and “the deans know students by name, teach courses, and are active at almost all school activities, including competitions, guest speakers, awards luncheons.”
Students claim to “have never had a ‘bad’ professor” and universally praise “the administration and support staff” as “phenomenal.” Faculty and administrators are responsive to student needs and Dean Harroz “has made amazing changes and improvements at OU Law in just his fourth year as dean.” Students agree that through these improvements the “administration has responded to the changing job market with moderated adjustments instead of overreaction or denial.” One such improvement is the school’s “Digital Initiative, which began in the fall of 2014” and “gave every student an iPad and access to several legal apps, as well as Microsoft Office.” Students also enjoy “weekly training sessions on different [legal] apps” that help students understand how “to integrate technology into our future practice” and “to better associate ourselves with [the] technology and apps we will likely use at firms.”
In the first year students take a core curriculum and “1Ls are split into four, thirty to forty person sections for [these] required courses.” They agree that these sections “[allow] for greater visibility with faculty and “the benefit of the small section size can’t be overstated.” After that students can pursue a specialization and “certifications in various niche practice areas.” In addition to the world-class programs in natural resources, students are drawn to “OU’s amazing Native American Law program . . . and international human rights clinic.” In addition, students say that the school has been developing other specialties: “OU’s environmental law area has gotten pretty strong” and “the administration is encouraging about new courses, and is constantly working to offer additional joint programs, certificates in specialized areas, and practical experience opportunities.” Indeed, students say that externship and clerkship opportunities are one of the school’s greatest strengths, and “the opportunities to gain practical experience, are some of the best in the country.” While students say “the Oklahoma Bar passage rate for OU students is high,” they think the school “[needs] to provide more attention to out of state students that are trying to return to their home state.” “Career services is good but not great,” and students would like to see “more pairing with industry for internships and more pairing with firms for internships for those students not in the top 25 percent but who are fully capable of high quality work.” But students also report getting summer internships through Career Services and the “administration brings in employers multiple times a week.” Through the “Lunch and [Learn]” program students “get free food and listen to practicing attorneys as they discuss their field and potential internships.”

Students “couldn’t ask for a better experience” than the “comfortable, relaxed pace that makes you feel at home and able to study or just hang out with friends between classes.”Everyone enjoys “[studying] together” and “[spending] time together outside of class.” “We don’t have a toxic atmosphere that some other law schools have,” one current student explained. Instead of emphasizing “cut-throat” competition, the administration encourages students to “focus on building one another up,” and students say this collegial atmosphere “contributes greatly to the school’s and students’ successes.” In the weeks before classes start, “OU kind of beats the competitiveness out of the students” with “older mentors that speak with the sections” and emphasize the “how important it is” to cultivate “a reputation as a good person on top of being a hard worker.”
While “the LLM programs bring in students from all across the county and the world to our campus,” students still feel that “one of the downfalls is the lack of much racial/religious diversity.” But the friendly atmosphere and “social life enables students to work hard at studying but also enjoy Norman’s famous Campus Corner.” The OU Law campus is “close enough to main campus that it has the university vibe, but far enough away that we are sheltered from all those undergrads.” Ample parking makes it “easy to access,” and “great amenities and resources like twenty-four-hour printing and the Amicus Cafe” keep students keep students productive. Administrators make it easy for students to organize study or group activities. “Any organization or group of students can reserve any classroom, study room, conference room, or even court room with ease.” Local distractions like the “Norman Music Festival, the Huge Renaissance Fair, and local music and art scenes in Oklahoma City and the surrounding areas ensure there is never a shortage of various study breaks.”