Wayne State University Law School

Wayne State University Law School is located in Midtown, the City of Detroit’s Cultural Center, and is one of the schools of Wayne State University. It is one of two public law schools in the state of Michigan and has educated and trained lawyers since 1927. Wayne Law's more than 11,000 alumni include judges, justices, law firm partners and government officials working in all 50 states and at least 12 foreign countries.HistoryThe Law School was founded in 1927 and was originally named the Detroit City Law School as part of the City Colleges of Detroit. Allan Campbell served as the Law School’s founding dean, which graduated its first class with the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1928.The City Colleges of Detroit were renamed Wayne University in 1933. In 1956, the university joined Michigan State University and the University of Michigan as one of the state's three major public research institutions and was renamed Wayne State University.The Law School received full American Bar Association (ABA) accreditation in 1939. The school's Moot Court program (originally called the Case Club) was established in 1938, and the Wayne Law Review began publication in 1954. As an additional honor, members of the Wayne Law Review were awarded Juris Doctor (J.D.) degrees rather than LL.B. degrees (J.D. degrees were awarded to all law students with an undergraduate degree beginning in 1965). In 1965, the Law School's students founded the Free Legal Aid Clinic, which is now operated in conjunction with Lakeshore Legal Aid and Neighborhood Legal Services.