The Chicago-Kent School of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology weaves theoretical instruction with practice, offering more than 700 students a blend of legal writing and trial advocacy in its curriculum with 11 certificate programs and an impressive 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Those programs include 1L Your Way, which allows students to defer the required first-year Legislation course to the second year so they can take an approved, upper-division elective instead. They can also enroll in a clinic with the option to rotate through two additional sections. This flexibility offers a 鈥渘umber of opportunities to engage in practical lawyering,鈥 which even extends to the school's own fee-generating, in-house teaching firm the C-K Law Group. The group has 14 full-time practicing attorneys and 3 off-site adjunct attorneys, which helps students gain real-world experience in litigation and transactional matters. Additionally, the legal writing program 鈥渋s an intense learning experience鈥 that 鈥減repares everyone quite well for summer internships.鈥 Students can also take part in the school's externship program, which provides academic credit through a specialized law placement in areas ranging from private to public to civil to criminal. Students love that they have 鈥渟o many different experiences鈥 to choose from. As for resources, the classrooms 鈥渁re equipped and driven by technology.鈥 Plus, 鈥渋f no one is in there, [students] are free to use the classroom,鈥 which aids in student collaboration and productivity. Overall, 鈥渢he resources [and] facilities are top-notch.鈥 The library is 鈥渂eautiful, located on the tenth floor with high ceilings and large windows that look out [onto] the city,鈥 and the librarians are 鈥渁lways making presentations in the legal writing courses in order to introduce students to all the resources available.鈥 They're reliably available to help students find 鈥渁ll the necessary information 鈥 needed to complete our assignments successfully.鈥 With resources like this, the school 鈥渄oes a great job at helping students go down the correct path鈥 and 鈥渇ocuses on helping every individual succeed, not just the top 10 percent.鈥 As one student shares, 鈥淐hicago-Kent prepares you for practice. I feel ready to enter the legal field today because of my academic experiences.鈥
Here, 鈥減rofessors and their backgrounds span a broad range of fields,鈥 and many 鈥渉ave been esteemed in the working world before coming to Chicago-Kent.鈥 Faculty 鈥渃ontinue to get published and make themselves known in the legal community.鈥 Plus, teachers 鈥渁re always available to meet with students if needed.鈥 The school even 鈥渉as a mentorship program which matches students to professors, in order to give you access to professors in specific areas of law.鈥 Chicago-Kent's location is a huge asset that allows the school to find plenty of guest speakers, so 鈥渢here are always panels, 鈥 alumni connection events, and programs going on.鈥 The school's bustling surroundings also offer 鈥渃onnections to judicial externships, internships, jobs, and more,鈥 and there is 鈥渁 very strong and loyal alumni base.鈥 Thanks to the school's strong reputation, 鈥渆mployers know that you can research and write.鈥