Dedman School of Law


The SMU Dedman School of Law is the law school of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, United States. The school was founded in February 1925 as part of Southern Methodist University. It was renamed in February 2001 to honor benefactors Nancy Dedman and Robert H. Dedman Sr. One of 10 law schools in Texas, it was the only one in the city of Dallas until the University of North [Texas at Dallas] opened as a law school in 2014.

Admissions

Statistics

From 2020 to 2024, SMU law had an acceptance rate of about 34%. The median LSAT score was about 163, and the median GPA was around 3.80.

Academic profile

SMU Dedman School of Law offers Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees. The school also offers two joint-degree programs: a combined law and economics degree with the SMU Department of Economics in Dedman College and a combined law and business degree with the Cox School of Business.
The class entering in fall 2019 had a median LSAT score of 161 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.7. These medians were calculated by the Law School Admission Council using data on enrolled students provided by the law school to the American Bar Association.
Students in the JD program are required to have 87 credit hours to graduate, including 31 hours of required coursework in the first year. After the first year, required coursework includes professional responsibility, two upper-level writing courses, Constitutional Law II, and a practical skills course. In addition, all students are required to complete 30 hours of public service before graduating.

Programs and resources

Dedman Law is home to four independent law journals: The SMU Law Review, Journal of Air Law and Commerce, The International Lawyer, and the SMU Science & Technology Law Review.
Dedman Law offers several law clinics for upper-division students. The law clinics include: the W.W. Caruth, Jr. Child Advocacy Clinic, Civil Clinic, Criminal Justice Clinic, Family Immigration Detention Clinic, Federal Taxpayers Clinic, First Amendment Clinic, Consumer Advocacy Project, Small Business Clinic & Trademark Clinic, Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women, Innocence Clinic, Patent Law Clinic, and Vansickle Family Law Clinic.
Dedman Law offers a summer program at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, multiple international programs, and the Underwood Law Library.

Underwood Law Library

SMU's Underwood Law Library is the largest private academic law library west of the Mississippi River. Its collections include approximately 666,498 law-related volumes and equivalents, ranking the library among the top 20% of all law libraries in the United States.

Rankings

In 2024, SMU Dedman School of Law was ranked No. 42 in the nation by ''U.S. News & World Report.''

Employment

According to SMU's official 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 80% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. SMU's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 10.8%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2018 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.

Costs

The total cost of attendance at SMU for the 2020–2021 academic year is $83,464. The average amount borrowed for law school by members of the 2014 graduating class was $124,617.38.

Notable faculty

Notable alumni