Contact

205 20th Street North
823 Frank Nelson Building
Birmingham, AL 35203
(205)322-6122
FAX: (205)322-2822
http://www.bsol.com/


About the Law School

The Birmingham School of Law is a state accredited law school located in the Deep South city of Birmingham, Alabama.

Founded in 1915 by Judge Hugh A. Locke, a Judge of the Chancery Court and President of the Birmingham Bar Association, the Birmingham School of Law has been offering a high quality, affordable legal education to individuals who choose not to attend a traditional law school for financial, family, or occupational reasons. Birmingham School of Law presents a unique opportunity for self-disciplined individuals to earn a law degree at night or on Saturday while continuing their careers.

Birmingham School of Law has an outstanding faculty of practicing attorney and judges. Graduates receive the Juris Doctor degree after three or four years of part-time study. Students must take a minimum of three courses each trimester and be matriculated for all three trimesters annually. The law school plans to introduce a Saturday law program beginning with the Fall 2009 trimester where students may earn their law degree in four years completing all required courses each Saturday. The law school also instituted a mandatory bar review and six-hour exit exam in 2007. Classes are held in the historic Frank Nelson Building in downtown Birmingham.

Graduates are eligible to take the Alabama State Bar Examination pursuant to the authority granted by the Alabama Legislature and the Alabama Supreme Court. The school is not seeking accreditation by the American Bar Association.

James J. Bushnell, Jr. is the Dean and Gordon Warren is the Associate Dean.

General Information

Accreditation:

Birmingham School of Law is a state accredited law school. BSL is not accredited by the American Bar Association. BSL graduates are eligible to sit for the Alabama bar examination pursuant to an Alabama statute and the Alabama Supreme Court rules. Upon receiving a passing score on the bar exam and meeting all other admission requirements, BSL graduates are admitted to practice law in the state of Alabama. [Refer to other states regarding their bar admission policies pertaining to non-ABA graduates.]

Program Costs

Each two (2) credit hour course is $375; one (1) credit hour course is $187.50; and student fees are $175 per semester, regardless of the number of courses taken. [Program costs are subject to change without notice.]

Financing Your Education

Since Birmingham School of Law is not nationally accredited by the American Bar Association, students attending BSL are not eligible for federally guaranteed student loans.

Read more:
BSOL - General Information

Curriculum

The curriculum at BSL is designed to provide a base of legal knowledge and analytical skills, as well as an understanding of the legal processes and the role of law in our society. A total of 80 semester hours is required for graduation and the award of the Juris Doctor (J.D.) Degree. (See curriculum chart.)

All students begin with a three-nights-a-week program. This program allows students to graduate in 13-14 semesters. Students who demonstrate superior academic performance may accelerate to a four-nights-per-week program which allows students to graduate in 10 semesters. Students attend classes three semesters per year, taking a minimum of 3 courses per semester.

Required courses comprise 66 hours of the 80 hours required to graduate. The remaining 16 semester hours, are elective course hours. Each course meets one night a week for a minimum of two academic hours or 120 minutes. Each semester is 14 weeks in length. Successful completion of a course affords two semester hours credit. [Saturday courses not included]

Elective courses have included:

• Administrative Law
• Environmental Law
• Advanced Legal Research
• Health Care Law
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Insurance
• Appellate Practice
• Intellectual Property
• Bankruptcy
• International Law
• Employment Law
• Judicial/Legal Internship
• Damages
• Law and Medicine
• Disability Law
• Law Office Practice
• Discrimination Law
• Advanced Legal Writing
• Workman's Compensation
• Municipal Law
• Education Law
• Moot Court
• Elder Law
• Statutory Remedies/Rights-Land
• Real Estate Transactions
• Debtor Creditor Law
• Immigration Law

NOTE: ALL INCOMING FRESHMEN WILL BE REQUIRED TO TAKE FUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL RESEARCH (a Friday course) DURING THEIR FIRST SEMESTER OF ATTENDANCE AND FUNDAMENTALS OF LEGAL WRITING THEIR SECOND SEMESTER.