preLaw Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 15)

TREND No. 1 for Hispanic students University of New Mexico repeats top ranking BY PAUL HUGHES photo by nick layman F or the second year in a row, the University of New Mexico School of Law is No. 1 in a ranking of top law schools for Hispanic students, according to Hispanic Business magazine. Before last year, it hadn’t even been on the list. What has transformed the UNM law school into such a great place for Hispanics? “We’re recruiting and retaining a diverse population of students,” says Suellyn Scarnecchia, dean of the law school. “We want the law school population to reflect the diversity of the state.” Preparing attorneys to serve New Mexico is a primary goal — it’s the only law school in the state. Diversity is a priority for the school. For example, 10 percent of the school’s students are Native American, about the same percentage as the state’s general population, she said. UNM Law offers a certificate program in Indian Law, to encourage Native American students to attend. New Mexico residency is crucial in admissions and as a minority-majority state — ethnic minorities are most of the population — the dean said UNM Law sees many minority applicants. “If they’re going to practice law in an Like brother and sister duo Joseph and DeAnza Valencia, Dean Suellyn Scarnecchia said most people come to New Mexico because it’s a beautiful place. Best law schools for Hispanics 1 2 3 4 University of New Mexico School of Law University of Miami School of Law University of Texas at Austin School of Law University of Southern California Gould School of Law 5 American Univ. Washington College of Law 6 Florida State University College of Law 7 Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law 8 Stanford University, Stanford School of Law 9 University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law 10 Florida International Univ. College of Law Source: Ranked by Hispanic Business magazine in September 2007 issue. ethnically diverse community, they should learn law in an ethnically diverse community,” Scarnecchia said. The school is active in a variety of programs, said Victor M. Marquez, president of the Hispanic National Bar Association and a real estate attorney in San Francisco, Calif., and UNM students reflect that commitment. “They send students to conferences and administrators and faculty participate in various groups,” Marquez said. “They’re out in the community, doing the outreach and encouraging students to participate in law.” Scarnecchia said such efforts mean a single student isn’t speaking for an entire ethnic group. That, plus small classes and mandatory clinical experience for all graduates, produces skillful, practiced attorneys — No. 1 or not. In the last class, she said, LSAT scores ranged from 141 to 174. Students of law Those attributes — local, small, diverse, intense — brought May 2007 graduate Elaine Lujan to UNM. She passed the bar in July and now clerks for the chief justice of the state supreme court. She’s New Mexico-born and bred, and liked that the law school was close to home. Small classes and accessible professors — a good working definition of community as it relates to law school — made her choice a good one. DeAnza Valencia, a 3L, and her brother Joseph, a 2L and a transfer from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, couldn’t stay away from their beloved state and plan to stay after graduation. “We’re training students primarily to practice in New Mexico,” Scarnecchia said. “People from New Mexico love the state — it's a beautiful place.” 15 Spring 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of preLaw Magazine - Spring 2008

preLaw Magazine - Spring 2008 Contents From the Editor For the Record Large Gender Gap Remains Among Political Hopefuls Man Charged in LSAT Scam Barry Dean Recognized New Report Examines Legal Ed Drexel Receives Accredidation New Mexico No. 1 for Hispanics A Film Journey in Law A Law Student at Last Debt Salvation Great Law Schools for Minorities Grad Opts Out of Big Firm Job Specialties Helpful Advice

preLaw Magazine - Spring 2008

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