CHICAGO, March 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The John Marshall Law School is the only school in Illinois to be ranked in the top 20 nationally for its legal writing, trial advocacy and intellectual property (IP) law programs in the 2016 U.S. News & World Report's Best Graduate Schools. John Marshall is the top Illinois law school on the legal writing list, and is one of just two in Chicago to make the top 20 in three specialties.
In addition to its academic programs, John Marshall is recognized as having one of the most diverse law student bodies in Chicago.
"We are very pleased to receive recognition for providing among the best programs in the country," Dean John E. Corkery said. "Our programs prepare our law students for practice and provide them with skills and knowledge that give them an advantage in a tough job market."
At No. 5, John Marshall is the only law school in Chicago to be ranked in the top five for legal writing. John Marshall's Lawyering Skills Program is one of the most rigorous research/writing programs in the country, and it houses the largest in-school writing resource center in the U.S.
Associate Dean Anthony Niedwiecki, director of the Lawyering Skills Program, called his program's high rank evidence that John Marshall is a leader in the legal writing community.
"This ranking shows that John Marshall has some of the best legal writing faculty and programs," Niedwiecki said. "We have been ahead of other law schools in assessing what employers want and in preparing our students to meet the evolving needs of the workplace."
John Marshall's trial advocacy 16th-place ranking comes on the heels of its trial advocacy teams taking the top prize in multiple national competitions.
"This recognizes John Marshall's commitment to skills training and our requirement that all students complete a trial advocacy course before graduation," said Professor Susann "Sunny" MacLachlan, director of John Marshall's Center for Advocacy & Dispute Resolution.
John Marshall is one of just two law schools in Chicago to be ranked in the top 20 in IP law. John Marshall, ranked 17th, also is one of 42 law schools in the country to participate in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Law School Clinic Certification Program. It is the only law school in Illinois whose USPTO program focuses on both patent and trademark practice areas.
"I am pleased by the continued recognition by my IP colleagues of the program we offer here at John Marshall," said Professor Doris Estelle Long, director of the Center for Intellectual Property, Information & Privacy Law. "This ranking indicates that we are a leader in IP law."
With more than 50 specialized IP courses, John Marshall's program draws students from around the U.S. and across the globe. It has partnered with IP lawyers in the People's Republic of China for 20 years. It also conducts an ABA-approved summer program in China directed exclusively to IP issues.