Charleston School of Law (Columbia: how much, buy, law school)

[sk24k4]

Hi--

Can anyone provide some information on the Charleston School of Law? Thoughts? What people have heard about it? Job prospectives, etc? The local community's perception?

I've been to the website and looked on the web as well, but there is not too much about it because its such a new school.

Thanks!

[Rggr]

I don't have a lot of information, but I know they put a lot of thought and work into making it a good program. My understanding based on what I've heard is that it's a good school.

[PalmettoGuy]

I looked into CSOL when I applied to law school in '04, the school's inaugural year. They seem to have been able to recruit qualified faculty, and they have a solid foundation in place with regard to student clubs, pro bono opportunities, moot court, etc. Their moot court program appears to be excellent; they already have won in national tournaments and have started a national competition of their own. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts spoke at the school a year or two ago.

I'm no longer in the Charleston area, so I can't speak to their local reputation, but I have noticed that some Charleston firms conduct on-campus recruiting at CSOL. My guess is that they do have strong ties with the local bar, and its graduates should be competitive in that market.

CSOL's initial bar passage rate was near 70%, which is not stellar but not unusual for a new school. There was some controversy regarding the SC bar exam last year, and one conspiracy theory was that the SC Supreme Court threw out some essay questions so more CSOL takers could pass. I don't buy it. Even with the mediocre bar passage rate, I don't know how much of that can fairly be attributed to the quality of education there, as opposed to "growing pains" for a start-up school.

Bottom line: CSOL is a decent law school, though not yet on the same level as USC in Columbia. Given its great location, it's worth checking out, especially if you plan to stay in Charleston.

[CSOLGRAD07]

I am a CSOL graduate having been part of the first class. I feel good about the education I received. Passed the bar on the first try and felt the school did a good job preparing me. The bar pass rate for my class was 70% but that was counting out part-time students who rushed to graduate with the first class. If you break out the full and part time students, the full time pass rate was 80% and the part-time rate was 40-45%.
The tuition is high but it is a great location and a good school. You will get out of it what you put into it. I do think the faculty is good and the reputation with the local bar is good.