Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University

The Thomas R. Kline School of Law is the law school of Duquesne University, a private Catholic university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is approved by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Dean April M. Barton joined the school in 2019 as its 13th dean.

The School of Law was founded in 1911, and is the only multiple-division law school in western Pennsylvania. Located on the 47 acre Duquesne University campus, the law school is walking distance to Pittsburgh's downtown legal, corporate, and government communities. The School of Law has over 8,500 alumni globally.

According to Duquesne's 2024 ABA-required disclosures, admission acceptance rate is 56.3% while 73.6% of the Class of 2022 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment ten months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners. Duquesne's 2023 ABA-required disclosures indicate an 83.33% bar passage rate across all jurisdictions where law school graduates took the bar exam for the first time.

In 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University one of the top 100 law schools in the nation. The legal writing program is ranked No. 57 in the nation and the part-time evening J.D. program is ranked No. 39 in the nation. In the National Jurist's Winter 2024 preLaw publication, Duquesne was ranked 6th in the nation for First-time Bar Passage rate and 18th for the Ultimate Bar Passsage rate. Additionally, the National Jurist recognized the Kline School of Law at Duquesne as one of the Top Law Schools in Public Policy, awarding Duquesne an A- and noting it as one of the top 25 schools in this area of study. Students at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University gave high ratings to their professors for both quality of teaching and accessibility, earning the school an average of 95.5 in the 2023 Princeton Review Law School Rankings for Professors Teaching and Accessibility.

History
In 1911, the Law School became the first professional school added to Duquesne University. The Law School was first located on 4th Ave in downtown Pittsburgh at the George Building, and is now located on the main university campus less than a mile from the Allegheny County Courthouse and the center of the Pittsburgh legal community. Classes began on September 25, 1911, and consisted of 12 students. The Law School was founded as an evening program, designed to allow individuals with family and work obligations the opportunity to study law. Over the years, Duquesne Law School expanded its programs to include a full-time day and part-time program. However, after almost 100 years, the evening program still remains as the only program of its kind in Western Pennsylvania. Graduates from Duquesne University School of Law comprise over a third of the Allegheny County Bar Association (Pittsburgh). The traditions and goals of the Law School are characterized by the school's motto, salus populi suprema lex, "The Welfare of the People is the Highest Law."

On September 7, 2022, it was announced that the law school has been renamed after litigator and former alumnus Thomas R. Kline, following a $50 million donation. The donation is the largest in the history of the university.

Academics
The school offers several degree programs. The Juris Doctor, the primary degree required to practice law in the United States, can be obtained through either the daytime, evening, or part-time division. An LLM, or Master of Laws, is offered through the School of Law for foreign attorneys who have already received a law degree in their native country but wish to become acquainted with the United States legal system.

In addition, Duquesne offers several joint degree programs through other graduate divisions within the university, and other institutions in the Pittsburgh area. Joint degrees currently offered in conjunction with a J.D. include, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Environmental Science & Management, and Master of Divinity (with Pittsburgh Theological Seminary).

Alumni
There are over 8,500 alumni of the school practicing in all 50 states and several foreign countries. Almost 30 percent of the practicing lawyers in western Pennsylvania are graduates of the law school. A large number of graduates (160) from Duquesne Law are judges on the local, state, and federal levels, including the highest courts and appellate courts in over 20 states. Of all the law schools in Pennsylvania, Duquesne has produced the most judges seated in the Superior Court, Commonwealth Court, and Court of Common Pleas.

Clinics and programs
The Tribone Center for Clinical Legal Education of Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University offers several clinical programs which allow students to learn practical lawyering skills while still in law school. Duquesne Kline currently operates seven clinical programs, four yearlong externship programs, as well as several one-semester and summer externships.

Clinics

 * Family Law Clinic - Students are trained in case intake and interviewing, client counseling, fact investigation, case analysis, negotiation, research, drafting of memos and other pleadings and documents.
 * Federal Litigation Clinic - Designed for students interested in constitutional law, criminal law, and federal civil and appellate procedure, students work in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on actual cases.
 * Re-Entry Legal Services Clinic - With a focus on legal assistance with gubernatorial pardons for income-qualified clients, students engage in seminars and hands-on training as they assist clients in their navigation of a complex system with completion of clemency applications and filings with the PA Board of Pardons. Students also prepare selected clients for public pardon hearings.
 * Urban Development Practicum - Services provided by students include general real estate matters, title searches, negotiation and drafting of development agreements, preparation of land use cases, appellate land use practice, and attending and participating in public meetings and hearings.
 * Veterans Clinic - Students accepted to this clinic are certified by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to appear in court in order to provide assistance to veterans in the Veterans Court of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Training law students in a holistic approach through a simulation that helps students better understand the challenges of individuals with psychiatric disabilities, students prepare and present cases for disposition and remain in contact with clients to ensure they follow court-ordered treatment plans as alternatives to incarceration.
 * Wills and Healthcare Decisions Clinic - Students work with low-income clients and gain experience through training in client intake, case preparations, drafting wills and Advance Healthcare Directives.
 * Youth Advocacy Clinic - Second and third year law students interested in specializing in juvenile defense and education law receive extensive training prior to representing children in both delinquency and education matters. Student attorneys serve as the advocates for their clients, but the clinical professor is present any time the student is before a judicial or hearing officer.

Yearlong Externships

 * Criminal Prosecution Program - A yearlong externship performed at the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office. A course in criminal law is pursued simultaneously, covering all elements of criminal law.
 * Elder Law Justice Program - Working directly with Neighborhood Legal Services during this yearlong externship, students develop a working knowledge and training in the legal and non-legal challenges encountered by older Pennsylvanians in civil legal matters.
 * Pennsylvania Innocence Project - Yearlong student externs work with this statewide program to exonerate those who have been wrongly convicted for crimes they did not commit. Students assist the project's legal staff and volunteer attorneys, acquiring skills in interviewing, investigation, legal writing, uses of scientific evidence and the rules governing admissibility.
 * Public Defender Program - This yearlong externship educates students in the stages of a criminal case (adult) through exposure to real cases where the students actively engage in the criminal court procedures in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.

=== One-semester/Summer Opportunities === In addition to the above-noted yearlong externships, the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University offers shorter placements for learning opportunities through government externships, judicial externships, non-profit externships, and private-sector externships. Over 350 placements in county, state and federal judicial offices, legal aid offices, and private practice or in-house counsel settings have already been approved. Students can also present a placement for approval.

International programs

 * Ireland Program - A three-week summer study of law  program in conjunction with the Trinity College Faculty of Law in Dublin and the Queen's University Belfast Faculty of Law. This program covers subjects related to the law of the European Union, International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, and Human Rights Law, totaling 5 (semester) hours of ABA-approved credits.
 * European Summer Study of Law Program - A three-week program totaling 5 (semester) hours of ABA-approved credit, the one-week modules include: Public Law of the European Union, European Data Protection Law, Social Aspects of European Law, and European Public Law. In Cologne, classes will meet at the Institute for American Law located on the campus of the University of Cologne.  The program also includes travel to the University of Sorbonne in Paris and to Luxembourg, a UNESCO World Heritage City and capital of the country of Luxembourg. Students attend a German Regional court, lectures at the Sorbonne, and when possible the European Court of Justice in session. In addition, a number of cultural excursions in Germany are included at no extra cost.

Facilities
The Law School is housed Edward J. Hanley Hall and the Dr. John E. Murray, Jr. Pavilion on the Duquesne University campus. The combined structures occupy nearly 125000 sqft. Administrative and faculty offices, classrooms of various sizes, two courtrooms, study areas and a multilevel law library are all under one roof, along with a locker room, café, lounge area and offices for student organizations. Offices and conference areas for the School's in-house clinics are located in nearby Fisher Hall. Law School facilities feature computer and audio/video technology for teaching, research and administrative functions. Law School students can use all of the other amenities on Duquesne's 47 acre campus, including computer laboratories, the university's Gumberg Library, dining services and recreational facilities.

Publications

 * Duquesne Law Review - The primary publication of Duquesne University School of Law, the Law review is a student-edited legal journal. The journal is published twice a year, and receives submissions from top legal scholars throughout the United States.
 * Duquesne Business Law Journal - Produced annually by a student editorial board, the Business Law Journal contains articles that focus on the specific areas of corporate, tax, consumer, labor, bankruptcy and business law. Law students and alumni are encouraged to submit articles for publication.
 * Joule: Duquesne Energy and Environmental Law Journal - Duquesne's first student-edited journal/blog hybrid, Joule serves as a forum for students and outside professionals to discuss legal concepts related to energy and environmental law with the objective to facilitate and encourage contribution of written work that provides insight to the local, state, and national community. Recent posts include articles on fracking, forever chemicals, climate change litigation, and the Dakota access pipeline.
 * Juris Magazine - This student-edited law school magazine is an ABA award-winning publication containing articles of current interest to the entire legal community. Since 1967, Juris has published articles concerning substantive areas of the law as well as matters of local and national interest.

Employment
According to Duquesne's official 2024 ABA-required disclosures, 96.4% of the Class of 2023 (132/137) were either employed or pursuing a graduate degree within nine months after graduation. See other employment statistics here.


 * The bar preparation is ranked No. 6 in the country by National Jurist, the country's leading legal education publication.
 * The 2023 first-time bar passage rate was 83.33%.
 * The Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University was ranked 92 on a scale of 60-99 for Career Rating (confidence of students that their school's program will result in gainful employment) by the 2023 Princeton Review.
 * preLaw Magazine awarded Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University an A− rating for Criminal Law in 2023.

Costs
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Duquesne for the 2023–2024 academic year is $77,818. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $176,676.

The tuition for a master of laws for foreign law students is $32,498.

In Winter 2024, National Jurist recognized Duquesne University School of Law as one of the Top Schools for salary versus debt, with an 89.1% debt-to-income ratio.