OCU Law Viewbook

Oklahoma City University

School of Law

law.okcu.edu

Find your place at OCU Law. Your Future. Your Community.

Your OCU Law Experience.

Oklahoma City University School of Law is a vibrant community for students from a variety of cultural and academic backgrounds. Whether you’re fresh from undergrad or following your law school dreams with some real-life experience under your belt, your success is our top priority.

Your J.D. academic journey at OCU Law is powered by a refreshing blend of practical experience and stimulating coursework, providing unique opportunities to both study and engage in the law. Our supportive academic environment brings together a solid foundation of knowledge and skills, preparing students to become forward-thinking innovators and problem-solvers. Our graduates are prepared to be leaders in law, business, government and civic life from day one.

EXPLORE OCU LAW

Call 405-208-5354 to schedule a tour.

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Come visit us! We’d love to show you around. Located in the heart of downtown, OCU Law is just steps from courthouses, law irms, government agencies, businesses, nonpro its and all the amenities Oklahoma City has to offer. Our law school is steeped in rigorous and pragmatic traditions and operates in strong partnership with the community. We are a capital city law school, a practitioner’s law school, an interdisciplinary law school, and we’re perfectly positioned to help place you in the rooms where it happens.

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A quality legal education goes beyond the classroom and provides hands-on learning opportunities.

Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, President Bill Clinton and Dean David Holt at OCU Law in April 2025

We offer a variety of ways for students to dive right into the action.

TENANT RIGHTS CLINIC The Tenant Rights Clinic provides comprehensive legal assistance for individuals facing all types of landlordtenant disputes. In order to support housing stability and prevent the negative consequences that arise from unresolved landlord-tenant disputes, the clinic advises clients about their procedural and substantive rights, helps navigate conflicts with landlords, and works to protect tenant interests in all housing matters.

HEROES CLINIC The HEROES (Helping to Eliminate Re-entry Obstacles to Enhance Stability) Clinic empowers law students to make a meaningful impact in criminal justice reform. The clinic focuses on critical issues including expungement, fine and fee mitigation, and removing obstacles to employment, housing, and education.

AMERICAN INDIAN WILLS CLINIC The relationship between the U.S. Government and tribes makes estate planning particularly complicated.

Under the supervision of a faculty clinician, students in the Wills Clinic provide wills and estate planning services to American Indians owning trust or restricted property in Oklahoma.

THE COLLABORATIVE: LAW CLINIC FOR BUSINESS AND INNOVATION

OKLAHOMA INNOCENCE PROJECT

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With new cases coming into the Project every week, students receive the unique experience of working with incarcerated clients to prove their innocence.

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IMMIGRATION CLINIC A clinical experience in which students, under the supervision of a faculty clinician, will represent clients in conjunction with nearby Latitude Legal Alliance in Oklahoma City. Cases may include representation of immigrants in administrative proceedings to secure family reunification, to obtain asylum protection for noncitizens fleeing persecution, and to secure rights for immigrant survivors of domestic violence or felony crimes.

NORICK MUNICIPAL LAW RESEARCH CLINIC

In partnership with the City of Oklahoma City’s Municipal Counselor’s Office, the clinic pairs students with attorney mentors to research municipal law issues including criminal justice, civil litigation, labor and employment, land use and economic development, trusts, utilities, elections and finance.

OCU Law is the only law school in America’s 20th-largest city, and our beautiful building is right in the heart of this capital city. Our location gives us proximity to every imaginable professional and cultural opportunity.

Our centers of excellence in areas like Indian law, criminal law, public service and entrepreneurship, among others, provide unique opportunities for our students. When our students graduate, they are prepared to practice and they are ready to be hired.

Dean David Holt

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Students have the opportunity to advise entrepreneurs and innovators who are located in the under-served Oklahoma City community through The Collaborative, which offers legal assistance including entity formation, contract drafting, intellectual property protection and other services for business startups.

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OCU Law is among the top 20 most diverse law schools, a top 10 law school for non-traditional students, and a top five law school for Native American students.

Our innovative curriculum, opportunities to gain hands-on experience and top-notch employment services were all designed with your success in mind.

We are more than a law school; we are a community. YOUR community. It’s different here.

Experience it for yourself.

You will not find a better location for a law school campus anywhere. Our positioning in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City puts our students within walking distance to just about anything. All three branches of government are right in our back yard. This is a place where you can learn, live, work and play.

CAMPUS LIFE

8TH & HARVEY Our law school resides inside the historic Central High School building, now renovated with the latest technology and designed to provide students with a top-notch library, convenient meeting place, regal courtroom or a quiet place to study. Classically designed by famous architect Solomon Andrew Layton in 1910, our five-story structure occupies an entire city block and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

We're the first law school in Oklahoma, founded in 1907. Our law school has a robust, bold spirit that always strives for excellence.

DIVERSITY, INCLUSIVITY AND BELONGING

Oklahoma City University School of Law is inviting and inclusive to individuals from all walks of life. We understand that a community - both inside and outside the law school - is strengthened by the unique insights, experiences, cultures and backgrounds of each person. By embracing the individual, we create a welcoming environment for all students.

Top Reasons to Choose OCU Law environment

• Personalized attention from renowned faculty

• Certificate programs in a wide variety of subjects

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• Vibrant downtown location in proximity to experiential learning and career opportunities

• Access to thousands of print and digital study aids

• Connect with a vast global alumni network

• Full access to BARBRI bar prep program

• 95% employment rate for the class of 2024

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• Supportive, welcoming

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L A R G E S T C IT Y I N T H E

U. S . A N D 6T H FAS T E S T

GROWING TOP 20 CITIES [U . S . C E N S U S B U R E AU]

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miles O F M U LTI - U S E T R A I L S

O F F I CI A L HOST SIT E F O R T HE

2028 Olympic Games

F E S TI VA L S E AC H Y E A R

including Festival of the Arts,

deadCenter Film Festival, Paseo Arts Festival, Red Earth Festival, Fiestas de las Americas,

Juneteenth festivals and more

#3 R A N K E D TH E B E S T

S P OT I N A M E R I CA FO R L AU N C H I N G A S M A L L BUSINESS

#1

City for Affordable Rent [2 0 2 3 R E A LTO R .C O M]

H O M E O F TH E O K L A H O M A C IT Y TH U N D E R

A N D TH E WO M E N ’ S CO L L E G E WO R L D S E R I E S

Best top 50 cities to live for families [FO RT U N E]

300 days of Sunshine Per Year

Eat, drink, live and play in one of 15+ diverse and thriving districts, each with a distinct feel and personality - from Bricktown, Midtown, the Plaza District, West Village and Uptown 23rd to the Paseo Arts District, Asian District and NW 39th Street’s LGBTQIA+ District

Myriad Botanical Gardens and Scissortail Park H O M E TO FA R M E R S M A R K E T S ,

C U LT U R A L E V E N T S A N D O U TD O O R FU N

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20th

M AJ O R A R T S A N D F I L M

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Our students are service-minded and are known in the community to give of themselves.

From fighting for the wrongfully convicted to helping those experiencing homelessness, law students can find any number of ways to put their hearts and souls into making this city and the world a better place. Our students log thousands of pro bono service hours each year and are committed to service.

INASMUCH CENTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE The Inasmuch Center for Public Service highlights OCU Law’s historic emphasis on educating lawyers who ultimately serve the public in government and nonprofit positions. The Center is primarily focused on placing students in experiential public service opportunities and creating public service programming at the law school.

OCU TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY INSTITUTE

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The Tribal Sovereignty Institute is an academic law and policy center focusing exclusively on legal issues affecting tribal governments and communities. Students have the opportunity to practice wills and estate planning through the American Indian Wills Clinic, which serves Native and Indigenous people owning trust or restricted property in Oklahoma. OCU Law serves as the host of Sovereignty Symposium, a forum created to provide a scholarly setting for the consideration of legal and policy issues facing tribal communities, as well as a platform for the celebration of tribal sovereignty in all its forms - legal, artistic, cultural and economic.

OCU Law student welcoming client to the American Indian Wills Clinic

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OUR PROGRAMS

Here you can concentrate on your J.D. or participate in a variety of joint J.D. programs.

• J.D. • J.D./MPA • J.D./MBA • J.D./M.A. in Nonprofit Organizations and Leadership EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

We offer robust opportunities for students to work on real-world cases. Explore the possibilities.

• American Indian Wills Clinic • Norick Municipal Law Research Clinic • Oklahoma Innocence Project Clinic • The Collaborative: Law Clinic for Business and Innovation • Tenant Rights Clinic

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• HEROES Clinic

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• Immigration Clinic

SKILLS INTEGRATION

Skills integration courses are mixed with traditional doctrinal teaching for a learning experience that is unique to Oklahoma City University School of Law. • First year Civil Procedure classes are co-taught by full-time faculty and practicing lawyers Skills Courses include: • Alternative Dispute Resolution in Family Law • Appellate Advocacy–Municipal Law Simulation • Arbitration Advocacy • Child Abuse and Neglect I: Defining the Problem (this course qualifies as an externship) • Child Abuse and Neglect II: Interventions for the Problem (this course qualifies as an externship)

COMPETITIONS

Our law school regularly supports the participation of one or more student teams in various skills competitions including: • A merican Bar Association Arbitration • A merican Bar Association Client Counseling • A merican Bar Association Mediation • A merican Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy • A merican Bar Association Negotiation • A merican College of Trial Lawyers National Trial • N BLSA Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial • National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court • Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court REQUIRED COURSES

• Contract Drafting

J.D. students must complete 90 credit hours, which include the following required courses:

• Forensic Evidence in the Courtroom

• Civil Practice and Procedure I and II

• Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation Advocacy

• Constitutional Law I and II

• Mediation Advocacy • Pretrial Litigation • Street Law • Trial Practice Dual degree program has separate requirements, which can be found along with course descriptions at law.okcu.edu

• Contracts I and II • Corporations

SUMMER START

You don’t have to wait!

Our Summer Start Program enables students to begin their legal education in late May, rather than waiting for the fall semester after admission. Students get a head start on their legal studies and begin making professional connections that will assist with their development as lawyers.

For more information about the Summer Start Program, email lawadmit@okcu.edu or call (405) 208-5354.

FUNDING YOUR LEGAL EDUCATION

Your legal education is a significant investment in your future and we’re here to help.

Financial Aid

After submitting your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you will receive a Financial Aid Award Notification via Oklahoma City University student email. If you have questions about financial aid, please contact finaid@okcu.edu or call 405-208-5211.

• Criminal Law

Scholarships

• Evidence

Each year, OCU Law awards more than $1 million in scholarships to admitted students. All applicants are automatically considered for merit scholarships. No separate application is required. Learn more at law.okcu.edu/admissions/scholarships.

• Legal Analysis • Legal Profession • Legal Research and Writing I and II • Legislation and Regulation • Property • Torts

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Our degree programs equip the next generation of lawyers with solid, doctrinal teaching coupled with real-world experience.

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STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

Be Who You Are. Diverse. Bright. Motivated. Oklahoma City University School of Law supports who you are when you arrive on campus, while helping you discover exactly who you want to be.

• Agricultural and Environmental Law Association

• Immigration Legal Society

• Alternative Dispute Resolution Group

• Intellectual Property Law Society

• American Bar Association, Law Student Division

• International Law Society

• American Constitution Society

• John E. Green Black Law Students Association

• Asian Pacific American Law Students Association

• Murrah Student Association

• Catholic Law Student Association

• Native American Law Students Association

• Christian Legal Society

• Organization for the Advancement of Women in the Law

• Corporate Law Association

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• Criminal Law Association

• OUTLaws

• Energy Law Association

• Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity

• Family Law Association

• Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society

• Federal Bar Association, OCU Chapter

• Poverty Law Group

• Federalist Society, OCU Chapter

• Second Amendment Society

• Fighting for Innocence Through Exoneration

• Sports, Property & Entertainment Law Association

• First Generation Law Students Association

• Stroup Society for Reform

• Health Law Association

• Student Bar Association Executive Board

• Hispanic Law Student Association

• Texas Legal Society

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Where better to connect with fellow students and gain well-rounded experiences than one of OCU Law’s student organizations. Students increase their knowledge in specific areas of law, gain leadership experience and work closely with fellow students, faculty, alumni and other legal professionals with similar passions.

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EMPLOYMENT RATE

Preparing you to launch your career in the practice of law begins the moment you set foot on campus. From your 1L Career Workshop and resume review to our career exploration programs and on-campus recruiting events, the Career Services Office is available to support you in your professional development from day one.

SKILLS INTEGRATION

Our skills integration courses are mixed with traditional doctrinal teaching for an educational experience that uniquely blends theory with real-world experience.

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

We offer more than 100 externship placement sites in the areas of government practice, litigation practice, judicial clerkships and Native American law. And we are adding more every day.

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We prepare you to practice law.

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We offer an innovative curriculum, opportunities to gain hands-on experience and top-notch employment services all with you in mind.

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CONQUER THE BAR

Most students seek a career as an attorney, and passing the bar is a necessary step to achieve that goal. At OCU Law, bar preparation begins the first day of law school.

The J.D. program will incorporate Academic Fellows, Skills Workshops and for-credit classes beginning your first semester to ensure students graduate with the necessary skills to succeed on the bar exam.

The 3L year includes a dedicated bar preparation program, Conquer the Bar. This robust preparatory program will help students pass the bar in any state and includes: • A year-long sequence of for-credit courses • Essay writing preparation • Multiple-choice testing strategies • Lectures on Bar subjects • Practice tests

Conquer the Bar doesn’t end at graduation.

We partner with the leading bar review company, BARBRI, to provide each student a supplemental bar review course after graduation. From mid-May until the end of July, graduates work diligently with BARBRI and our program to memorize legal principles and practice exam questions. Graduates who fully participate in this rigorous program do indeed Conquer the Bar! STUDENT SUCCESS

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Every student has different needs and we want to ensure that you have the tools to be successful. In partnership with Student Services, each student will create an individualized Student Success Plan, a collaborative holistic effort tailored to help you meet your academic, professional and personal needs and interests.

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OCU Law is the only law school in the city limits of America’s 20th-largest city and the only law school in our state’s capital city. Our beautiful historic home in downtown Oklahoma City places us at the heart of a dynamic city, walking distance from unique professional and cultural opportunities.

Though the city is our clinic and we have nearly 100 established externship relationships, we also offer a growing number of experiential opportunities and centers of excellence inside the building. These include: • • • • • • • • •

Oklahoma Innocence Project American Indian Wills Clinic OCU Tribal Sovereignty Institute The Collaborative: Law Clinic for Business & Innovation Tenant Rights Clinic Norick Municipal Law Research Clinic Immigration Clinic Inasmuch Center for Public Service HEROES Clinic

Our students are taught by 24 full-time professors and dozens of adjunct faculty that includes many sitting judges and other accomplished practicing lawyers. Princeton Review recently named us a top 50 law school for teaching.

Our approximately 430 students are among the most diverse in the country, and PreLaw Magazine recently named OCU Law one of the top 20 schools in the nation for diversity.

PreLaw also ranked OCU Law the #4 best law school for Native American students. One out of every ten students is a tribal member. OCU Law and OCU are hosts of the Sovereignty Symposium.

The ABA judges a law school’s Bar passage rate by the percentage of students who take and pass the test within two years of graduation. This is known as the “ultimate Bar passage rate.” OCU Law’s average since 2015 is 87 percent.

800 North Harvey, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 405.208.6400 | law.okcu.edu