Cumberland School of Law
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Administration
John L. Carroll, Dean, Ethel P. Malugen Professor
Henry C. Strickland, Associate Dean, Professor
James N. Lewis, Jr., Vice Dean
LaVone R. Warren, Assistant Dean, Assistant Professor
Jennifer Y. Sims, Assistant Dean of Admissions
Cassandra Adams, Director, Cumberland Community Mediation Center
Patricia C. Harris, Director of Law Student Records
Gregory K. Laughlin, Director of Lucille Beeson Law Library, Associate Professor
Mary T. Miller, Director of Alumni Relations
Patricia G. Muse, Director of Continuing Legal Education
Pamela J. Nelson, Director of Student Services
Jeffrey B. Price, Director of Career Services
Jeffrey M. Whitcomb, Technology Services Manager
History
Cumberland School of Law, founded in 1847 as part of Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, was acquired by Howard College, now Samford University, in 1961. The Law School is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
The Cumberland School of Law offers two degree programs. The core program is a 90-credit course of study leading to a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. In addition to the J.D. program, the Law School offers a Master of Comparative Law (M.C.L.). To apply to the J.D. program, an undergraduate degree and a satisfactory Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) score are required. Admission is competitive.
The Law School sponsors seven joint-degree programs in connection with the J.D. degree: Law/Accounting (J.D./M.Acc.), Law/Business Administration (J.D./M.B.A.), Law/Divinity (J.D./M.Div.), Law/Environmental Management (J.D./M.S.E.M.), Law/Public Administration (J.D./M.P.A.), Law/Public Health (J.D./M.P.H.), and Law/Theological Studies (J.D./M.T.S.).
Cumberland School of Law offers a program that prepares students for satisfying and rewarding careers in the law. Most Cumberland graduates become practicing attorneys, but many choose public service, business, or other careers for which the study of law provides a good foundation. Many Cumberland graduates settle in the Southeast, but the school has alumni living and working in more than 46 states and a number of foreign countries.
The environment is both challenging and nurturing. Cumberland offers everything required for a first-rate legal education. The faculty are drawn from two dozen of the country’s best law schools. They bring to the classroom a rich mix of academic achievement, experience in the practice of law, and public service. They are committed to excellence in the classroom. They also produce an impressive amount of scholarship, ranging from the practical to the theoretical. The size of the school and a low student/faculty ratio facilitate meaningful interaction between the students and the faculty.
The beautiful Samford campus provides an environment most conducive to the study of law. In particular, the School of Law benefits from its state-of-the-art research facility, the Lucille Stewart Beeson Law Library.
The school enjoys a cordial relationship with the outstanding bench and bar in Birmingham and throughout the Southeast. Each year, Cumberland hosts a number of events, bringing to campus some of the country’s leading lawyers, judges, and legal academics to share their experiences and ideas with students and faculty. The school supports numerous activities, journals, moot courts, trial competitions, and student organizations focused on particular areas of the law or public policy, which enrich the quality of life at the school and help equip students for the professional lives awaiting them on graduation.