Message From the Dean

I have known since I was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley that the University of Illinois College of Law is one of the best-regarded law schools in America.

Yet only after the start of my deanship here did I fully grasp why we enjoy such a strong reputation. We have a first-rate faculty that is both interdisciplinary and distinctively engaged in law and professional training, a large and extremely accomplished alumni base that can be tapped to help support the school in a variety of ways, a talented and collegial student body, and a world-class university setting with special access to a major metropolitan market.

Legal education is at a pivotal moment right now, and Illinois Law is evolving and innovating to address the needs and changes brought on by the shifting landscape. We are focused tightly on increasing the value that the College provides, to our students and to society.

We are working on making law school more affordable and accessible. Our efforts involve new scholarship opportunities at the front end of law school, and better support for job placement at the back end. We continue to build on our traditional strength in law firms and other private organizations, even as we increase post-graduate fellowships in and connections with government and non-profit organizations, for students who pursue careers in public service.

We are increasing engagement between the academy, the legal and business professions, and the public through large-scale intellectually enriching events (such as our Lincoln Lecture series) that bring national thought leaders across many areas of expertise into the College for the benefit of the entire campus community.

Most importantly, we are educating and preparing our students for the practice of law in an ever-changing legal profession through rigorous classroom instruction and in-depth practical experiences. Our efforts are reflected in the very high bar passage rates and in the very high job outcome numbers in recent years (which can be accessed here) that place us among the very top schools in the country in career outcome success.

I invite you to learn more about what the University of Illinois College of Law has to offer on the pages of this website. And please, don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly (amar@illinois.edu) or schedule a visit to our beautiful campus.

Many thanks for taking the time to look at us.

Vikram D. Amar
Dean and Iwan Foundation Professor of Law