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Charlotte School of Law


UptownGrrl

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Seems someone jumped the gun on Queens, UNCC and even Elon. Anyone know anything about this group: InfiLaw Consortium of Law Schools? It also operates a law school in Florida and one in Arizona and is run by Sterling Capital Partners, an equity fund. Given this corporate ownership, it seems more like a business venture (much like the for-profit computer training schools that opened a decade ago) than an educational institution. No location yet, but the school is set to open next fall.

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte...14/daily53.html

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I've been hearing that the want an Uptown location.....they will be recognized by the ABA, and have been given approval by the UNC board of regents......so basically they are legit. The only question remains is what kind of jobs it's graduates can get.

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  • 3 months later...

N.C. Central School of Law is also in talks to bring a law school in Charlotte.

for the most part I'd asusme most of the students we'll be people who already have a job and are looking for a law degree to enhance their career. I've been worrying about more competition, but the majority of people I've spoken with are not that concerned.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have heard of this law school in FL. It is for profit, but is certainly offering a lot of incentives to prospective students to actually enroll. Regardless of who does it, Charlotte needs a law school. I believe that this is the largest city in the U.S. without one.

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I think that's true......and since that's the case too, they really need one! Also what charlotte needs is a medical school. There are currently 2 state medical schools (UNC and ECU) and 2 private (WFU, and DUKE). The latest med school to be started was the ECU in the early 70's due to the fact that they thought that the eastern part of the state was the most in need of a medical center. What confuses me is that all of those other med schools are located predominatly in the eastern part of the state. There is nothing in the charlotte area and western part of the state where medical attention is desperately needed. I actually think that this is a new thread topic to start!

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I am not sure why the school in being a "for profit" school is so undesirable as being implied here. Isn't Johnson & Wales for profit also? I personally don't see the distrinction between training of a lawyer versus a fry cook as long as the school is accredited and meets state requirements.

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  • 4 months later...

^ A little respect would be nice, metro. J&W is primarily a business school that happens to have a culinary concentration.

Hi everyone!

I know this is an old thread, but I thought you might like more info on the Charlotte School of Law. I am its first "official" full-time student, and am looking forward to attending in August 2006.

There are a lot of misconceptions going around concerning the school and I thought you might like to hear from someone directly involved. Feel free to post or email me directly if you have any questions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Joan :yahoo:

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Do they have a permanent facility yet? Will classes be uptown?

About 2 weeks ago, I was given a survey as to my location preference for the school. I told them I preferred an uptown location, because of the other schools that are located uptown (including Queen's plan to put their law school in the old Federal Courthouse once the new one is built). The deadline for the survey was 11/13, so I think it was just to help tip the scales on the 3 locations they were considering.

I spoke with someone from the school on Wednesday, and they told me that they were very close to making some big announcements, such as the location and the dean. I have been told on several occasions that they were waiting to hire their dean before making any big announcements, because they wanted the dean him/herself to announce the location and do the official rollout. They indicated that it would be in the next week or two that there would be a lot of info released.

If I were a gambling woman, though, (and I am) I would bet on an uptown location. Art Gallagher, president of Johnson & Wales, is on the Board of Trustees http://www.charlottelaw.org/cslBios.htm and I would be surprised if he didn't encourage an uptown location.

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Hi everyone!

I know this is an old thread, but I thought you might like more info on the Charlotte School of Law. I am its first "official" full-time student, and am looking forward to attending in August 2006.

There are a lot of misconceptions going around concerning the school and I thought you might like to hear from someone directly involved. Feel free to post or email me directly if you have any questions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Joan :yahoo:

Maybe you could systematically describe what these misconceptions are and then tell us why they are inappropriate. I'm guessing they're associated with the fact that it is a for-profit institution?

E7

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Maybe you could systematically describe what these misconceptions are and then tell us why they are inappropriate. I'm guessing they're associated with the fact that it is a for-profit institution?

E7

I'll try, E7. For starters, you are 100% right about the "for profit" stigma. I'll admit that it's something that is not very traditional and sounds like it's a bad thing, but it's not. The truth is, all law schools are "for profit" if you think about it. Law schools have very little overhead and charge a lot of $$$ (I know!), so they are very profitable and a lot of traditional non-profit schools count on their law school profits to keep the rest of the school afloat.

Anyway, yes, there is a corporation and investors who will benefit from the profits of the school. I won't deny that, but that doesn't mean the school will be inferior. In fact, they have a bigger budget to give their students better resources and learning facilities.

I have heard the argument that because it's "for profit," CSL will be more inclined to take on more students to increase profitability, which would compromise quality. I have been following the success of Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, FL (which is their sister school), and don't see that happening there, so I don't expect it to happen in the Phoenix or Charlotte law schools. FCSL is kicking butt in their bar passage rates http://www.charlottelaw.org/FullStory/2005...LBarPassage.asp, and recently their students came in first in a moot court competition http://www.charlottelaw.org/FullStory/2005...Competition.asp. They have fewer students at FCSL than many non-profits, so I don't really understand where that argument comes from. I think Infilaw's goal is to put the schools in places where there is a need, rather than oversaturate.

Another misconception is that the Phoenix International School of Law is a fake school. That is because a lot of people confuse it with those annoying University of Phoenix pop-up ads. There is no connection whatsoever. These are real, legitimate law schools that will all be ABA accredited as soon as they are eligible (which is after one full year of operation). FCSL is already fully accredited.

Although I am excited about the school and have a personal stake in its success, I'm no fool. I am not expecting CSL to be a Tier 1 law school and know it will be a while before it develops a great reputation. What I do expect is that it will be an excellent, hands-on law school that will give me the skills I need to practice law. On a personal note, I tried to get into the big schools, and was waitlisted because there were not enough seats to accommodate the demand. The schools that accepted me (there were 9) were either too far or too expensive to afford tuition and living expenses away from my home in Charlotte. They are also offering a part-time program (NCCU is the only other law school in NC that does this) so people can work while pursuing their law degree. Needless to say, this is a great opportunity for me and others like me to pursue our dream.

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I'll try, E7. For starters, you are 100% right about the "for profit" stigma. I'll admit that it's something that is not very traditional and sounds like it's a bad thing, but it's not. The truth is, all law schools are "for profit" if you think about it. Law schools have very little overhead and charge a lot of $$$ (I know!), so they are very profitable and a lot of traditional non-profit schools count on their law school profits to keep the rest of the school afloat.

Anyway, yes, there is a corporation and investors who will benefit from the profits of the school. I won't deny that, but that doesn't mean the school will be inferior. In fact, they have a bigger budget to give their students better resources and learning facilities.

I have heard the argument that because it's "for profit," CSL will be more inclined to take on more students to increase profitability, which would compromise quality. I have been following the success of Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, FL (which is their sister school), and don't see that happening there, so I don't expect it to happen in the Phoenix or Charlotte law schools. FCSL is kicking butt in their bar passage rates http://www.charlottelaw.org/FullStory/2005...LBarPassage.asp, and recently their students came in first in a moot court competition http://www.charlottelaw.org/FullStory/2005...Competition.asp. They have fewer students at FCSL than many non-profits, so I don't really understand where that argument comes from. I think Infilaw's goal is to put the schools in places where there is a need, rather than oversaturate.

Another misconception is that the Phoenix International School of Law is a fake school. That is because a lot of people confuse it with those annoying University of Phoenix pop-up ads. There is no connection whatsoever. These are real, legitimate law schools that will all be ABA accredited as soon as they are eligible (which is after one full year of operation). FCSL is already fully accredited.

Although I am excited about the school and have a personal stake in its success, I'm no fool. I am not expecting CSL to be a Tier 1 law school and know it will be a while before it develops a great reputation. What I do expect is that it will be an excellent, hands-on law school that will give me the skills I need to practice law. On a personal note, I tried to get into the big schools, and was waitlisted because there were not enough seats to accommodate the demand. The schools that accepted me (there were 9) were either too far or too expensive to afford tuition and living expenses away from my home in Charlotte. They are also offering a part-time program (NCCU is the only other law school in NC that does this) so people can work while pursuing their law degree. Needless to say, this is a great opportunity for me and others like me to pursue our dream.

It seems to me you're well on your way to being able to express yourself rationally in writing, regardless of which school you're to attend. This is pretty much what I do on a daily basis as a lawyer, albeit with a technical bent. We are a prestige obsessed business, though, so be prepared for some tough questions at interview time. I wish you, and the law school, good luck for Charlotte's sake.

E7

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It seems to me you're well on your way to being able to express yourself rationally in writing, regardless of which school you're to attend. This is pretty much what I do on a daily basis as a lawyer, albeit with a technical bent. We are a prestige obsessed business, though, so be prepared for some tough questions at interview time. I wish you, and the law school, good luck for Charlotte's sake.

E7

Thank you for your kind words, E7.

When it is interview time, I am hoping that my 10 years' experience as a paralegal (doing associate work, no less) combined with my semi-fluency in Spanish (it was my minor - English was my major) will help a little. I have been working at a large uptown firm for the past 8 years, and have made many great connections as well. On the down side, I am a "non-traditional" student (40something), and most firms like the younger candidates, so I have many obstacles to overcome, but I'm not discouraged. I know that when the time comes, the right situation will present itself.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thank you for your kind words, E7.

When it is interview time, I am hoping that my 10 years' experience as a paralegal (doing associate work, no less) combined with my semi-fluency in Spanish (it was my minor - English was my major) will help a little. I have been working at a large uptown firm for the past 8 years, and have made many great connections as well. On the down side, I am a "non-traditional" student (40something), and most firms like the younger candidates, so I have many obstacles to overcome, but I'm not discouraged. I know that when the time comes, the right situation will present itself.

Joan, seems like you're the first student. I'm guessing from the CBJ article.

As a side note, good plug for Uptown as the location of the school.

Anyone want to speculate where they would go? I hope they build new construction in 1st Ward and fill some parking lot. Preferably, a really short building right across from Courtside.

:whistling:

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Joan, seems like you're the first student. I'm guessing from the CBJ article.

As a side note, good plug for Uptown as the location of the school.

Anyone want to speculate where they would go? I hope they build new construction in 1st Ward and fill some parking lot. Preferably, a really short building right across from Courtside.

:whistling:

Yup, that's me in the article. I agree that if they do decide to go uptown, it will probably be on the outer edges of uptown. I was thinking a good place would be Trade St. by J&W. There is already office space and student housing, and most important--a Starbucks across the street! But 1st Ward is a good thought, too.

I was a little outspoken about the uptown thing. My quote came off a little fanatical, even for me. I didn't mean to be that assertive, but I'm originally from NJ, plus I come from a very vocal Italian family and when I am passionate about something, it is tough to suppress. I think next time I'm interviewed, I will rehearse alternate ways to say the same thing. Oh well, live and learn.

By the way, I have no inside info. They are really keeping the location secret! I am going to a students' meeting on Wednesday. Maybe they're going to make the location and/or dean public. The suspense is killing me!!!!! :yahoo:

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:) Ha! Do you pray every night for a short building on that block? I was thinking about you the other day when I drove by that block.

For some reason, I think they'd do space in an existing building if they go downtown.

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte...5/tidbits1.html

It would be nice, but I'm not really deathly afraid of a new building there. I'm skeptical that one will be put up before I move out and even if one is, it is an indicator that First Ward is still booming. Further, I've got a corner unit so I'll have some kind of a view up and down the street and at angles along through to N. Tryon.

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