The Back to School 2023 issue of preLaw magazine features an article discussing High Point University School of Law, along with two other new U.S. law schools, Jacksonville University College of Law and Wilmington University School of Law. As the article highlights, these three schools are the first new U.S. law schools in more than eight years. Jacksonville enrolled its inaugural class last fall; Wilmington did so this fall, and HPU Law will enroll its first class in fall 2024.
The article underscores how HPU Law “aims to redefine legal education by embracing innovation, fostering professionalism and civility and instilling a sense of purpose and service in its students.” The article features comments by Founding Dean and Professor of Law Mark Martin which emphasize this mission. As Dean Martin observes, “Our students will learn about the importance of having empathy as lawyers and of being good listeners so that they can exemplify how best to have difficult conversions and foster civility in our profession and our larger society.” Referencing the observations of Alexis de Tocqueville from the nineteenth century about the importance of lawyers in American society,
Dean Martin adds, “I believe that lawyers today can have a similar impact. They can be architects for the future to help create a better nation and world. . . . We need lawyers who can unify, help others think independently of politics, and learn to think generationally.”
The article also discusses HPU Law’s plans to gather a distinguished faculty of preeminent judges and lawyers, its ample mentoring opportunities for students, its experiential learning initiatives through its Community Law Clinic and pro bono projects, and its state-of-the-art building to be completed by summer 2025. PreLaw magazine is available digitally and is also distributed in print to colleges, universities, and law schools throughout the country.