Cumberland School of Law welcomed 149 new law students to campus for first-year orientation this week, Monday, Aug. 15 – Wednesday, Aug. 17.  The week included informational sessions conducted by the Office of Admission, as well as workshops conducted by professors who teach the first-year Lawyering and Legal Reasoning (LLR) course. 

Students in the Class of 2019 hail from 15 states and are graduates of 65 colleges and universities.  Their median LSAT score is 152, and their median GPA score is 3.31 (both median scores increased from last year.)  The median age is 24, with the youngest student aged 20 and oldest aged 49.  The group is 50.5% female and 49.5% male, and the minority percentage is 20%.  The group includes two Samford 3+3 students, 13 married students, seven military students, and eight legacy students.

“We are thrilled to have such a diverse and accomplished group of students this year, and we’re proud they have chosen Cumberland for the start of their legal careers,” said Jen Hartzog, Cumberland’s Director of Admission.  “We’ve been very impressed thus far with their attitudes and eagerness, and we are excited to see what they achieve during their time here and beyond.”

Cumberland School of Law also welcomed three visiting students from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom and one visiting student from NALSAR University in India.

On Wednesday, the first-year class, faculty and staff embarked on group service projects throughout the Birmingham area for Cumberland School of Law’s annual First-Year Service Day and provided over 560 volunteer hours in one afternoon to community service projects.  Service sites included The Ronald McDonald House, The Salvation Army, Sozo Trading Thrift Store, Grace House Ministries, Ecoscapes, Glenwood, Inc., The WellHouse and Birmingham Botanical Gardens.  The First-Year Service Day provides an opportunity for new students to bond, get familiar with the Birmingham area and experience Cumberland’s commitment to service first-hand.