| Donald P. Klekamp College of Law at the University of Cincinnati | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Motto | Juncta Juvant (Latin) "Strength in Unity" |
| Parent school | University of Cincinnati |
| Established | 1833 (1833) |
| School type | Public law school |
| Dean | Haider Ala Hamoudi |
| Location | Cincinnati, Ohio, USA 39.12905°N 84.52010°W |
| Enrollment | 398 (2025) |
| Faculty | 130 |
| USNWR ranking | 82nd (tie) (2026)[1] |
| Website | law |
| ABA profile | Standard 509 Report |
The Donald P. Klekamp College of Law is the law school of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio.
History
The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest continuously operating law school in the United States — after Harvard, Virginia, and Yale — and the first in the nation's interior. In 1900, it was a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools.[2] Then-dean (and future 27th President of the United States) William Howard Taft (1880) merged it with the University of Cincinnati in 1896. Its notable alumni include two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Willis Van Devanter and Taft, who was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after his presidency. Additionally, Jimmy Nippert, the namesake of the university's Nippert Stadium, was a student at UC Law at the time of his death in 1923.[3]
Until August 2022, the College of Law was located at the corner of Clifton Avenue and Calhoun Street in the Heights neighborhood of Cincinnati. Since August 2022, the College of Law has been located in a new building on the corner of Martin Luther King Drive W and Campus Green Dr.[4] The new premises were named the 11th best law school campus in the country by preLaw Magazine.[5]
In 2026, the University of Cincinnati College of Law was renamed the Donald P. Klekamp College of Law at the University of Cincinnati following a $43.2 million gift from the family of alumnus and attorney Donald P. Klekamp.[6]
Academics
Degrees Offered
The Juris Doctor (JD) degree is offered, along with four joint degree programs, including a JD/MBA with the Lindner College of Business, a JD/MA Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies (first in the nation) with UC's Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, a JD/Master of Community Planning with the School of Planning in the prestigious College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, and a JD/MA or JD/PhD with the School of Public and International Affairs.
Cincinnati Law also offers a Master of Laws (LLM) in the US Legal System for international attorneys. Graduate certificates in US Law are also available.
In 2026, U.S. News & World Report, ranked University of Cincinnati College of Law the 82nd best law school out of 197 in the nation.[7]
UC Law is home to several journals including the Human Rights Quarterly, University of Cincinnati Law Review, the Immigration and Nationality Law Review, and The Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal.
Publications
Deans
| Dean[8][9] | Years Served |
|---|---|
| Timothy Walker | 1833–1843 |
| William S. Groesbeck | 1844–1869 |
| Charles L. Telford | |
| Maskell S. Curwen | 1850–1868 |
| Rotated among faculty | 1869–1873 |
| J. Bryant Walker | 1873–1874 |
| Rufus King | 1875–1880 |
| Jacob D. Cox | 1880–1897 |
| William Howard Taft | 1897–1900 |
| Gustavus H. Wald | 1900–1902 |
| William P. Rogers | 1902–1916 |
| Albert B. Benedict | 1916–1926 |
| Merton L. Ferson | 1926–1946 |
| Frank S. Rowley | 1946–1952 |
| Roscoe L. Barrow | 1952–1965 |
| Claude S. Sowle | 1965–1969 |
| Samuel S. Wilson | 1969–1970 1973* 1974–1978 |
| Edward A. Mearns Jr. | 1970–1973 |
| Victor E. Schwartz | 1973–1974* |
| Jorge L. Carro | 1978–1979* |
| Gordon A. Christenson | 1979–1986 |
| Thomas Gerety | 1986–1989 |
| Joseph P. Tomain | 1989–1990* 1990–2005 |
| Louis D. Bilionis | 2005–2015 |
| Jennifer S. Bard | 2015–2017 |
| Verna L. Williams | 2017–2019** 2019–2022 |
| Michael Whiteman | 2022–2023** |
| Haider Ala Hamoudi | 2023–present |
*Acting
**Interim
Employment
According to University of Cincinnati's 2022 ABA-required disclosures, 80% of the Class of 2022 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[10]
Notable alumni
References
- https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-cincinnati-03128
- "History". University of Cincinnati College of Law. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- "Complete story of how UC's Nippert Stadium got its namesake".
- "University of Cincinnati - College of Law Building Design". www.bhdp.com. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
- "PreLaw magazine Spring 2022".
- https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2026/03/university-of-cincinnati-college-to-become-donald-p-klekamp-college-of-law.html
- https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-cincinnati-03128
- "College of Law Deans". University of Cincinnati College of Law.
- "Haider Ala Hamoudi named dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Law". 9 May 2023.
- "Standard 509 Disclosure".
External links
39°07′45″N 84°31′12″W / 39.12905°N 84.52010°W / 39.12905; -84.52010