News & Events

Recent News and Events

1/19/2012 -TENNESSEE BAR ASSOCIATION SELECTS TWO LMU-DSOL STUDENTS FOR STUDENT LEADERSHIP CLASS

11/28/2011- LONGMIRE APPOINTED ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CAREER SERVICES AT THE DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW

10/18/2011 - LMU DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW INFORMATION SESSION SET FOR OCTOBER 22

9/28/2011 - LMU-DSOL BLACK LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION TAKES STRIDES AGAINST BREAST CANCER

9/17/2011 - LMU DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE

8/29/2011 - TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT TO HOLD SESSION AT LMU-DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW

7/1/2011 — CAROLL PROMOTED AT LMU-DSOL

6/24/2011 — COOK JOINS DSOL AS ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ADMISSIONS

5/25/201 — LMU-DSOL STUDENT HONORED WITH NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN JUDGES EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE SCHOLARSHIP

5/16/2011 — LMU-DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW DEAN HONORS TWO

5/16/2011—LMU-DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW STUDENTS RALLY FOR TORNADO VICTIMS

5/3/2011 — GEORGE'S "LAW FOR ALL" WRAPS UP YEAR WITH CLASSROOM VISITS

5/3/2011 — LMU DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW HOLDS BARRISTER'S BALL

4/29/2011 — BLACK LAW STUDENT ASSOCIATON SUPPORTS KNOX AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT WTH TEDDY BEAR DRVE

4/19/2011— JUSTICE SHARON LEE SPEAKS AT LMU DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW

4/9/2011 — MOOT COURT AND LAW REVIEW BOARDS RECEPTION- See Photos Here

4/8/2011 — BARRISTER'S BALL- See Photos Here

3/28/2011 — LMU-DSOL WELCOMES COWART AS DIRECTOR OF CAREER SERVICES

3/11/2011 - JUDGE ROBERT MURRIAN TO ADDRESS PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AT LMU-DSOL

3/10/2011 — OPEN MEETING FOR STUDENTS
Members of the ABA Site Team will be visiting our school during the week of March 14-15th. During that time they will be meeting with members of the administration, faculty, staff and students. As part of the process, we have scheduled an open meeting for students to attend on Monday, March 14th from 4:30 - 5:45 p.m.. This meeting will be in Room 201. During the meeting members of the Site Team will explain the process, ask questions and answer questions you may have. This is an important part of the process. Please make plans to attend the meeting. Syd Beckman

1/28/2011 — FORMER UT LAW DEAN TO VISIT DSOL - see photos here

1/26/2011 — DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW OPEN HOUSE

11/23/2010 — LMU DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW BLACK LAW STUDENT ASSOCIATION'S CAN DRIVE COLLECTS OVER 5,000 CANS FOR SECOND HARVEST

08/01/2010 — THE DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW WELCOMES NEW PROFESSORS FOR FALL 2010

11/19/2009 — LMU & ALLM PRESENT LINCOLN EXHIBIT AT KMA

08/15/2009 — LMU DUNCAN SCHOOL OF LAW SEATS INAUGURAL CLASS

03/27/2009 — LMU NAMES SCHOOL OF LAW FOR CONGRESSMAN JOHN J. DUNCAN JR. (Photos of Event )

Other

LEARNING LAW

by Sandra Clark, West Side Shopper

September 21, 2009 — If Sydney Beckman doesn't make it as a law school dean, there's a future for him in sales.

Beckman, 43, enthusiastically shows off The Duncan School of Law, a division of Lincoln Memorial University located in Knoxville's Historic City Hall. Both the students and the classrooms are non-traditional.

The inaugural class of 79 (chosen from 250 applicants) attends school during evenings and weekends. Many are employed full-time; most are older. All have made a commitment to study hard until graduation in 2013.

Beckman will push them, not just to graduate and pass the bar exam, but to be the best lawyer they can be. For instance, he says, when faced with losing custody of your child or losing your freedom in a criminal matter, there's nothing more important than to have a totally competent lawyer by your side.

He worried a bit before taking the job. "LMU has been around for a long time and has deep traditions. I didn't know if we would be bound by their model.

"It was critical for to me, based on what I had seen in legal academia, that we change with the times. Our young people are plugged in in 100 different ways. They can keep track of multi-sensory input."

So Beckman's team created classrooms where audio, video and printed materials are "captured" for each class. That means students can review lectures, even check out the class sessions of other professors. This capturing enables students to engage in the class, rather than simply be stenographers, Beckman said.

Assessment is another innovation.

Most classes are built with "quiz, quiz, final," Beckman said, with the grade based on that final exam. At Duncan, students are given a daily quiz that is graded instantly. While the results don't go toward the final grade, both students and faculty can see what they need to study more deeply or reteach. "There are no surprises," said Beckman.

His goal is simple but daring: To make The Duncan School of Law the premiere teaching institution in the country.

Technology is important, as is access via laptop to legal resources across the country. A faculty of practitioners is key as well. "Professors may be brillant, but I want faculty members who have touched a client."

Beckman teaches evidence, domestic relations, and technology and the law. He recently co-authored a book, "Evidence: A Contemporary Approach" with Susan Crump and Fred Galves. Beckman practiced family law for 15 years and was an adjunct professor at Texas Wesleyan University for five years.

He and Associate Dean Gordon Russell were colleagues on the start-up faculty of the Charleston School of Law before coming to Knoxville. Both are familiar with the requirements for accreditaiton. Beckman's law degree is from Baylor University and his undergraduate work was done at Stephen F. Austin.

Lincoln Memorial University-Duncan School of Law
601 W. Summit Hill Drive
Knoxville, Tennessee 37902
865.545.5300