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Applying to LMU Law 404

Like most law schools, LMU Law reviews applications and makes offers where a particular applicant appears to have the necessary qualities required for success in law school and in the practice of law. While undergraduate GPA and LSAT score are the most traditional factors determining admission, we will also consider letters of recommendation: academic performance; community service; extra-curricular or co-curricular activities; evidence of a strong work ethic and maturity; military service; and an ability to contribute to the diversity of the LMU Law community.

In compliance with ABA Standard 504(a), we must inform applicants of the following:

In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Our complete admissions policies and procedures can be found in the Admission Policies and Procedures Manual.

For August 2022 admission, LMU Law only accepts the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), including the LSAT Flex, as part of the admission process. We do not accept alternative tests, such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).

Follow the steps below to apply to LMU Law. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the Office of Admissions at law.admissions@LMUnet.edu or 865.545.5303. 

  •  COMPLETE THE APPLICATION

    To complete an application to LMU Law, you must first register for a free account on the Law School Admission Council’s website – https://www.lsac.org.

    Once you possess an LSAC account, you can locate our application (“Lincoln Memorial University – John J. Duncan, Jr. School of Law”) under "Applications" tab and then “Member Schools.”

    There is no fee to apply.

    You will have two program options: 1) full time, and 2) flex time. Flex time is a reduced-load program and is designed for people who have outside commitments and cannot attend school on a full-time basis.

    Applications for classes starting in August 2022 will be accepted through July 15, 2022.

    Late applications may be accepted at the discretion of the Dean.

    Character and Fitness: If you answered “yes” to any question in the Character and Fitness section of your application, you must provide detailed information for each answer. If your answer does not fit in the space provided, then you can attach explanations to your application at the time it is submitted. If you need to update an answer or add supplemental information, you can send an addendum to law.admissions@lmunet.edu

    Because of stringent character and fitness qualifications for admission to the bar, we require full disclosure in response to all questions. Failure to disclose information often yields a more serious outcome than the matter itself would have produced had it been revealed by the applicant initially.

    Answering “yes” to any question does not automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration for admission. The Admission and Scholarship Committee would like the opportunity to review all relevant facts including (but not limited to) the issue(s); offense(s); date(s) of the offense(s); the law enforcement agency involved; and disposition, including fine(s), court costs, or other penalties, etc.

    The American Bar Association (ABA) precludes the admission of applicants who do not appear capable of satisfactorily completing a legal program of study and being admitted to the bar. Similar questions will be asked of you at the time you apply for admission to the bar, so candor and full disclosure is essential.

    Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Contact information for all relevant agencies is available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

  •  ATTACH YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT

    Attach your personal statement to your application through the "Attachments" tab in your LSAC account.

    Your personal statement should range in length between one-to-four pages. It should address why you want to attend law school or describe future goals with respect to obtaining a legal education. It is also helpful to address why you want to attend LMU Law. 

    You can also attach your resume' and other documents if you wish; however, they are not required.

    If you need to explain a response to a question in the Character and Fitness section of your application more fully, you should attach it in the Attachments section. We would recommend you not include the information in your personal statement unless the incident was foundational to your decision to attend law school. Please include the number and question to which you are responding should you need to explain further.

  •  REGISTER FOR THE LSAC'S CREDENTIAL ASSEMBLY SERVICE AND PAY THE FEE

     The Credential Assembly Service is a central repository where applicants submit their academic transcripts, letters of recommendation, and other pertinent items for submission to law schools.

    The current fee to register for Credential Assembly Service for the fall 2022 admission cycle is $195.

  •  REQUEST OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS FOR THE LSAC'S CREDENTIAL ASSEMBLY SERVICE 

    An official transcript from each educational institution attended since high school must be sent from each institution directly to the Credential Assembly Service either through the mail or via one of the approved, secure electronic transcript providers, such as Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, Scrip-Safe, or Credential Solutions.

    If requesting they be sent by mail, the address to which each transcript must be sent is:

    LSAC Credential Assembly Service

    662 Penn Street

    Newtown, Pennsylvania 18940

    If you received Advanced Placement (AP) credit(s) for courses taken in high school, then you must submit your high school transcript(s) to the Credential Assembly Service as well.

    In addition to the Credential Assembly Service fee, the applicant must pay for a Law School Report for each law school to which he/she applies. The current cost of the fall 2022 admission cycle is $45, and again, it must be paid for each law school to which the applicant wants her/his Law School Report sent.

    The Law School Report is commonly called the CAS Report.

    If you are an undergraduate student when you submit your transcripts to the Credential Assembly Service, then you must update (resubmit) transcripts from any schools in which you have taken classes since they were submitted initially.

    After you graduate, you will need to submit a final official transcript from the institution from which you received your bachelor degree. The degree received and the date it was conferred must appear on the final transcript.

  •  SUBMIT AND ASSIGN TWO LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION TO LMU LAW

    LMU Law requires two letters of recommendation. Your letters of recommendation should be submitted directly to the Credential Assembly Service through a link it sends to each individual making a recommendation.

    There are no specific requirements as to who should write them, such as a professor, employer, acquaintance, etc.; however, they should explain in detail how they know you and the traits they have observed that leads them to recommend you for law school.

    Once the letters are received by the Credential Assembly Service, YOU MUST ASSIGN each letter to each school you want to receive them. They will not be assigned automatically. If you fail to assign both of them to each school, then your file will remain INCOMPLETE until they are assigned by you.

  •  REGISTER AND PAY TO TAKE THE LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION TEST (LSAT)

    The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is offered multiple times each year at various testing centers throughout the country, including LMU Law.

    The announced 2021-2022 testing dates and registration deadlines are:

    LSAT TEST DATE

    LSAT REGISTRATION DEADLINE

    Week of June 12, 2021

    Friday, April 30, 2021

    Week of August 14, 2021

    July  2, 2021

    Week of October 9, 2021

    August 25, 2021

    Week of November 13, 2021

    September 29, 2021

    Week of January 15, 2022

    December 3, 2021

    Week of February 12, 2022

    December 29, 2021

    Week of March 12, 2022

    January 26, 2022

    Week of April 30, 2022

    March 16, 2022

    Week of June 11, 2022

    April 27, 2022

     

    The listed LSAT test dates and application deadlines are listed as a courtesy and are subject to change without notice.

    While the above-listed information is provided for convenience, always refer to the LSAC website to ensure the correct test date and registration deadline for any LSAT. Registration deadlines and test date information can be obtained on the LSAC website: https://www.lsac.org/lsat/lsat-dates-deadlines-score-release-dates

    The current cost to take the LSAT is $200. It includes the LSAT Writing Exercise.  

    LMU Law will not accept LSAT scores more than five years old. In keeping with LSAC reporting, scores earned prior to June 2016 will not be considered for admission to fall 2022 programs.

  •  COMPLETE THE LSAT WRITING SAMPLE

    The LSAT Writing Sample is a required component of LMU Law's admission process.

    To complete the LSAT Writing Sample, you must go to your LSAC account, download the required software, and complete the 35-minute LSAT Writing Exercise.

    You can take the LSAT Writing Sample no sooner than eight days before your scheduled LSAT and no later than one year after you have taken the test. 

    The computer on which you type the LSAT Writing Sample must have an active camera and microphone while you are writing your response. No outside assistance is permitted.

    Do not delay in taking the LSAT Writing Exercise. Even though everything else (e.g. application, personal statement, two letters of recommendation, Credential Assembly Service Report with your LSAT score), have been received, your Law School/CAS Report with your LSAT score will not be released to ANY law school until you have completed the LSAT Writing Sample.  

    If you have already completed an LSAT Writing Sample for a prior administration of the LSAT, then you do not have to complete a new writing sample unless you want to complete a new one.  

    Generally, it takes between one-to-three weeks for your LSAT Writing Exercise to post to your account after you have completed it.

    For more information, visit https://www.lsac.org/lsat/taking-lsat/about-lsat-writing.

Joint- and Dual-Degree Programs

LMU Law offers a number of joint- and dual-degree programs. In most cases, program participants can take their master's classes in the summers and online, while attending law school in the fall and spring semesters. For more information on any of these dual-degree programs, simply click on the offering to open a PDF.  

JD-MBA (Juris Doctor - Master of Business Administration) Dual-Degree Program
JD-MPA (Juris Doctor - Master in Public Administration) Joint-Degree Program
JD-MSCJ (Juris Doctor - Master of Science in Criminal Justice) Joint-Degree Program 

You must apply for a master's program through the University's main website. Also, any scholarship awarded for law school does not apply to masters-level program courses. The rate of tuition is less for master-level courses compared to tuition for law school classes.

Information for Academically Disqualified Students

LMU Law considers the admission of applicants who were disqualified academically. An applicant who has been disqualified academically must demonstrate that he or she possesses the requisite ability to succeed in our program of legal education. The applicant must also demonstrate that the previous disqualification does not indicate a lack of capacity to complete the course of study at our law school, extraordinary circumstances contributed to his or her inability to meet the academic requirements, and the circumstances resulting in the student‘s academic disqualification have been remedied or no longer exist.

An applicant who was disqualified academically cannot apply for admission until one (1) calendar year has expired since the student’s disqualification.

In addition to the application, personal statement, two letters of recommendation, Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Report, and LSAT Writing Exercise, in order to be considered for admission an applicant who has been disqualified academically either at LMU Law or another law school must attach two (2) separate written statements to their application through the "Attachments" tab:

1. a statement detailing the nature of the interim work, activity, or studies that occurred since the disqualification; and

2. a statement describing why the applicant believes he/she now has a stronger potential for the study of law and is likely to successfully complete the course of study at the Duncan School of Law.

Finally, the applicant must send an official transcript from the law school from which he or she was dismissed to the LSAC's Credential Assembly Service.