Nestled within Iowa’s capital city of Des Moines, Drake Law is one of the oldest law schools in the country and only the second law school founded west of the Mississippi River.
Trial advocacy, legal writing and agricultural law are among its highest rated offerings. Also, Drake Law is the only school in the nation to offer the program, First-Year Trial Practicum. For a week, law school classes shift to a campus courtroom, where students see either a state or federal trial unfold.
As the school notes: “The trial practicum introduces the law to students in a way that no textbook can ever quite capture. Most importantly, the event models the values of civility, professionalism, and public service essential to the legal system.”
As the only law school in Des Moines, its students are granted direct access to opportunities, clerkships and internships in governmental and private practice settings. Alumni span across the U.S. and in several foreign countries as well.
It hosts the annual Dwight D. Opperman Lecture series, where numerous Supreme Court justices have delivered lectures on constitutional law.
Drake Law also runs a graduate law program open to eligible American and international students on both a full-time and part-time basis. Students pursue individualized courses toward a LL.M. degree. Alternatively, students who don’t hold a J.D. can pursue a Master of Jurisprudence degree in three separate fields.