Since its founding in 2004 with 60 students, Liberty University School of Law has trained over 1,200 professionals to enter their fields practice-ready with a biblical foundation. Graduates are serving in private practice, government service, and business and corporate settings as prosecutors, public defenders, judges, and in elected office.
Today, the law school enrolls over 275 students and offers 12 areas of study, fulfilling the vision of Liberty’s founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell, in sending professionals into the world to impact their workplaces and communities as Champions for Christ.
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Liberty Law hosted Founder’s Day Weekend Aug. 30-31, kicking off with Liberty’s Convocation featuring 1993 alumna Shannon Bream, a former attorney and anchor of “Fox News Sunday.” Later in the day, the school held a symposium, “The Vision and Importance of Liberty Law and Christian Legal Education,” and also hosted several activities, including a tailgate and Founder’s Day Alumni Dinner.
Several alumni from the Liberty Law inaugural class and founding faculty attended Founder’s Day Weekend.
The school opened its doors on Aug. 3, 2004, to 60 pioneering law students. Liberty Law received provisional approval in 2006, and full accreditation was granted by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 2010.
During the symposium, alumni and faculty discussed the many ways Liberty Law has impacted lives all around the nation. Dean Timothy Todd introduced the theme of the symposium, emphasizing Falwell’s vision for Liberty Law and future impacts. He was followed by Chancellor Jonathan Falwell, who spoke about his father’s legacy and dreams.
“When my dad had a vision and heart to start this place, he had this in mind: there was going to come a day when he wanted to raise up thousands of attorneys who would be in multiple places all across the country, who might just be the last line of protection for a country that, for today, has the statement ‘one nation under God’ that we hold dear,” Falwell said. “My dad didn’t start a law school so he could send out a lot of lawyers to get rich. He started this school so that you would be able to go out and stand in the trenches and stand in the gap in ways that many others could not because of your training … to stand up for truth, be able to trumpet that at the highest levels, and protect the America we grew up in, what’s in the past, and what’s in the future.”
School of Law Dean Timothy Todd speaks at a law symposium celebrating 20 years of Christian legal education.
In this milestone academic year, Liberty Law has continued to amass more recognitions and trophies for its excellent legal education. Liberty 3Ls Hannah Noeske and Brooke Santayo represented the United States on the world stage at the International Negotiation Competition in Amazonas, Brazil, in July after winning the National Negotiations Competition in Chicago last February.
In October, 3Ls Gavyn Webb, Annaclare Censoni, Izzy McNally, and 2L Caleb Moody were victorious against 10 other teams at the ABA Regional Arbitration Competition hosted by the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. The team beat New York Law School, Drexel University, University of Chicago, and Michigan State University to place first in the region and advance to National Finals at the ABA Headquarters in Chicago in January.
Also in October, 3Ls Carter Leverette and Stephen Nast won the Elon (N.C.) University School of Law’s 15th Billings, Exum, and Frye National Moot Court Competition. They faced William & Mary Law School in the final round, where Leverette earned Best Oralist. Nast was awarded Best Oralist in the preliminary rounds. The team was also awarded Best Brief honors.
Later in the semester, 3L Joanna Boyer was named Best Oralist at the Brigadier General Wayne E. Alley Military Law Moot Court Competition, and 3L Ethan Payne was named Best Oralist at the Leroy R. Hassell Sr. National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition. Liberty Law’s Moot Court program finished the fall semester ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Liberty Law 2024 graduates with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Dean Timothy Todd, and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Faculty Development Rodney Chrisman
Top in Class
Liberty Law graduates earned the highest passage rate on the July 2024 Virginia Bar Exam out of all law schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia, for both first-time Virginia takers and in overall pass rate. According to the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners, 90.63 percent of Liberty Law first-time Virginia test takers passed the exam, over 15 percentage points higher than the overall average pass rate in Virginia.
On Dec. 4, Liberty Law 2024 graduates were invited to an Admissions and Orientation Ceremony at the Supreme Court of Virginia, where they were sworn in and took the oath of office. Gov. Glenn Youngkin took time to meet with the graduates. The ceremony is sponsored by the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Young Lawyers Conference of the Virginia State Bar.
DID YOU KNOW?
PreLaw Magazine named Liberty Law the Most Devout Law School for 2024 and one of the nation’s 2024-25 Moot Court Leaders.
