Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Mon, 22 Feb 2016
Liberty University News Service

National Jurist recognized Liberty University School of Law among its Best Schools for Public Service for public defender/prosecutor training in the winter edition of preLaw magazine, its sister publication.

Liberty joins Notre Dame Law School, the University of New Mexico, and Florida State University on the top 20 list. The ranking was determined based on three primary factors: employment, curriculum, and finances, which considers the salary and amount of debt of graduates.

“We are pleased that Liberty Law has been recognized as a top 20 school for preparing prosecutors and public defenders,” said Keith Faulkner, dean of Liberty’s School of Law. “Both of these roles play distinctive — but equally important — roles in our courts and criminal justice system. Liberty’s unparalleled practical curriculum, externship placements, Centers for Lawyering Skills, Prosecution, and Trial Advocacy, and Constitutional Law and Prosecution clinics are perfect laboratories for producing practice-ready prosecutors and public defenders.”

W. Lyle Carver, a 2008 graduate of Liberty Law, is the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Amherst County (Va.). He credits the education and experience received at Liberty Law, as well as the relationships and connections made while studying there, with positioning him to serve where he is today.

“I received an excellent legal education from Liberty Law,” said Carver, who was active in the creation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) board and competed on the negotiation team. “I had excellent professors. My criminal law professor awakened a passion for prosecution in me. I was placed in a 3L externship at the Amherst County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, which led to me being hired as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney directly out of that externship. I then worked hard and worked my way up the office hierarchy until winning my first election last November.”

The National Jurist magazine also recently listed Liberty Law among the Best Schools for Practical Training for the second year.