“National Jurist” magazine, in its September 2008 issue, listed the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law as one of the top-50 law schools in clinical legal education.

The recognition is the latest of national and state recognition for the Bowen School, which was named to the Top 20 law schools for legal writing, topped the Arkansas bar exam passage rate, and was invited to compete in the National Institute for Trial Advocacy Tournament of Champions (NITA) Tournament of Champions.

Acting Dean John DiPippa credits the law school’s concentration on hands-on legal education An industry report in the early 1990s outlined the need for more clinical opportunities, and that finding was repeated in a report last year. Many law schools are adding clinical programs and others are adding unique programs and taking a more personal approach.

The Bowen School, which ranked 48th in the “National Jurist” survey, was chosen using data from the 2008 Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools. Specifically, the magazine divided the total number of full-time clinical course positions offered into the number of full time students at each law school. Yale University won the top spot, and Bowen was included on a Top 50 list that named law schools spanning the United States: the University of Wisconsin, Stanford, Northwestern, SMU, Cornell, Harvard, University of Chicago, Florida A&M, and the University of Tennessee all appeared on the list.There are 200 ABA-accredited law schools in America.

Associate Professor Kelly Browe Olson is director of clinical programs – including clinics in mediation, litigation, and tax law – at Bowen. Students also have the opportunity to learn from numerous public service externships with members of the judiciary, committees of the legislature, and members of Congress.