Alumni worry USC Law School falling behind
Associated Press

Some of the top alumni of the University of South Carolina's law school worry it is lagging behind other top schools in the South.

The state's only law school ranked 83rd nationally, according to the latest survey by U.S. News & World Report.

The major public or private law schools in other Southern states, like Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana and Florida all ranked in the top 50.

Several years ago, the University of South Carolina's law school looked like it was headed to the top 50 itself, Chief Justice Jean Toal said.

"Now it's reversed course and gone the other way," she said.

And things at the law school, which has 700 students, 40 professors and an $11 million budget, may not get better soon.

"The physical plant is in shambles," Toal said. "The library is terribly underfunded. Everything from the parking lot to plumbing is wearing out."

A campaign to raise $50 million from lawyers and lawmakers for a new law school has stalled. After three years, less than $20 million has been raised.

So far, the Legislature has agreed to commit only $10 million of $30 million in public funds requested. Lawyers have contributed or pledged from $7 million to $10 million of a $20 million private funding goal.

Columbia attorney Jim Anders is the only lawyer in the state who has actually paid a $1 million pledge toward a new law school.

"There are dozens and dozens of lawyers who could contribute $1 million," Anders said. "I did it because USC Law School offered me an opportunity to make a good living."

South Carolina Bar President Richard Rosen said lawyers don't have as much disposable money as it might seem.

Also, the Legislature has for years underfunded all education, from kindergarten to the law school, Rosen said.

University of South Carolina President Andrew Sorensen said he still has as a goal getting the university's law school into the top 50.

But he does not support the idea of a second law school in South Carolina advanced by a group of lawyers and judges.

"Because we are the only law school in the state, it's essential we do an excellent job," he said.

A big part of improving the school will be finding a new dean after John Montgomery, who led the law school for 16 years, stepped down two years ago.

The first search stalled when university president John Palms left. The man found in the second search turned down the school's offer.

Sorensen wants to find an interim dean within a month to replace Montgomery. That dean will work with faculty to find a permanent dean, he said.

Within seven years of finding a permanent dean, "I would like us to be in the top 50 law schools in the country," Sorensen said.

Sorensen has done it before. When he started as president of the University of Alabama, its law school wasn't in the nation's top 100 schools.

But in three years it moved it into the top 50, and today, Alabama's law school is 46th, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Alabama was able to lift its ranking by increasing faculty publications, having professors be more visible at conferences and inviting high-profile lecturers like U.S. Supreme Court justices, Sorensen said.