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With fundraising on track and a student fee increase all but a done deal, the University of Idaho 
hopes to start offering third-year law classes in Boise this fall without state financial support. UI College of Law Dean Donald Burnett said the only remaining hurdle is what the American Bar Association calls “acquiescence.” The process is designed to ensure expanded programs in different locations don’t detract from a law school’s home location. “We’re going to go ahead, subject to the ABA’s acquiescence,” Burnett said. The new approach is a dramatically scaled-back version of the law school’s original plan to open a full three-year branch in Boise that would focus on business and commercial law/Joel Mills, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Do you support this move by UIdaho to offer third-year law classes in Boise? Or is the university’s law school spreading itself too thin?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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jazzyvandal on February 03 at 8:39 a.m.
My friend will be a third year law student next year, and is thrilled to be spending it in Boise.
I think Idaho is the only state without a law school presence in the capital city. It needs to happen, and I'm glad something is being done.
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Digger on February 03 at 9:15 a.m.
This is just the start of the UI College of Law - BSU Branch.
Ridiculous. They might as well move the whole damn school to Boise - thats where they seem to fund higher ed anyway.
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lew2nl on February 03 at 11:10 a.m.
Many 'south Idahoans' have been trying to move the law school to Boise for a long time. Hang on, U of I.
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Don Sausser on February 03 at 12:35 p.m.
Why wouldn't the existing college in Boise offer a law program? Is it prohibited to have two law schools in one state? Surely other programs are duplicated in the two colleges.
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LukeMalek on February 03 at 1:19 p.m.
As a current UI law student, I see this as a necessary move for the school to remain competitive. As much as I love being close to home, the resources for us as law students, particularly those of us interested in public service law, are scarce. In Boise, we will have access to the legislature, state supreme court, and every state agency. Moscow is a great location for studying issues of agriculture and natural resources, and everyone knows that northern Idaho rocks, but the reality is that law students would rather be near the state’s assets in Boise…for educational purposes. While I was one of the lucky few to find an opportunity up here, I know of many potential students who cannot leave their employment in Boise to attend school in Moscow. Further, there are far more employment opportunities for students who choose Idaho for law. UI Law provides an affordable, quality option for law students to get an education. However, the school has to compete with schools that are more strategically placed. Therefore, I am in favor of offering options…Moscow AND Boise…for law students. The plan is to use the resources of the existing law school to seed the start-up in Boise. As long as it is self-sustaining, it is a good idea. It will make Idaho stronger.
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Ashley on February 03 at 1:58 p.m.
I wrote a very similar article a couple of weeks ago for The Argonaut. You can find it at uiargonaut.com for more information :-)
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JamesBond on February 03 at 2:29 p.m.
Concordia is going to open a law school in Boise very soon. It has a building on Front Street.
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LukeMalek on February 03 at 5:54 p.m.
@ Ashley…you should link us right to your article.
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Ashley on February 03 at 8:16 p.m.
This is for you LukeMalek :-)
http://www.uiargonaut.com/content/vie…
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Angelthelawyer on February 07 at 5:02 p.m.
You guys are really lucky and have no idea. Idaho has only one law school and that is why there are plenty of jobs for your graduates. With the opening of two more schools, you will join the hell hole that is called the legal industry along with the rest of the nation. I'm in the north east and we are being strangled by the number of lawyers. There is a finite number of jobs and the law schools keep coming and coming. Please check out my blog where I go into depth about how miserable it is becoming a lawyer in an area that is saturated with lawyers. I'm sure 95% of this country is saturated and your state university is putting you in that same boat. Instead of heralding this opening of a new campus, the students from Moscow should be picketing the school. Good luck.
www.butidideverythingrightorsoithough…
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spokelooneh on February 07 at 6:11 p.m.
Angel, did someone hide the employment statistics and projections from you when you were deciding your chosen career path in College, or did you simply not perform due diligence?
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spokelooneh on February 07 at 6:36 p.m.
Wow, I went and read Angel's website to see if there was logical basis for his/her complaint.
What I found was a pointless profane screed insulting Idaho, Idahoans, the University of Idaho in a most petty and pedantic fashion.
Angel admits her vaunted Ivy League law school education is worthless, as she never actually learned how to do anything.
How many 10's of thousands of dollars did you waste getting that education, Angel? Most of it borrowed, no doubt. That was real smart.
Finally, Angel transposes Iowa for Idaho, not once, but twice at end of the screed.
Hmmmm, seems like right here on this little ol' blog in Idaho, there are several “3rd tier” (her description for U of I Law School) law school graduates who've made a career in the law for themselves.
Not surprising that Angel's employment opportunities have been essentially nil.
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