Dean's Welcome
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the website for the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University. I greet you as the 13th dean of a law school that has been educating outstanding lawyers and preparing civic and community leaders for more than 100 years. Our law school has a proud heritage: it was the first law school in the State of Ohio to admit women; it was one of the first law schools in the State of Ohio to admit minorities; and our alumni and alumnae have served for decades in prominent positions in law firms, the judiciary, government, and business. Indeed, Cleveland-Marshall is the foundation of the legal community in Northeast Ohio --a legal community that is home to many of the best law firms in the country. Today, our graduates are practicing law with distinction around the world.
Our law school also possesses great promise for the future. We have a student body that is diverse in experiences and motivations. We have an accomplished faculty -- men and women who are dedicated to teaching, scholarship, and mentoring. We have exceptional administrators and staff -- people who are committed to serving our students, our faculty, our graduates and our community. And we have a great facility -- including a law library that is one of the finest in the country.
In order to prepare students for a professional career with unlimited potential, we have created an educational environment that is not confined within the four walls of our law building. In addition to a contemporary curriculum, which includes a rigorous legal writing program, we offer joint-degree programs, several clinical programs, externships, two student-edited journals, a moot court team that regularly wins competitions across the country, and a Russian Studies Program with a Summer Law Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. Our students coordinate 19 student organizations, and they also demonstrate a commitment to community service by volunteering in our Pro Bono Program, which provides free legal services and counseling to needy clients and underrepresented groups. Our faculty not only teach, write and mentor our students; they also lecture around the world and consult with law firms, businesses, and government agencies. The educational experience is also enhanced by visiting scholars and lecturers, and the law school regularly hosts distinguished practitioners as speakers and panelists to discuss and debate current issues.
But there is one important aspect of the Cleveland-Marshall experience that is difficult to capture and convey in this electronic medium. Throughout our history, Cleveland-Marshall has established and nurtured a sense of community -- a community of scholars and students who want to teach and learn in an environment of mutual respect for one another with a shared commitment to justice. After 16 years as a practicing lawyer, both as a federal prosecutor and then in private practice, I decided to come to Cleveland-Marshall because of these important values -- and because I wanted to be a member of this community.
Please review all of the information we have gathered for you on this website. But also, please come visit us in Cleveland. Whether you are a prospective student, a prospective employer, a prospective new member of our faculty, or someone who simply wants to experience first-hand an extraordinary educational community, I know you will be impressed. I hope, like me, you will also be inspired.
Geoffrey S. Mearns
Dean and Professor of Law