“Get ready to embark on a wild ride unlike anything you’ve ever experienced, packed with thrills, chills, and probably a few spills. Being a 1L will challenge you like you’ve never been challenged….. The first year of law school will be one of the hardest years of your life. Law school will profoundly alter the way you think, and view and interact with the world around you. Your 1L experience will change who you are, whether you want it to or not.” Andrew McClurg, 1L of a Ride, A Well-Traveled Professor's Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Law School
My favorite week of the academic year is Orientation Week. For the 7th year, I had the great pleasure and privilege of welcoming our first year class. They are talented, energetic, excited, curious, and yes, nervous - but that’s to be expected.
They are pursuing their dream by living, working, and studying a few years of their life like most people won’t, so they can spend the rest of their life like most people can’t.
Our inspiring first-year Orientation was superbly organized by a team led by Assistant Dean Sarah Beznoska, Associate Dean/Professor Carolyn Broering-Jacobs, and Jill Natran, Administrative Coordinator.
Thanks to the unrelenting work of our admissions team led by Assistant Dean Barbara Andelman, John Bell, Assistant Director of Admissions, and Jill Johnson, Director of Strategic Initiatives, we enrolled an exceptional class of 138 JD students. Virtually all were admitted to more than one law school, and chose us.
Thanks to the efforts of Julie DiBiasio, Director of Graduate Studies and Professional Development, and Professors John Plecnik, Brian Ray, and Milena Sterio, we also enrolled a new class of 26 Master of Legal Studies (MLS) students (including 9 Cybersecurity MLS students) and 8 LL.M. students. I will tell you more about those great students in a future Monday Morning Message.
This morning, I want to share some things about our first year JD class, the Class of 2025.
JD Class of 2025 By the Numbers:
- 138 students
- 80% full-time/20% part-time
- 70% are the first law student in their family
- 62% took off at least one year after college before coming to law school
- 58% women/42% men
- 15% are the first college graduate in their family
- 20 married, 3 engaged
- 18 are C|M|LAW legacies
- 16 students have children
- 2 1Ls have served in the military
- Average age: 26 (ranging from 20 to 55)
Geography:
- The entering class represents 15 different states
- 17% are from outside of Ohio
Academics:
- 54 different undergraduate institutions represented
- 44 different majors represented
- 17 have advanced degrees
Pets:
- 67 dogs!
- 70 cats!
Please welcome our very talented Class of 2025!
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay Committed to Living Justice.
Have a great day. Have a great week.
Believe in C|M|LAW. Please Give Now.
My best,
Lee
Lee Fisher
Dean, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law | Cleveland State University
Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Chair in Law
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.