In January 2023, the Law Library moved into a newly renovated Library space on the first floor of the Law School building. The library maintains a print and electronic collection in this new space, including access to Westlaw Terminals for faculty, Staff, Students, and Members of the Bar. The Library Staff meets our communities research and scholarship needs with research consultations, research course instruction, course reserves, Specialized collections, faculty services, and student research fellows.
Professional, dual-degreed librarians are available to assist users with foundational and advanced research queries. Additionally, the law library employs several Law Student Research Fellows to help with foundational research inquiries at the reference desk.
For additional information about the Law Library and the resources available, including study rooms, please visit the library website at www.charlestonlaw.edu/library/.
The Charleston School of Law's Department of Student Affairs is dedicated to providing a supportive environment that meets the intellectual and personal needs of our students as they deal with the challenges of law school. The Department of Student Affairs serves as a liaison among the students, administration and faculty and seeks to enhance the quality of the law school experience by coordinating student activities and school-wide events.
The Student Affairs team works with the Dean and other members of the administration to provide support and referrals in a confidential environment to students during times of personal or family crisis. The Department of Student Affairs also provides general support and guidance to more than 30 active student organizations and assists in the planning of lectures and events. The Department of Student Affairs is located on the first floor of 385 Meeting Street.
The Office of Academic Affairs oversees and administers the law school’s academic programs and policies, including advising students on academic requirements as they progress toward graduation; the office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is located on the third floor of 385 Meeting Street.
The Office of the Registrar is responsible for maintaining the integrity and security of student records, as well as for administering the online student information system; the Office of the Registrar is located on the third floor of 385 Meeting Street, 843.377.2410.
The Office of Academic & Bar Success is dedicated to supporting students’ success from day one through to the bar examination. The Office works collaboratively with Law School faculty and staff to meet the needs of the students through individual academic counseling and support, as well as through programming and workshops. The Office is located on the third floor of 385 Meeting Street.
The Legal Research, Analysis and Writing Department instructs students in the first-year legal writing curriculum; offices are located on the third floor of 385 Meeting Street.
The Writing Center, located on the third floor of 385 Meeting Street, supports students in their efforts to become better legal writers and to proof and edit their own work. Writing Center Fellows are available for one-on-one, in-person conferences on a walk-in basis and by appointment, not via E-mail or Zoom. They provide feedback on grammar, style, clarity and concision, format, and citation, as well as discuss effective legal writing strategies in general.
The Charleston School of Law seeks to create an internal environment that welcomes and fosters diversity and to contribute to creating an inclusive environment in the community and state. The Office of Diversity Initiatives works with law students, local schools, and the community to present programs that address all areas of diversity and issues related to equality and inclusion. The Office also seeks to recruit students who are underrepresented in the legal profession. The Office works diligently to build relationships with colleges in the Southeast and with local elementary, middle and high schools. The Director’s office is located on the third floor of 385 Meeting Street.
The Charleston School of Law maintains a full-service career counseling and resource office that provides support and assistance to students and alumni in all stages of the career planning process. The Department of Career Services is committed to assisting each student and graduate in identifying, developing, and attaining his or her individual goals. Career Services offers a wide range of services and programs that are responsive to a diverse student body and to evolving market realities. As with any institution, enrollment or completion of the program does not guarantee employment.
Each student meets individually with her/his Career Services advisor to discuss career planning goals and develop effective job and clerkship search strategies. Career Services hosts on-campus recruiting in both the fall and spring semesters in addition to maintaining a database of employers who wish to have students contact them directly. The team is available to help students navigate the general interview and judicial clerkship application processes.
To prepare students for transition from an academic to a work environment, Career Services designs and delivers workshops and special programs with students’ needs in mind starting with a first-year course taught in conjunction with the Office of Academic and Bar Success, Academic Skills. In Academic Skills, students prepare effective résumés and cover letters, learn successful interviewing techniques, engage effective job search strategies, and consider effective professionalism practices as law students and future attorneys.
An ongoing Career Series and other special panels and programs bring to campus attorneys, judges, and members of the community to discuss different practice areas. Career Services also supports an annual summer Judicial Observation and Experience (JOE) Program and assists students in developing mentors in the legal community.
Available to students and alumni in the Career Services’ library and online, the department offers publications and materials covering a wide variety of career-related topics, including career planning, job search, résumé preparation, interview skills, legal practice areas and alternatives, and law firm practice and management. The staff works directly with students to navigate the online resources available, including CORE powered by 12Twenty, and a wide variety of other employment databases.
First-year law students are strongly encouraged to focus on their adjustment to law school and academics during their first semester. Accordingly, individual counseling normally begins about halfway through their first semester on campus, either in October or March.
The Career Services staff and members of the faculty and administration conduct extensive outreach and promotional activities to increase community awareness of the Charleston School of Law and to create employment opportunities for students. The Career Services staff actively works to develop new opportunities for students to interact with attorneys and other potential employers. Students also are encouraged to pursue experience through employment, internship and externship opportunities, pro bono activities, networking, and student organizations.
In addition to established models of career counseling and placement activities, Career Services is committed to developing innovative career opportunity strategies and programs to support our students and alumni in reaching their unique professional goals. Career Services is dedicated to assisting our students and graduates to capitalize on their diverse strengths and experiences to build a fulfilling career path and is committed to equipping students from historically underrepresented groups to attain immediate success in the practice of law. To that end, Career Services requires that all employers seeking students or graduates provide equal opportunity to qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, gender, sexual or gender orientation, marital, parental or veteran status.
The Department of Career Services is located on the first floor of 385 Meeting Street.
For additional information, please visit the website at: https://charlestonlaw.edu/career-services/.
The Office of Admission is located on the third floor of 385 Meeting Street. The Associate Dean of Admission and Financial Aid and Director of Admission can assist interested students in applying.
For more information, please visit the Prospective Students webpage as well as JD Admission.