Joseph H. Varner III

Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants. Consistently ranked among the top law schools in the nation, Virginia has educated generations of lawyers, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service. Virginia is justly famous for its collegial environment that bonds students and faculty, and student satisfaction is consistently cited as among the highest in American law schools. At Virginia, law students share their experiences in a cooperative spirit, both in and out of the classroom, and build a network that lasts well beyond their three years here. With more than 20,000 students and a faculty of more than 2,100, the University of Virginia has been ranked first or second among the nation's public universities since 1984. The University's diverse intellectual life is open to law students: Up to 12 credits from other departments may be counted toward the J.D. degree.

Samford University is Alabama’s top-ranked private university with nationally ranked academic programs rooted in the university’s Christian mission. Located in suburban Birmingham, Samford was founded in 1841 and is the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It enrolls 5,471 students from 47 states and 29 countries in 10 academic units: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. In 2015, U.S. News and World Report ranked Samford 4th among regional universities in the South. Samford also has been nationally ranked for academic programs, value and affordability by such prestigious publications and rankings as Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, The Princeton Review and Colleges of Distinction, among others. Samford offers 30 undergraduate and graduate/professional degrees. There are 158 undergraduate majors, minors and concentrations. Graduate/professional degrees are offered in business, divinity, design studies, education, health professions, environmental management, law, music, nursing, pharmacy and public health. The university’s College of Health Sciences is adding many new undergraduate and graduate/professional programs in the next few years. The faculty-to-student ratio is 1:12, and no classes are taught by teaching assistants. Among Samford’s 49,000-plus alumni are more than 60 U.S. congressmen, seven state governors, two U.S. Supreme Court justices, four Rhodes Scholars, multiple Emmy and Grammy award-winning artists, two national championship football coaches, and recipients of the Pulitzer and Nobel Peace prizes. The university fields 17 varsity sports—eight men’s and nine women’s—that participate at the NCAA Division I level in the Southern Conference. Samford has an annual economic impact of $335.1 million on the state of Alabama.