Duke University School of Law, located on the Duke campus in Durham, was founded in 1868 as the Trinity College School of Law. It became Duke School of Law in 1924. Considered an excellent law school, Duke consistently ranks in the top five of all U.S. law schools. Enrollment at any given time is around 650 students. Duke boasts the highest first time bar pass rate of any law school, with a pass rate of 97 percent on the New York bar exam. Former president Richard Nixon is among the notable graduates of the school.
The University of North Carolina is the oldest public university in the United States, and its law school follows that tradition. Founded in 1845. It is considered a top-tier law school and is consistently in the top 25 in national rankings. The school is located on UNC's Chapel Hill campus. The school accepts 250 new applicants each year, giving it an average enrollment of about 700 students.
Wake Forest University School of Law, located in Winston-Salem, was founded in 1894. It is a private institution. Class size is 150 students per year for the JD program. The school also offers joint degrees in business, religion, divinity and bioethics. News and World Report ranked Wake Forest School of Law 38th in the nation in 2010. The LSAT score of entering students averages 160 out of a possible 180.
Elon University is a private institution located in Greensboro. The law school was recently established in 2006. Elon was the 200th U.S. law school to be accredited by the American Bar Association. Average yearly enrollment has been about 115 students. Elon offers concentrations in business, litigation, public interest law and general practice. The school houses a functioning court, the North Carolina Business Court. The court presides over commercial and corporate disputes arising in North Carolina.
The Campbell University School of Law, or more officially the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, is a private school located in Raleigh, the state capital. Enrollment averages about 400 students total in the three years. Campbell students' pass rate on the bar exam, in recent years, has remained at 100 percent. Students can choose from concentrations in business law, intellectual property law or advocacy law. The school also offers joint JD/MBA and JD/MTWM (Master of Trust and Wealth Management) degrees.
North Carolina Central University, located in Durham, a few miles down the road from both Duke and UNC, is a historically black college. It is one of only a few historically black colleges to have a school of law. The college was founded in 1939 and was open to black students only. The school allowed women to enroll in 1944, and Caucasian students were allowed to enter in 1965. Today, the school boasts a robust traditional course of study as well as a part-time program offered during the day or the evening. As a state school, tuition remains among the lowest of any law school in the nation.