UNLV law school nears first birthday

Friday, July 23, 1999 | 11:21 a.m.

Richard Morgan's baby will be a year old next month.

The dean of the William Boyd School of Law speaks fondly of the fledgling institution, describing it much as a proud father might talk about his first child.

Asked to describe the law school's first year, the former dean of the Arizona State University College of Law sees only beauty and potential for a bright future.

Even the birthmark -- in this case a former elementary school that occasionally suffers from mechanical problems due to age -- is nothing to complain about.

"Everyone has been flexible to work around problems," Morgan said.

Work resumes Aug. 16 with the beginning of Introduction to Law Week, when a new class of first-year law students will join the second-year class of students, essentially doubling the size of the student body from about 140 to about 280.

Frank Durand, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid, said there were more than 500 applications for the 140 first-year slots, "about 85 percent from Nevada."

Morgan said only four or five students in the first class quit and that they quit for personal reasons. None failed.

"We try to be very selective in the students we admit," he said. "Most law schools these days try hard in the admission process to choose students likely to succeed.

"The faculty is very pleased with the students and their work. They like what they see."

Prof. Jay Bybee, who taught at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., before coming to Las Vegas, is one of those who appreciates the students and feels their energy in the classroom.

"The students here are more aggressive than they were at LSU," Bybee said.

He described the students in the South as being more "deferential" than those here, who are more assertive and prone to ask questions.

He is happy with his decision to join the faculty of a brand new school.

"I feel like I've invested in penny stock," he said.

Morgan says he uses the youth of the school as a selling point to bring in high caliber professors from such highly touted schools as Northwestern University and Georgetown.

"We're offering them the opportunity to build a better mouse trap, the opportunity to build a better legal education system," Morgan said. "Something great can be built.

"And the more excellent faculty we recruit, we use them as bait to attract others. We have a whole raft of good people."

One of the stars of the new faculty members starting this year is Douglas Grant, Morgan said.

Grant, who is leaving the University of Idaho, is an authority on water law.

This academic year the size of the faculty will almost double, from eight to 14.

A parking lot is being expanded to accommodate the influx of new students. A modular building will be installed for faculty offices before classes begin.

There is some concern that there will be delays in the UNLV library moving from its present facility into the new Lied Library building because of engineering problems -- more steel beams are being added to support the weight of the books.

"We are cautiously optimistic that the Lied Library will stay on schedule," Morgan said, adding, however, that he won't be surprised if there is a small delay.

The new library should be open around the first of the year, leaving the Dickinson Library building vacant and ready for renovation for the law school, a project expected to take 12 to18 months.

"We'll be ready to go when the library gets out of there," Morgan said.

One of the most exciting things Morgan is anticipating this year is the school's first step toward accreditation.

"We've spent a fair amount of time preparing for the accreditation process," Morgan said. "We will file the papers around the first of August."

After the papers are filed, an inspection team comprised of lawyers, judges, legal scholars and others appointed by the American Bar Association will visit the school, spending about three days here.

Morgan said the head of the bar association's accreditation program has visited the school twice.

"He's been positive about what he's seen. He says this is a model school and we have his support," he said.

If the inspection team likes what it sees, the school possibly could receive provisional accreditation in the spring.

"Full accreditation takes three to five years," Morgan said. "But provisional is as good as full accreditation as far as students are concerned. They can take the bar exam in any state."

Second-year law student Jason Frierson, president of the student body, said he has no regrets about choosing the Boyd School of Law, despite its newness.

"Of course I've occasionally felt the effects of being in the charter class," Frierson said. "Sometimes it's good with new opportunities. Sometimes it's not as good, with bugs that have to be worked out. Overall, the year lived up to what I hear first-year law school is like at every law school.

"I'm honored to be in the charter class and am looking forward to year two."

Frierson is working this summer as an intern for a Reno judge.