Faulkner Welcomes Class of 2015 | Events

Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange and Chief Justice Charles Malone welcome new class at the Alabama Supreme Court Building

MONTGOMERY – Faulkner University, Thomas Goode Jones School of Law welcomed 129 new students during a two-day event beginning at the Alabama Supreme Court Building on Thursday.

The event gave students an opportunity to get an overview of the expectations of the school, interact with faculty and meet their classmates, according to Tim Chinaris, the associate dean of academic affairs.

“We were the only law school in Alabama to welcome our class at the highest court in the state.  Our location in Montgomery gave us this unique opportunity,” Chinaris said. “Our new students created memories today that will last a lifetime.” 

Orientation kicked off with a welcome from notable guest speakers, including Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange. Strange thanked each of the new students for choosing Faulkner and Montgomery for their legal education.

“You are in the front end of your career. You have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those individuals that you are going to touch,” Strange said. “Montgomery needs you. You can and will be the fiber of our community.”

Chief Justice Charles Malone reminded students that the next three years would be challenging and fun and encouraged them to make the most of their law school experience.   Malone encouraged the students to set goals and work hard to make their dreams come true. “It is possible that one of you in this room will be a future justice on this Court,” he said.

In addition to guest speakers, the event featured team building exercises, student and faculty panels and instructions on professionalism in the practice of law. Justice Kelli Wise of the Alabama Supreme Court administered a professionalism oath to each student in which they swore to “endeavor to the best of my ability to seek truth and promote justice.”

Anita Hamlett, the associate dean of student services hopes the event will not only give students a sense of the school’s excitement about the incoming class, but will encourage camaraderie among the students.

“These students begin building professional relationships today that will last throughout their legal careers. Their success, as attorneys, will depend on how treat others. It is not uncommon for a lawyer to have to appear before a judge who was his or her law school classmate,” she said. “We want to use this event not only to prepare our students for the next three years, we want them to build a community of civility.”

The school has been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the class of 2015. The class includes 129 women and men representing 22 different states and 54 different undergraduate institutions, according to Josh Roberts, the director of admissions. The incoming class will have the opportunity to utilize the new Allen Law Center, which includes over 17,000 square feet of new student space, along with other improvements the school has made.

“We have hired some of the most talented new adjunct faculty members in the country and we are in the second year of our new Foundations of Law course to provide students with the possible framework for their law school experience,” Roberts said. “No other class in the history of Faulkner Law has had this degree of innovation and resources placed before them.”

Charles Nelson, dean of Faulkner Law, who led the school to full ABA accreditation in 2009, agreed with Roberts saying that the class is poised for success.

“I am very impressed with our incoming class,” Nelson said. “We are prepared to provide them with the knowledge, skill set and moral foundation to become contributing members of the legal community.” 

Information Source: Faulkner University