|
Date |
ArticleType |
|
11/3/2009 |
Press Release |
|
Letter to Governor Patrick regarding support for a Public Law in the SouthCoast |
|
|
November 3, 2009
Governor Deval Patrick
State House, Room 280
Office of the Governor
Boston, MA 02133
Dear Governor Patrick:
The Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the united voice of businesses throughout the greater Fall River region since 1911. On Friday, October 30, the Board of Directors of the Chamber voted unanimously to endorse a plan offered by the Southern New England School of Law (“SNESL”) to donate real estate, facility, technology and library assets to UMass Dartmouth for the noble purpose of creating a public law program in Massachusetts.
There are currently nine private law schools in Massachusetts. The SNESL-UMass proposal simply transforms one of the existing nine private schools into a needed public law school. Massachusetts is one of only six states in the United States without a public law school. Along with Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Alaska do not have public law schools. The number of states without a public law option is soon to be reduced to four. New Hampshire is currently in the process of creating a public law school through the acquisition of Franklin Pierce Law School. Delaware is also creating a public law program.
Because there is no public law school in Massachusetts, law students pay nearly 100 percent more than those who attend public law schools in other states. The unreasonably high cost of a legal education in Massachusetts results in law school graduates facing loan debts in excess of $160,000.00. The UMass-Dartmouth law school would only charge $24,000 a year in tuition, fees, and for books, which is far lower than the $40,000 it costs to attend a private law school.
UMass-Dartmouth also plans to provide 25 fellowships a year that would cut tuition in half on condition that students commit to serving in public interest law for four years upon graduating. The UMass incentive program offers an innovative solution to the high cost of a legal education in Massachusetts and an added incentive for attorneys to enter public service. It will also enhance socio-economic diversity in the legal profession and provide an economic boost to the SouthCoast at a time when it is desperately needed.
Economic wellbeing and community health are inextricably linked. The Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry has long promoted the creation of a diversified economy that improves the quality of life for our citizens through the development of educational opportunities that can make our region competitive in the 21st Century. The Chamber believes that our entire state benefits when any one region succeeds economically.
Economic development in the SouthCoast needs to be a priority in Massachusetts as it has been particularly hard hit by this recession. It is also time for Massachusetts to create an opportunity for students to obtain an affordable, quality public legal education. We thereby support and advocate creation of a public law school as part of UMass Dartmouth educational system.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert A. Mellion, Esq.
President and CEO
|
|
|
