Mercer University School of Law: A Tradition of Practice-Ready Lawyers
Mercer University School of Law, located in Macon, Georgia, has a long-standing reputation for producing practice-ready lawyers who uphold the highest ideals of the legal profession. Founded in 1873, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States. It was the first law school accredited by the bar in Georgia and the second oldest of Mercer's 12 colleges and schools. The school's commitment to small classes, a professional skills-oriented approach to legal education, and a supportive environment sets it apart as a distinguished institution for legal studies.
A Commitment to Excellence: The Woodruff Curriculum
The Law School initiated an innovative curriculum that reinforced its commitment to small classes and a professional skills-oriented approach to legal education, after a $15 million gift from George W. Woodruff. The Woodruff Curriculum has long been viewed as a model for law schools across America. It earned the Gambrell Professionalism Award from the ABA for its “depth and excellence of the Woodruff Curriculum and its commitment to professionalism”, as well as other awards for service and professional skills proficiency.
Educational Philosophy and Focus
Mercer Law School's educational philosophy centers on ensuring that graduates develop essential skills, acquire comprehensive legal knowledge, and cultivate ethical values. The school aims to equip students with problem-solving, counseling, and trial and appellate advocacy skills necessary to excel as practicing attorneys.
Mercer Law School has earned a reputation as an excellent provider of legal education with an intense focus on student and faculty interaction. Our curriculum offers students the opportunity to develop advocacy, counseling, drafting, negotiation, and mediation skills that will be invaluable throughout their career and to build an ethical foundation for the practice of law.
Small Class Sizes and Personalized Attention
Mercer Law School intentionally keeps enrollment small - approximately 400 total students - to provide direct access to everything they offer: progressive curriculum, professors, alumni connections, leadership roles, student organizations, personalized career guidance and more. The faculty are approachable, supportive, and will challenge students to succeed. This intimate setting fosters close interaction between students and faculty, creating a supportive and collaborative learning environment.
Read also: Funding Your Education at Mercer
Location and Community
Located in the heart of central Georgia, Mercer Law’s hometown of Macon is a flourishing Southern metropolis with a soul unmatched by any other. Macon is the seat of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia and the home of a thriving and active legal community, including the main office of the United States Attorney and the office of the federal defender of the district. This environment provides Mercer Law students a full range of opportunities needed to prepare for a career in any field of law, anywhere in the world.
As one of the South's most historic and culturally rich communities, Macon will provide ideal access to music, art, culture, recreation, outdoor activities, and professional resources. Macon has restaurants, breweries, nightlife, things to do and see, and fun to be had.
Practice-Ready Curriculum and Skills Training
Mercer Law School graduates students who are prepared for practice. The Legal Writing Program prepares students with the essential legal research and writing skills they need to be prepared to practice right after graduation. Employers recognize that when they hire a Mercer Law graduate, they are hiring a lawyer who is highly trained in these skills.
Mercer offers a Certificate in Advanced Legal Writing, Research, and Drafting to students who take selected writing, research and drafting courses in addition to the required courses and successfully complete several additional requirements. Space in the certificate program is limited.
The law school distinguishes itself by providing individualized training by distinguished practitioners and judges, and a bespoke and evidence-centric curriculum that’s designed to train practice-ready lawyers.
Read also: Future Leaders Program
Experiential Learning Opportunities
About half of Mercer Law students participate in clinical training through our Experiential Education program. Students work on real cases and gain the practical skills they need once they graduate. For example, students in the Habeas Project help to represent people who have been wrongfully imprisoned, offering a legal lifeline that could lead to a new trial.
Mercer Law’s Domestic Violence Clinic provides students with an opportunity to represent victims in Temporary Protective Orders. The clinic is a two-semester commitment. In the fall, students learn the Georgia law and court rules surrounding the issuance of Temporary Protective Orders, as well as client interviewing and counseling, negotiation, and trial skills.
Since 2006, the Project has handled dozens of cases pending before the Georgia Supreme Court and various Georgia Superior Courts in post-conviction matters, in which litigants no longer have the right to appointed counsel. In the clinic, Professor Meagan Hurley supervises student case work and mentors in all aspects of representation: client visits, investigation, case planning, brief drafting, and preparing for oral arguments and evidentiary hearings. Students begin to integrate their understanding of larger constitutional criminal law concepts with rules of evidence, appellate/post-conviction rules and procedures, and legal writing and client counseling techniques. Qualified students may sign their clients’ briefs, in addition to engaging in oral advocacy in a variety of courts.
Third-year students are eligible to participate in the Public Defender Clinic. Under the Third Year Practice Act, students have the opportunity to appear in court at hearings and trials on behalf of clients. Students assist in the representation of clients of the local public defender office in all aspects of representation, including fact investigation, witness interviewing, legal research and drafting, and preparing cases for trials and hearings. During the Fall and Spring semesters, students work at least 14 hours per week in the public defender office.
Students in the Low Income Tax Clinic represent clients in controversies with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Under the direction of Professor Monica Roudil, students interview and counsel clients, conduct necessary investigations, and ultimately negotiate agreements with the IRS. Participants may also represent clients in litigation in the United States Tax Court or assist with community outreach or education.
Read also: Roles of the Mercer Board
The newest experiential course is the innovative Civics Field Placement, a year-long course. The fall semester course is a seminar in constitutional law culminating in a written paper that fulfills other program requirements at the law school along with instruction on how to teach and mentor high school students in general civics instruction. The focus on students’ work in the spring semester occurs within the local public school system.
Joint Degree Programs
Mercer Law School and the Stetson-Hatcher School of Business of Mercer University offer a joint program of study that permits both the Juris Doctor and the Master of Business Administration degrees to be earned in as few as three years. Both schools have collaborated to offer strong combined programs in law and business. The MBA program offers a flexible evening format and an intimate graduate setting, providing students with an opportunity to develop strong connections with each other, the faculty, and the business community. With its focus on ethical leadership and problem-solving skills, Mercer's MBA program enables students to make connections between business theory and its practical application. Neither the JD nor MBA degree will be awarded to a student until he or she has completed the requirements set forth in the joint program for both degrees.
International Law Opportunities
Mercer Law School offers a full array of international law courses and other opportunities for students. The curriculum contains courses in both public and private international law, comparative law, and immigration law. Each semester students have classes in each of these areas available, and for those who are particularly interested in international and comparative law the faculty has developed a pathway devoted to these areas.
Mercer Law School is one of a select group of institutions, and the only law school, that participates in the programs offered by the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights. Study abroad programs can further enhance your interest in international law.
Student Life and Activities
It’s hard to imagine a law school with a more robust student-life atmosphere. Often the work they do benefits people other than themselves. Like the annual auction by Mercer’s Association of Women Law Students that raises thousands of dollars each year for local charities. Or the annual scholarship funds raised each year by Mercer’s Black Law Students Association to support local high school students aspiring to become lawyers. Or the conservation and recycling efforts by the Environmental Law Society to help promote sustainable living. The Student Bar Association facilitates many of the student activities. SBA officers are the student-elected representatives of the law school.
Mercer Law Review
Each four-book volume of the Mercer Law Review is edited and published by students of Mercer University School of Law. The Annual Survey of Georgia Law reviews noteworthy opinions of the Georgia appellate course decided in the preceding year. This is one of the most widely read books published by the Mercer Law Review because it provides practitioners with a concise overview of developments in the law for major practice areas. The Lead Articles Edition contains selected transcripts and related articles from each annual symposium hoted by the Mercer Law Review. The Articles Edition is a collection of articles selected for their timeliness and contribution to developing legal scholarship.
Furman Smith Law Library
The Furman Smith Law Library, named to honor a distinguished alumnus, is the center for legal information and research in the Law School. Legal research is an essential lawyering skill and an integral part of the curriculum at Mercer Law School. Mercer’s highly qualified law librarians/legal research faculty have law degrees and are among the best at delivering expert instruction in the required Introduction to Legal Research course and the popular elective, Advanced Legal Research.
The library occupies over 30,000 square feet (3,000 m2) in a central location on the second floor of the law school building. The library is used by state lawyers and judges.
Career Services
The Career Services Office is a resource for employers seeking to recruit candidates for permanent positions, summer jobs, and part-time employment throughout the school year. Mercer Law School Career Services is committed to your success.
The thoughtful, driven community you find as a Mercer Law student extends beyond your three years of law school and continues for decades through the Mercer Law alumni network. Whether through networking events, internships, mentor-ships, job opportunities, or even adjusting to a new city, Mercer Lawyers are eager to connect and mentor Mercer Law students and fellow alumni.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
At least 99% of Mercer Law students receive some amount of financial assistance. Mercer Law School offers merit scholarships each year to applicants whose academic records, LSAT or GRE scores, and personal achievements demonstrate the potential for outstanding performance in the study of law. Every accepted student is automatically considered for a merit scholarship with the exception of the George W.
The George Woodruff Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship awarded to four members of each entering class. The scholarship covers full-tuition and a $5000 annual stipend. Mercer Law does not award scholarships that are conditional on law school academic performance other than remaining in good academic standing. External scholarships are awarded through various outside (non-Mercer) organizations.
Admissions
At Mercer Law, they seek a student body with varied backgrounds, experiences, and interests. They seek to produce genuinely good lawyers in an ethical and pragmatic sense who are well-equipped to begin their careers in the practice of law. A holistic review of many factors related to an applicant's potential for success in law school and potential to become a competent and ethical attorney is conducted. The belief is that enrolling students with a wide range of experiences, abilities, perspectives, accomplishments, skills, goals, and interests enhances the quality of the conversations in the classrooms and better prepares attorneys to work with clients from corporations to the indigent.
Applications are accepted between September 1 and June 1 from prospective students wishing to begin their studies in the fall semester. Acceptance and scholarship decisions begin in early fall. Applicants must have completed a bachelor's degree prior to law school enrollment. Applicants must either take the LSAT or GRE and register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS). jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction.
For the class entering in 2024, the School of Law accepted 43.27% of applicants, with 29.16% of those accepted enrolling. Based on the 2025 ABA 509 Report, 1184 candidates submitted JD applications to Mercer University - Walter F. George School of Law and 447 received acceptance letters. This means that of the 447 applicants who received law school acceptance letters, 152 chose to enroll.
Bar Passage and Employment Outcomes
In 2024, the overall bar examination passage rate for the Law School’s first-time examination takers was 84.00% (including 87.36% for Georgia), which was above the ABA first time average pass rate of 79.31%. According to Mercer's official 2025 ABA-required disclosures, 88.46% of the Class of 2024 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment (i.e. as attorneys) within nine months after graduation, while 4.81% obtained employment where a JD was an advantage.
Cost of Attendance
The total cost of tuition and fees at Mercer for the 2025-26 academic year is $45,082. The anticipated total cost of living is $23,289, bringing the anticipated total yearly cost of attendance to $68,371.
Notable Alumni
Mercer Law School boasts a distinguished list of alumni who have made significant contributions to the legal profession, government, and society. Not long ago Mercer alumni have headed two of Georgia's three branches of government: Nathan Deal, JD 1966, was the Governor of Georgia, 2011-2019, and Hugh P. Thompson, JD 1969, was the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, 2013-2016.
In the Georgia General Assembly, Judson H. Hill, Sr., JD 1986, served until 2017 as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; William T. Ligon, Jr., JD 1986, served as Chairman of the Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee.
Other notable alumni include:
- Judge Phillips '55, served as State Court judge from 1964-12 and earlier served in the Georgia House of Representatives (1959-62) and Georgia State Senate (1963-64).
- Congressman Carl Vinson '02, was the first person to serve more than 50 years in the United States House of Representatives, 1914-65.
- Congressman J. Mark Wilcox '10, served in the United States House of Representatives, 1933-39 and later served as Attorney General of the Dade County Port Authority/Greater Miami Traffic Association (1945-56).
- Senator Walter F. George '01, served in the United States Senate, 1922-57 and is the namesake of Mercer Law School.
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