At Maryland Carey Law, we foster a welcoming and supportive environment for students from all backgrounds. A robust plurality of perspectives enriches classroom learning, informs decision-making, improves the legal profession, and promotes access to justice. We cultivate a community of academic excellence in which we value the unique strengths and backgrounds that each person brings to the study of the law and rigorous exchange of ideas.
Professor Russell McClain, Associate Dean for Institutional Engagement and Experience
Professor Russell McClain works to foster a climate at the law school that is free of unnecessary impediments to success; a culture where individual initiative is not hampered by a historic legacy of discrimination that has disproportionately impacted students of color, women, and other underrepresented groups. The law school’s goal is to expand opportunities for admission, retention, and graduation to ensure that our pursuit of new talent is not artificially hamstrung by antiquated or inaccurate notions of excellence.
Advising and Support Services
All first-year students are assigned peer advisors, who are upper-level students. These groups are small and include students from the same 1L section. Groups meet periodically during the year to provide support during the transition into law school. Peer advisors give advice on various topics such as adjusting to law school, preparing for final exams, getting involved in campus life, and selecting courses after the first year.
Each incoming student is assigned an academic advisor, often from a program of interest. Academic advisors assist students in understanding graduation requirements, selecting courses of interest, and registering for classes each semester.
Every incoming student is assigned a faculty mentor, who is a professor who is not teaching them in a course. The faculty mentor helps students navigate the transition to law school and explore various academic and career interests. Disability Support Services
The UMB Office of Educational Support and Disability Services (ESDS) coordinates services to assist students and applicants with disabilities in obtaining reasonable accommodations through an interactive process involving the student and the school. The School of Law is governed by the disability and non-discrimination policies and procedures of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).
In 2017, the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law launched a partnership with four law firms – DLA Piper; Gallagher, Evelius & Jones; Miles & Stockbridge; and Pessin Katz Law – that shared the school’s commitment to a diverse, vibrant legal community. The partnership, now known as the Legal Excellence and Promise (LEAP) Scholars Program, facilitates access to the legal profession by recognizing merit and potential in incoming students with a capacity for leadership. The students are given intensive mentoring experiences to expand their prospective ability to positively impact the legal profession. Since launching, the partnership has welcomed seven new partners - Gordon Feinblatt; T. Rowe Price; Deloitte; Brown Advisory; Semmes, Bowen & Semmes; Venable; and Saul Ewing – to join the original four listed above (all but Pessin Katz and Deloitte remain partners).
The program’s centerpiece is an endowed scholarship fund created through the generous support of our partners, along with matching funds from the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation and investment from the School of Law. Each year, approximately 15 incoming students who contribute to the range of excellence at Maryland Carey Law are selected to be part of the program and receive scholarship support. LEAP Scholars must have demonstrated leadership and an ability to overcome challenges in pursuing their educational and/or professional goals.
While the endowed scholarship is the program’s cornerstone, the initiative also focuses more broadly on promoting and fostering inclusive understandings of excellence at the School of Law to combat inappropriately constrained assessments of talent. In conjunction with the School of Law’s Associate Dean for Institutional Engagement and Experience, the program is advised by a committee of representatives from the partners. The committee facilitates and participates in mentorship programs and opportunities for student scholars to interact with the legal community, including for example:
- Individual mentoring from attorneys whose firms are part of the Initiative
- Firm-hosted networking events, lunches, or happy hours
- Inviting scholars to attend events in the Baltimore legal community, such as bar association meetings, networking receptions, etc.
- Law school programming
- Mock interviewing and other skills-building exercises
These opportunities help the students with their networking skills and foster deeper connections to the Baltimore legal and business community. LEAP Scholars enter the program as a community of scholars and have opportunities inside and out of the classroom to develop a sense of community and belonging. The scholars also participate in other social and networking events to build a sense of unity. While academic paths may diverge in the 2L and 3L years, the program is designed in a way that involves upper-class scholars (as mentors, role models, and advisors) throughout their time at Maryland Carey Law.
99 scholars have participated in the program since we welcomed the first cohort in 2017, and we have graduated a total of 52 students from the program.
Established in 2019, The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings Scholarship pays tribute to Congressman Cummings, his many contributions to society, and his standing as one of Maryland Carey Law's most distinguished alumni. Created and endowed by the Maryland Carey Law Board of Visitors, this scholarship is awarded to students who demonstrate an interest in public service, a strong record of academic excellence, and financial need. Congressman Cummings was a leader both locally and nationally, and this scholarship aims to empower law students to become leaders in the legal community. The scholarship was awarded for the first time in 2020. Learn more about the scholarship here.
Named for the first woman admitted to the Maryland State Bar Association, the WLE’s Rose Zetzer Fellowship program integrates theory and practice to prepare students for success in leadership positions in law, business, government, nonprofits, and the judiciary.
The fellowship combines leadership experience with a workshop focused on topics including personal negotiation, communication, strategic career planning, business development, fundraising, and organizational behavior and dynamics. Fellows also have the opportunity to meet prominent women lawyers in leadership roles who share their perspectives on the pressures, obstacles, and dilemmas they faced in achieving their positions.
The WLE program was founded in 2002 and is the first program of its kind in the country. It is designed to produce lawyers who are aware of the barriers that women face when seeking positions of leadership in society and identify ways to support them in their pursuit of these roles.