University of Missouri-Kansas City

School of Law

Synthesis of 2001-2006 Strategic Plan and 2003-2004 Action Initiatives, Continued Planning Discussions, and Initial Thoughts on the Future

February 2005

INTRODUCTION

In 2001, the School of Law completed a strategic planning process and adopted a Strategic Plan. The Law School pursued a number of aspects of that Plan, but the Plan as a whole did not focus our strategic direction. In May 2003, in response to new campus initiatives, the faculty, with input from students and key staff, engaged in a second strategic planning process, this time adopting action plans which provide more of that strategic direction and also provide some concrete steps for the School to pursue. The action plans developed in 2003 do not articulate how they fit within the larger strategic plan developed in 2001, but efforts have been made to reconcile the two. Additionally, efforts were made to tie the action plans together into a more cohesive strategic statement for the Law School, and a document doing so was submitted to the University. That document has not yet been formally adopted by the faculty, and whether it was intended to supersede or co-exist with the prior Strategic Plan is uncertain.

We are continuing to move forward on many of our action plans, and the faculty appears committed to the strategic direction taken in 2003, while still working according to many of the visions in the 2001 Plan. The faculty will continue engaging in more detailed planning both to develop measurable outcomes as mandated by NCA accreditation and in anticipation of preparing the self-study for our ABA sabbatical site visit in 2007.

What follows is a synthesis of the planning documents in existence at the School of Law. It is not intended to be a comprehensive planning document, but rather to provide insight into our current direction and set out actions we have been taking and anticipate taking in light of that direction.

“EXECUTIVE SUMMARY” OF 2001 STRATEGIC PLAN

Mission Statement

The UMKC School of Law is dedicated to educating students to become outstanding lawyers who will serve their communities and nation in the highest tradition of the legal profession.

Vision

The UMKC School of Law will become one of the top 50 law schools in the nation by educating lawyers who improve the quality of legal and professional service in their communities, and by producing scholarship that influences the nation's legal discourse.

Values

The Mission reflects an active value system that permeates every activity at the UMKC School of Law. With this Strategic Plan, the Law School discloses the core values considered critical to fulfilling our Vision. Our values will also help the Law School present lawyers of integrity and consequence to the communities we serve. These values include academic excellence, scholarship, community service, leadership, ethical standards, professionalism, experiential learning (learning by doing), innovative teaching, diversity, personal fulfillment, entrepreneurship and accountability.

Goals/Objectives/Opportunities[1]

Our Goal is to become one of the top 50 law schools in the nation by achieving the following Objectives:

1. Raising average undergraduate GPA of entering class

2.  Raising LSAT scores of entering class

3.  Maintaining high employment rate of graduates

4.  Increasing production and impact of faculty scholarship

5.  Increasing fund-raising at all levels and among all sources

6.  Improving bar passage rate

7.  Improve attractiveness to top level metropolitan-area students by offering metropolitan rate tuition

8.  Improving reputation among legal academics

9.  Improving reputation among lawyers and judges in the bi-state region

ACTION PLAN INITIATIVE (2003)

The following document was prepared to tie together the individual action plans that were approved by the faculty. The document itself has never been specifically approved.

Who we are and how we see ourselves

We are a law school that

q  teaches a diverse student body to become lawyers in the best tradition of the profession and introduces them to the opportunities and obligations of the legal profession and its role in the greater community.

q  appreciates the work of lawyers and their many contributions, which include educating people and institutions about their rights, helping to design prosperous business and community ventures, and working towards the effective and efficient resolution of disputes

q  maintains a faculty devoted both to professional service and to advancing knowledge through the production of excellent academic scholarship

Our vision

To be

 an outstanding regional law school, the best of its type, where faculty value the many contributions of lawyers and the legal profession. Because we train many of the region’s practitioners, business people, judges, and politicians, we have a special responsibility to see that they are competent members of the bench and bar, advisors and administrators; technically proficient, professionally responsible, and knowledgeable about the range of social, political, and economic ideas that influence our society.

 a community of scholars, faculty and students working together, addressing the legal issues and problems confronting society today on the local, state, federal, and international levels.

 aware that our graduates must be comfortable in a variety of professional settings with people from a variety of experiences, from land-use planning meetings with the local town council to trade negotiations in Mexico City, from an opening statement in the county courthouse to an appellate argument before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. While the details of such settings change over time, we can prepare students for such varied work by concentrating always on the foundations of good lawyering: respect for people, respect for knowledge and ideas, and respect for justice.

We will accomplish this by

 building on a strong tradition of advocacy, civic engagement, and academic excellence – a program that has not only produced some of the region’s best lawyers and judges, but one that has also trained a U.S. Supreme Court Justice (Charles Whittaker) and an American President (Harry Truman).

 embracing and fostering a collegial, collaborative model of professional education designed to emulate high quality liberal arts education, and maintaining an intellectual and cultural environment that fosters broad thinking, local and global awareness, and creative problem-solving.

 building on our existing national reputation in scholarship and professional activity based on an impressive record of publications in nationally respected law reviews (our U.S. News scores for faculty quality and productivity are comparable to many second tier schools)

The Initiatives

Specifically, to be faithful to our roots, and in furtherance of our vision, we have committed to focus our efforts in four primary concentration areas: family law, litigation, entrepreneurial lawyering and urban studies. While we must provide course work in a broad range of subject areas to prepare students for practice and the Bar, these are areas in which we have existing strength (e.g., strong faculty, extensive course offerings, existing or possible journal opportunities, clinical or simulation programs) and for which there are real needs in the community.

Additionally, to attract outstanding students and provide an engaged and energized law school community, we propose an Honors Program (one of only three in the country, and the most comprehensive in the nation) and the Inns of UMKC Mentor Program. Both are collaborative effort of faculty and community lawyers designed to socialize students to the school and to the practice of law. These efforts will actively engage our students in the life of the law school, increase their job placement prospects, and help to insure that the best and brightest students see UMKC School of Law as a viable option for them.

To ensure that our students have greater opportunities to practice law in Missouri or wherever they choose, we have adopted a Bar Pass Initiative, a comprehensive plan to prepare students to successfully pass the entrance exam to the profession.

To continue to make a significant contribution to addressing legal problems and issues confronting the local, national and international communities, we propose the Scholarship Initiative which will foster and enhance faculty scholarship, and the Honors Program and concentrations, which will enhance student scholarship and faculty-student collaboration.

To increase revenues for the school without increasing enrollment in our basic J.D. program, and to avoid placing the entire burden of raising new revenue on our students or on our alumni and friends, we have proposed several revenue-producing programs that are consistent with our core mission and which will not detract from our existing resources. These initiatives include the LL.M. in Family Law, the enhanced China program and certificate programs in law.

The Future - Where We Are Going and How We Will Get There

We believe that this vision, supported by the initiatives to which we have committed, will:

 make us an asset to Kansas City, serving as an essential resource to the Bar and the community

 by increasing our reputation, job placement, bar passage and student satisfaction, move us into the top 100 law schools nationally (U.S. News & World Report top 100) by 2006.

q  establish us as one of the top ten programs nationally in both litigation and family law by 2008.

What it will take

To accomplish the goals we have set for ourselves and to truly realize the vision, we require:

 construction of a best-in-class Advocacy Education Center

 a significant increase in scholarship funds for students

 endowed chairs, particularly in our concentration areas (litigation, family law, urban affairs and entrepreneurial lawyering (which includes Intellectual Property)

 support for faculty (e.g., salary enhancements, funds to support research and leaves) to retain the outstanding faculty we have and will recruit in the future

SYNTHESIS OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND ACTION PLAN INITIATIVES

Initiatives being actively pursued

I. To develop and maintain strategic areas of emphasis in the following areas:

A.  Leadership in Litigation Education

Building on a strong tradition of litigation and faculty strength in this area (including the Stripp Professorship in Advocacy), the School of Law will develop as a leader in litigation education by establishing a curricular emphasis, which includes sequenced courses; creative skills training programs (e.g., Trial Practice subrogation course), observation of real proceedings in our renovated courtroom; successful participation in competitions, and symposia and other programs. As a result of these programs and activities, UMKC will be identified as a leader in litigation education and will be ranked in the top 10 litigation programs in the nation within 5 years.

To accomplish this goal, the School must complete renovation of the Courtroom ($2 million dollar project which will be completed with a combination of campus and private resources) and must raise private resources to further support the trial practice and competition programs ($20-40,000 annually, to be raised from alumni and supporters through endowment development and annual giving) as well as speakers and symposia ($10-15,000 annually, same).

B. Family Law (LL.M.)

Building on a solid family law curriculum including national and international family law journals edited at the law school, a wealth of interdisciplinary resources including a masters of social work program and a gerontology center, existing clinical and externship programs and an enthusiastically supportive community with whom to work and serve, the School of Law will develop a masters degree in Family Law and a combined J.D./LL.M. program that draw students with rich backgrounds in helping professions to the unique opportunities for interdisciplinary research and education in providing legal service to families. In this program, the community will be our primary classroom, clients and community partners will be our primary teachers, and service a primary goal. The Family Law emphasis and LL.M. will increase the number of highly qualified lawyers who remain and practice family law in this community and who will become national leaders in bringing fresh perspectives and creative solutions to the problems of families in transition, allowing us to become a change agent for addressing family law issues in the state, region and nation.

To accomplish this goal, the School requires start-up funds to develop marketing materials to market the program nationally ($20,000 has been provided by the campus for this effort). To fully implement the program, we should seek funding for a Chair in Family Law to attract a recognized teacher and scholar in elder law, the one area of our family law curriculum that is not yet developed ($1.5-2 million in private funds). Additionally, funding is needed for clinical faculty (this may initially be funded through grants and contracts). Funding for scholarships and fellowships to attract top students is needed (to be raised through development and annual giving) as well as speakers and symposia ($10-15,000 annually, same). Once implemented, the LL.M. in Family Law will provide additional fee income to the School due to increased graduate enrollment.

C. Entrepreneurship

While more than 60% of private practice lawyers nationally, almost 60% of lawyers in Missouri, and almost 80% of minority lawyers practice in firms smaller than ten attorneys, there is very little training in law schools focused on the unique needs of these solo and small firm practitioners. These entrepreneurial lawyers, who typically receive most of their training on the job or through continuing legal education programs, are an underserved market in traditional legal education. UMKC is in a unique position to capitalize on its existing programs, strong faculty, campus-wide commitment to entrepreneurism and location in a state with nationally-recognized solo and small firm bar committees to create a niche area in entrepreneurial lawyering with a special focus on solo and small firm practice. We propose creation of a Center for Entrepreneurial Lawyering which will be the premiere program for research on entrepreneurism and law, focusing particularly on delivery of legal services to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial lawyers. The Center will be the focal point for developing and delivering effective and creative educational programs for and services to entrepreneurs, lawyers who will represent entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial lawyers (particularly those establishing and running solo and small firms). It will develop model programs for use in law schools around the country, sponsor conferences and symposia for entrepreneurial lawyers, and become a destination law school for students interested in all types of entrepreneurial law and lawyering. Finally, the Center will assist in providing services internally to the campus and the university to facilitate entrepreneurial activity by its constituents, and to the external community to foster business development and especially minority business development. The Center will participate in interdisciplinary efforts to enhance technology transfer and to provide legal assistance in the commercial development of the fruits of university research.