Letter from Dean Semple

Dear First Years:

lloydAt UDM Law, we don’t just say our graduates are practice-ready.  We know it.

Before becoming Dean of UDM Law, I practiced law for 40 years with the Dykema firm in Detroit, the last stretch as Chairman and CEO and nine years as Personnel Partner overseeing the hiring and performance evaluation of associate attorneys.  So I know what practice-ready means.  It means, among other things, that our graduates have:

  • Completed a broad range of legal transactions, side-by-side with seasoned attorneys, through Law Firm Program courses;
  • Helped real people resolve actual problems through working at law clinics and participating in externships;
  • Learned how to defend a line of argument and communicate solutions using concise and well-reasoned analysis and writing; and
  • Grown passionate about the legal system—enthused and eager to contribute to their new place of work and find success.

Now that’s practice-ready.

At UDM Law, we are constantly fine-tuning our curriculum to produce practice-ready graduates.  Rather than isolating ourselves in academia, we involve judges, corporate counsel and attorneys in directing the curriculum, identifying employer needs, and even designing and teaching courses.  Our curriculum remains one of the most progressive in the country and has been recognized in The Wall Street Journal, The National Law Journal, USA Today and other publications.

I am committed to UDM Law’s mission as a law school that prepares you for the challenges of the future, a law school at which you will receive an education that focuses on today’s changing realities even as it enhances your opportunities for tomorrow.  I look forward to getting to know each of you as one of our first-year law students. 

Welcome to UDM Law.

Sincerely,

deans signature

Lloyd A. Semple
Dean and Professor of Law