Appalachian School of Law students come to us because of our ethos of service. They may not know exactly how they will one day serve the legal needs of others, but they recognize their calling to serve.
Legal needs, like all other human needs, vary from person to person and from community to community. The Appalachian community has historically had a lack of access to legal services – a barrier between them and justice.
Approximately 62% of the lawyers serving the seven surrounding counties in the Central Appalachian region received their law degree from ASL. This is an important statistic because the ratio of lawyers to Central Appalachian residents is dramatically less than the average in the nation.
Three years of legal education at ASL will prepare our students for any specialized calling they later discover as their passion. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” We want our graduates to answer that question with confidence.
Experiential learning is deeply ingrained in our academic program. ASL students have performed over 250,000 thousand hours of community service since our school was founded. This has made a tremendous impact in the local community and beyond. Our clinics and externships give students real experience outside of our campus, giving them a clearer picture of their future in law.
