The Extraordinary Law Quad: Living, Learning, Studying, and Socializing

The striking Gothic-style buildings which form the William W. Cook Law Quadrangle include the Lawyers Club, with residential facilities for approximately 260 students, most of whom have private rooms; the Legal Research building, which contains the magnificent Reading Room, the Law School’s Center for International and Comparative Law, and faculty offices; a modern underground library addition, the Allan F. and Alene Smith Library, regarded as an architectural tour de force and the fourth best law library in the world; and Hutchins Hall, with classrooms, seminar rooms, and faculty and administrative offices. The result, physically as well as metaphorically, is a true community of law.

The Quad’s beauty and functionality is a factor both in student satisfaction and in the School’s programmatic success. The location of residential and academic buildings within the Quad fosters the integration of activities for both students and faculty. In addition, the excellence of Michigan’s library, the concentration of scholars, and the serenity of the setting attract numerous visitors within the profession. Some of those visiting lawyers, judges, and law faculty are themselves temporary residents and thereby enhance the experience of living and studying in the Quad. One result of this architectural design — sensed immediately even by entering students — is an ethos of collegiality and accessibility regardless of the age, reputation, or career achievement of those who walk its paths and corridors. It’s therefore hardly surprising that interactions at the neighboring coffee shops, restaurants, bistros, and bars are frequent between faculty and students, as well as among students.

The Law School is 100 percent wireless network-capable and provides desktop computers, high-speed computer labs, convient public terminals and printers, and a wide range of software. Details are available at www.law.umich.edu/currentstudents/informationtechnology.