The School of Law is a part of the University of Dayton, which was founded in 1850 and is the largest private university in Ohio, enrolling more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. As a Catholic, Marianist institution, UD is committed to producing graduates who uphold the highest professional standards.

First established in 1922 and then known as the College of Law, the University of Dayton School of Law first taught classes only at night. Classes were offered from 5:20 – 7:30 p.m. to both men and women, even though the other University of Dayton schools were open to men only. John C. Shea, a prominent Dayton lawyer who was also the first Assistant Director of Law for the City of Dayton, served as the College of Law’s first dean. Four other faculty were hired, all of whom were men. Tuition in 1922 was $40.00 per semester, with a year’s tuition and fees totaling $110.00. At that time, it took four years to earn a law degree. A student had to be at least seventeen years old, a graduate of high school or hold the equivalent of a high school degree, and demonstrate “satisfactory evidence of moral character” to be considered for admission.

Twenty students, including two women and one African American, proudly graduated from the College of Law in 1926, four years after the school opened. All passed their bar exams on the first attempt, and bar passage rates remained extremely high for the next decade.

Despite successful graduating students and the addition of daytime classes, the law school was faced with heavy economic problems due to the Depression. The administration, under Judge Robert C. Patterson, who succeeded Dean Shea in 1930, decided to close its doors. The decision was made in 1932, giving the entering freshman that year the opportunity to graduate. The University of Dayton College of Law ended its run in 1935.

Interest in reopening the law school took place four decades later, when demand for lawyers had increased. According to a 1974 Campus Report article, American law school enrollment had doubled in the previous ten years, and women’s enrollment had grown from 1500 to nearly 9000 in the same time period. University of Dayton officials conducted a preliminary investigation and feasibility study of opening a law school. After receiving optimistic study results and positive feedback from the community, it was announced that the University of Dayton School of Law would open in Albert Emanuel Hall in September of 1974.

UD President Rev. Raymond A. Roesch said at the time: “Our interest is not merely in providing, under private auspices, opportunities for the acquisition of legal expertise, worthy though this goal may be. Rather we see herein an exceptional opportunity to promote Christian justice, social as well as individual, and thus to help humanize society.”

Within four years of graduating the new school's first class, the School of Law became fully accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the Association of American Law Schools. It has been a leader in educating men and women in this region.

UDSL has continued to grow and expand, most notably with the dedication of Joseph E. Keller Hall in 1997. As the new center for legal education at the University of Dayton, Keller Hall offers students a technologically equipped environment for study and research. The School of Law is also home to the renowned Program in Law & Technology as well as the Legal Profession Program. Graduates have become distinguished lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and CEOs. They have started their own law firms, argued in front of our nation’s highest courts, and remained active in their respective communities. The University of Dayton School of Law, through its programs, professors, and facilities, is dedicated to enhancing its tradition of preparing highly qualified legal professionals.