James Gilmore III

Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants. Consistently ranked among the top law schools in the nation, Virginia has educated generations of lawyers, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service. Virginia is justly famous for its collegial environment that bonds students and faculty, and student satisfaction is consistently cited as among the highest in American law schools. At Virginia, law students share their experiences in a cooperative spirit, both in and out of the classroom, and build a network that lasts well beyond their three years here. With more than 20,000 students and a faculty of more than 2,100, the University of Virginia has been ranked first or second among the nation's public universities since 1984. The University's diverse intellectual life is open to law students: Up to 12 credits from other departments may be counted toward the J.D. degree.

The University of Virginia (often abbreviated as UVA, UVa, or Virginia) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was conceived and designed by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, and established in 1819. UVA's initial Board of Visitors included former Presidents of the United States Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Monroe owned the initial site of the University, which was mostly farmland. His law office and farmhouse are now the site of Brown College at Monroe Hill, a residential college at UVA. UVA is one of the eight original Public Ivy universities, and it is the only university campus in the United States that is designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In the 2013 edition of U.S. News and World Report's National University Rankings, the school was listed as America's 2nd best public university; tied with UCLA and surpassed only by UC Berkeley.