WV Legislators push to build Marshall University law school in Charleston - WOWK 13 News
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — Does West Virginia need more lawyers? Some delegates in the legislature say so, and they’ve introduced a bill to create a law school in Charleston.
Last Monday, House Bill 4425 was introduced to create a second law school in the Mountain Statet.
Lawmakers say the goal is to give non-traditional students more options to get a law degree.
“We need this; a lot of bigger cities have these type of opportunities,” says Delegate Matthew Rohrbach (R-Cabell).
Delegate Rohrbach introduced the bill. He says people who already have jobs need more flexibility than traditional law students.
If approved, the law school would be in South Charleston and be affiliated with Marshall University. It would have a non-traditional attendance model, offering evening, weekend, and night classes.
“We have one law school that is strictly full-time, traditional attendance type of model. You could go part-time. So there’s a real need out here for individuals that need a legal education but they can’t really stop their professions and go to a traditional law school three years straight,” Rohrbach says.
It’s an idea both sides of the aisle seem to be on board with.
“This is actually a good opportunity to work in a bipartisan fashion. I know Dr. Matt Rohrbach approached me and said, ‘Do you want to help us get a law school?’ I said, absolutely. With John Marshall and our very storied history, I think it’s only right that we have a law school,” says Delegate Sean Hornbuckle (D-Cabell).
However, is Marshall University on board?
A spokesperson for the school says it needs more study.
“We would need to conduct a feasibility study to see what is needed in terms of attorneys going forward for the next ten years, the availability of a law library, the availability of instructors, professors,” says Leah Payne, director of communications at Marshall University.
Payne says the only other law school in the state is West Virginia University.
“The reception right now is a little lukewarm. I think some of the immediate pros are we would probably get a lot more folks into the legal profession that historically haven’t been introduced to that. On the negative side, potentially maybe Marshall isn’t ready to use the resources to be able to do that just yet. So it’s probably just a ‘wait and see,'” Hornbuckle says.
The bill still needs to get a hearing, it needs to get passed by the full house and senate, and it needs funding.
source: https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/wv-legislators-push-to-build-marshall-university-law-school-in-charleston/
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