Beasley School of Law is committed to excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. The faculty are dedicated to preparing students to work in the legal profession with the highest level of skill possible, with a firm commitment to principles of professional responsibility, and with a sense of personal obligation to lead and serve the communities in which they live and practice. We are dedicated to our traditional ideal of making opportunities for legal education accessible to talented students who might otherwise not have the opportunity and those who might encounter barriers due to race, creed, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, socioeconomic background or other personal characteristics. We endeavor to create and sustain a law school community that is diverse, inclusive, and committed to equal justice under the law.

The Law School opened in 1895 as Temple College’s Department of Law under Dean Henry S. Borneman to prepare students for the bar examination. Initially, 46 students enrolled in evening classes. In 1901, the Law School graduated its first class of 16. In 1907, it received accreditation from the Pennsylvania State Board of Bar Examiners.

In 1933, the Law School created a three-year day division, also receiving full accreditation and an “A” rating from the Council on Legal Education of the American Bar Association. The Law School was admitted to full membership in the Association of American Law Schools in 1935. By 1943, however, the school was on the brink of closure, having experienced a deep decline in enrollment and severe financial difficulties. Judge Charles Klein worked closely with a group of dedicated alumni and professors to save the school from collapse.

Under the leadership of Dean Peter J. Liacouras in the 1970s and 1980s, the Law School greatly expanded its programs. It prospered under Dean Robert Reinstein, who served from 1989 to 2008. In 1999, to express gratitude for one of the largest gifts ever given to an American law school, the Law School took on the name of its alumnus and benefactor, James E. Beasley. The availability of Beasley scholarships, together with Law Faculty, Conwell, and Public Interest scholarships, continues to draw a bright, diverse student body.

In 2009 under Dean JoAnne Epps, the Law School was selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to house its new $19 million Public Health Law Research Program devoted to funding research focused on the influence of law on population health. That year, Beasley School of Law also established the Conwell Community Corps, offering recent graduates full-time, paid four- to six-month positions with Philadelphia area public interest agencies. The leadership of Dean Epps during the economic downturn in the years following 2009 drew national attention to Temple Law and to her as an influential voice within legal education.

In 2013, the Sheller Center for Social Justice at Beasley School of Law was founded to partner with local community advocacy organizations to address civil access to justice issues confronting underserved populations. The Law School seeks to maintain and strengthen a longstanding tradition of accessibility and diversity in order to pursue the goals of excellence in higher education and equal justice under the law.

In 2016, Gregory Mandel, Peter J. Liacouras Professor of Law, was named Dean. He is a leading international scholar on intellectual property law, innovation and the interface among technology and law who, in 2021, was promoted to Provost.

Most recently, in July 2022, Rachel Rebouché, James E. Beasley Professor of Law, was appointed Dean of the Beasley School of Law. She is a leading scholar on reproductive health law, feminist legal theory and family law.

Graduate and Professional Programs and Certificates