UMKC School of Law

The origins of the UMKC School of Law can be traced back to 1895 with the founding of the Kansas City School of Law by three local lawyers, who wanted to expand opportunities for legal education in Kansas City. Starting as a night school with 27 students in an office in downtown's New York Life Building, the school moved to various locations as enrollment grew until it purchased its own building at 913 Baltimore in 1926. Having been weakened financially by the Great Depression and with declining enrollment, the school merged with the University of Kansas City in 1938. After the university merged with the University of Missouri System in 1963, it has been known as the UMKC School of Law and has occupied several locations on campus. This current building was dedicated in 1979.

Founded in 1895 by local lawyers William Borland, Edward Ellison, and Elmer Powell, the Kansas City School of Law sought to expand opportunities for legal education in Kansas City. The inaugural class consisted of 26 students, including three women. The thirteen inaugural faculty members were recruited from local attorneys and judges. The first president was Judge Francis Black, who was retired from the Missouri Supreme Court. Early graduates include Lyda Conley in 1902, who became the first Native American woman to take a case to the U.S. Supreme Court when she attempted to defend a sacred cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas, from destruction. Although Conley did not win the case, she and her sisters were able to prevent the cemetery's destruction through armed occupation in defiance of developers. The school operated out of rented offices in several downtown buildings before constructing its own building at 913 Baltimore in 1926. Originally a night school intended for local working professionals, the school attracted students from outside the Kansas City area and other states from the beginning.

The Great Depression hurt the school financially and enrollment dropped. Seeking financial stability and a source for new students, the Kansas City School of Law merged with the University of Kansas City in 1938. Originally the UKC School of Law operated out of the second floor of the Administration Building on campus, today known as Scofield Hall. The Law Library occupied the second floor of the university's library, now known as Newcomb Hall. Traditionally a night school, daytime instruction was added at this time. A building was constructed for the school in 1950, largely through the generosity of UKC founder William Volker. This building, located at 52nd and Rockhill and now known as Cockefair Hall, would house the school for the next three decades. By the early 1970s, the School of Law's enrollment had nearly reached 500, and it had outgrown its building. It faced accreditation concerns from the American Bar Association because it lacked the required study and library space for its students. The discontinuation of the night program in 1972 did little to alleviate the school's space problems, so a campaign was launched to build a new facility. The University of Missouri Board of Curators approved funding in 1976 to construct the current structure, which was dedicated in 1979. Funding for the building's Leon E. Bloch Law Library was provided by the family of H&R Block founder Henry Bloch in honor of his brother Leon, an alumnus of the school.

Over the years, the Kansas City School of Law/UMKC School of Law has educated some of Kansas City's most distinguished citizens. These include former President Harry S. Truman, who attended for two years in the 1920s, and former Supreme Court Justice Charles Whittaker. Alumni include Mayor John Gage of Kansas City (1940-1946), numerous judges, and countless attorneys, lawyers, and businesspeople. In 1948, the school ushered in desegregation at the university by accepting Harold Holliday, the first African American Student at the University of Kansas City. Harold would become a prominent Kansas City attorney and civil rights activist. From the beginning, the school promoted legal education for women, and its female alumni range from Lyda Conley, the first Native American woman to argue before the Supreme Court, and Tiera Farrow, the first woman to defend a murder trial, to Melissa Taylor Standridge, current Justice of the Kansas Supreme court.

Today, the UMKC School of Law is a critical part of the university's mission as an urban-serving university. It publishes both the UMKC Law Review and the Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. The Arthur H. Stoup and E.E. Thompson Courtrooms within the facility simulate the real-world conditions that future trial advocates will experience. The Stoup Courtroom was intentionally modeled after the ones used by Jackson County to prepare students who would eventually work in those courtrooms. The school's numerous legal clinics not only help in the legal education of its students but also provide much-needed legal services to members of the Kansas City community.

Merge the Law School. The Kansas City Star. 5/19/1938

UKC School of Law nears 50. The Kansas City Star 6/2/1943

Career of Woman Lawyer Here Began with Triumph Over Flood. The Kansas City Star. p. 13 4/28/1953

Decker, Clarence R. Decker, Mary Bell. A Place Of Light: The Story Of A University Presidency. New York. Hermitage House, 1954.

Law to Drop Night Program. The Unews, University of MIssouri-Kansas City. 11/30/1972

Law School May Lose Accreditation. The Unews, University of Missouri-Kansas City p.8 10/30/1975

M.U. Curators Approve Law, Arts Building Plans. Kansas City Times, p. 9A 1/24/1976

Wolff, Christopher. A Pearl of Great Value: The History of UMKC, Kansas City's University. Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC Alumni Association, 2016.

Hemness, Taylor. Celebrating the Legal Legacy of Tiera Farrow in Kansas City, KSHB.Com. March 19th, 2021. Accessed September 7th, 2024. https://www.kshb.com/news/womens-history-month/celebrating-the-legal-legacy-of-tiera-farrow-in-kansas-city.

UMKC School of Law Alumnus Arthur H. Stoup honored, UMKC Today Archives. April 23rd, 2010. Accessed September 7th, 2024. https://info.umkc.edu/news/umkc-school-of-law-alumnus-arthur-h-stoup-honored/.