UI accepts 110 former Concordia Law students

The University of Idaho announced Friday it will accept 110 Boise-based Concordia Law students in what it is calling the largest-ever transfer for a western law school.

According to a UI press release, Concordia University in Portland announced in February it would close its Boise location for financial reasons. The law school attempted to partner with another Concordia institution in St.Paul, Minn., but that deal fell apart in June.

In July, former students filed a complaint with Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden’s office citing “significant harm” from the school’s closure.

Concordia Law School earned accreditation 2019 and was ranked as one of the most affordable law schools in the country.

In addition to accepting 110 transfers from the defunct law school, the UI also hired eight new faculty members to accommodate the influx of students, six of whom are from Concordia Law.

The UI College of Law admitted 137 first year students in June; Concordia Law shut its doors later that month. Nearly all transfers from Concordia will complete their legal education in Boise, but two students chose to relocate to study at the UI’s Moscow campus.

The College of Law will use office and classroom space at the Idaho Law and Justice Learning Center and Idaho Water Center to accommodate its Boise students, the press release said. Boise-based students will receive instruction online until the city reenters Stage 4 of Gov. Brad Little’s reopening plan.

The Menard Law Building in Moscow reopened, but students must test negative for COVID-19 before they can attend class. Face masks are required in UI facilities and classrooms, and break rooms are limited to 50 percent occupancy to allow for physical distancing.

According to the release, the incoming class of first year law students is half Idaho residents but only 15 of the 110 Concordia transfers are from out of state.