Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law is based in downtown Knoxville, with full-time and part-time hybrid JD programs. Its practical training includes client work, externships, mediation, and trial practice.
This guide walks you through how to get into Lincoln Memorial Law.
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1. Lincoln Memorial Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
Lincoln Memorial Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: 75th: 155 | Median: 151 | 25th: 149
- GPA: 75th: 3.84 | Median: 3.57 | 25th: 3.26
Lincoln Memorial Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 155 | Median: 152 | 25th: 150
- GPA: 75th: 3.70 | Median: 3.53 | 25th: 3.24
These are the full-time cohorts entering in 2026 and 2025. The LSAT median fell one point while the GPA median rose slightly. The 2026 full-time class enrolled 129 students; the separate hybrid class enrolled 60, with medians of 154 and 3.15. Compare yourself with the format you are actually choosing.
Aim to be at or above at least one median to be competitive. Above both puts you in a stronger position. Below both medians, this is a prayer, not a reach.
For context on how medians affect your strategy, see How to Build a Smart Law School List.
2. Lincoln Memorial Law Application Essays
Personal Statement and Optional Context (optional)
LMU makes the personal statement optional. Additional explanations can address application answers or information the committee should consider.
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
If your optional context discusses background or perspective, see my Diversity Statement Examples and Diversity Statement Guide.
For more on making all of these essays work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Additional Explanations
Applicants previously academically dismissed from law school need two separate responses covering intervening work, activity, or study and their stronger preparation to succeed. The responses may share one document, but each statement must be addressed independently; they cannot be combined into a single essay. LMU also strongly encourages an explanation for an LSAT increase or decrease of four or more points.
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Lincoln Memorial Law Resume Requirements
The resume is optional. Submit one that makes education, employment, service, and leadership easy to follow. Give dates and concrete responsibilities, especially when sustained work helps explain your path to law school. Do not stretch routine participation into leadership.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Lincoln Memorial Law Letters of Recommendation
Submit at least two letters of recommendation through CAS, and assign both to LMU. Choose people who can evaluate your academic or professional work firsthand. LMU does not require a particular type of recommender; detailed observation matters more than a prominent title.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Lincoln Memorial Law Interview Process
LMU ordinarily does not interview applicants. Admissions may request an interview when discussing the file would be useful. Be ready to explain your experience, any material issue in the application, and why the selected program fits your plans.
6. Lincoln Memorial Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Application Dates and Fees
Fall 2027 applications open in September 2026. There is no application fee, and applicants may apply to only one JD format in the cycle.
The full-time priority deadline is March 15, 2027; the final deadline is July 1, 2027. For hybrid applicants, the complete-file batch deadlines are October 14 and December 16, 2026; March 17, May 12, and July 1, 2027. Work backward from an early batch rather than treating July as your preferred submission date.
Testing Policy
LMU accepts the LSAT or GRE, but not JD-Next, for August 2027 entry. A complete file includes the assigned recommendations and CAS materials, not just the application itself.
If you're considering the GRE, read my LSAT vs. GRE guide before deciding.
7. Lincoln Memorial Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
LMU considers every applicant for scholarships during admission review. Awards weigh academic credentials alongside experience, service, leadership, and other relevant factors. Entering scholarships renew automatically with good academic standing, including a cumulative 2.000 GPA, and completion within the admitted program's length. Current students can also seek additional awards after an academic year.
The 2025 ABA report shows 398 of 400 students received grants during 2024-2025. Median awards were $28,000 for full-time recipients and $7,220 for part-time recipients. Those are separate populations, not interchangeable estimates of your offer.
For 2026-2027, tuition is $1,512 per credit. The full-time published budget is $83,464, but its tuition calculation assumes 30 credits; first-year students take 31. The hybrid budget is $79,681, based on 25 credits and a longer budgeting period. Health insurance may be waived with approved comparable coverage. Compare your actual credit load and net tuition, then add living expenses and travel. A lower annual hybrid bill does not by itself mean a lower total degree cost.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Lincoln Memorial Law Joint Degrees
LMU offers full-time students three combined pathways with its own graduate programs: JD/MBA, JD/MPA, and JD/MS in Criminal Justice. Apply and qualify for the programs separately. The master's work is online and coordinated around law study; it does not replace the JD's 90 law credits.
The MBA suits business and organizational management, while the MPA and criminal justice degrees add public-administration or justice-system training. The published MBA plan permits completion in as little as three academic years plus a summer. Approved JD electives can satisfy part of the MPA or criminal justice master's requirements. Plan the sequence before adding courses, and budget master's tuition separately: a JD merit award applies to JD coursework.
9. Lincoln Memorial Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Lincoln Memorial's Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 74.5%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 5.5%
- Federal clerkships: 0.0%
- Public service (including government): 21.8%
Tennessee was the largest destination, followed by Kentucky and Virginia. Small-firm practice and government are more useful reference points here than a national large-firm recruiting model. Build a plan around the kind of employer and geographic market you would actually accept, with borrowing that fits that plan. For someone committed to East Tennessee, local fieldwork can be an important part of that preparation.
10. Lincoln Memorial Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Criminal Practice and Advocacy: Criminal Practice Skills, evidence, and trial training provide a practical sequence for students interested in prosecution or defense. Connect classroom procedure to the decisions lawyers make before a case reaches trial, including investigation, charging, negotiation, and preparation.
Family Law and Client Counseling: Domestic Relations, drafting, and the Domestic Violence clinical experience put family problems in a concrete professional setting. This is a useful direction for applicants interested in individual clients, careful interviewing, and the procedural consequences of urgent personal disputes.
Mediation and Dispute Resolution: Mediation Skills and clinical mediation bring negotiation into the curriculum alongside litigation. Consider this work when your interest in law includes helping parties identify workable resolutions, explain competing interests, and make informed choices instead of simply preparing to argue.
Public Administration and Community Practice: Municipal Government Law, Nonprofit Organizations, and the MPA pathway connect legal training with the institutions delivering local services.
11. Lincoln Memorial Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
LMU requires six experiential elective credits, which can come from qualifying clinics, simulations, or field placements.
- Domestic Violence: Represent litigants seeking or opposing protective orders under faculty supervision, connecting client accounts to courtroom preparation.
- Mediation: Complete Tennessee Rule 31-approved training and assist unrepresented parties with day-of-court mediation in general sessions court.
- Immigration Humanitarian Relief: Work on humanitarian or family-based immigration matters for underserved noncitizens, with attention to client needs and supporting facts.
- Expungement Clinic: This noncurricular experience assists people seeking to address criminal records and barriers to reentry.
- Externships: Work under an attorney or judge in approved placements, with an accompanying course. Sites include courts, public defender and prosecutor offices, agencies, legal services organizations, and firms.
- Trial Advocacy and Drafting Simulations: Practice litigation and document preparation through fictional matters, performance, and feedback rather than representing actual clients.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Graduation also requires 30 approved, unpaid community-service hours, including at least ten involving meaningful law-related work for people of limited means or organizations serving them. The requirement applies to both formats. First-semester students cannot complete the qualifying law-related hours yet. Partnerships include Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the Knoxville Bar Association, with projects involving wills, veterans, bankruptcy debtors, and Tennessee Free Legal Answers. Keep volunteer service distinct from your credited fieldwork when planning your schedule.
12. Lincoln Memorial Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Melanie Reid, Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Law: Teaches criminal procedure and practice. Her background includes federal prosecution and work in the Justice Department's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section.
- Gordon Russell, Associate Dean, Director of the Law Library, and Professor of Law: Teaches research and dispute-resolution skills. He is a Tennessee Rule 31 mediator with experience in community mediation organizations.
- Syd Beckman, Professor of Law: Teaches evidence and technology-related subjects. He brings family-law practice, judicial experience, and authorship of evidence teaching materials to the classroom.
- Katie Tolliver Jones, Director of Academic Success and Associate Professor of Law: Teaches academic foundations and estate-related subjects. As an ABA public-service tax fellow, she established a clinic serving eight Appalachian counties.
Journals
- Lincoln Memorial University Law Review: The student-run journal publishes academic, practitioner, and student scholarship. Membership combines editing with an individual writing project; the write-on comes before the second year for full-time students and before the third year for part-time students.
13. Lincoln Memorial Law Culture and Student Life
The downtown Knoxville setting gives LMU a different daily rhythm from a residential campus in Harrogate. Treat the city as part of your professional education: build relationships through service, fieldwork, and student activities, not just through classes. Those commitments should connect to the practice you hope to build.
Student organizations include the Criminal Law Society, Family Law Society, Black Law Students Association, and a Hybrid Student Association focused on distance-learning support. Peer leaders and law-school mentors help newer students navigate the program. Hybrid applicants should plan for participation and relationships as deliberately as they plan for coursework.
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Related Reading
→ How to Build a Smart Law School List
→ Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
→ How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships
→ 6 Proven Steps to Get Off a Law School Waitlist
→ How to Get Into Law School Below Both Medians
→ What Holistic Law School Admissions Really Means
→ Blog Directory
Note: While I try to keep this guide up to date, always verify deadlines, requirements, and policies at the Lincoln Memorial Law website before applying.
Think you spotted an outdated requirement or something that doesn't look right? Email moshe@sharperstatements.com with the school and a link to the current information.
