School of Law History
130 Years of Serving Students — and Justice
The Kansas City School of Law was founded by a group of young local attorneys who understood the fundamental importance of access to the practice of law and were determined to grow and improve their legal knowledge and skills The pursuit of full justice through access to the legal system that began in 1895 continues today at UMKC School of Law.
1895
Founding
Leaders of Kansas City’s legal community formalized their study group into the Kansas City School of Law with 57 students in the New York Life Building in downtown Kansas City; former Missouri Supreme Court Justice Francis Marion Black was its first president.
1902
Second President
Acclaimed Missouri trial lawyer Hon. Oliver Hayes Dean is named the school's second president; he served for 25 years and helped found the Kansas City Art Institute.
1903
Enrollment Grows
Enrollment grows to more than 200; entering freshmen are required to take three years of night classes to graduate.
1917
Women’s Bar Association of Kansas City
Alumnae form the Women’s Bar Association of Kansas City.
1923
Harry S. Truman Enrolls
Future President Harry S. Truman enrolls while serving as a district judge; he discontinues his studies when elected the county’s presiding judge.
1928
Four-Year Program and First LL.M. Graduates
The law school becomes a four-year program and graduates its first LL.M. students.
1932
Kansas City Law Review
Kansas City Law Review founded.
1934
LL.B. and LL.M. Graduates
More than 2,000 graduate with LL.B. degrees and 74 with LL.M.
1938
University of Kansas City
KC School of Law merges with University of Kansas City.
1945
Truman Awarded Honorary Doctorate
President Harry Truman is awarded the school’s first honorary doctorate
1946
Leon Bloch Jr. Re-enrolls
Leon Bloch Jr. quits school to help found H&R Block; after a year he returns to law school.
1950
Law School Building
New building at 52nd Street and Rockhill Road is dedicated.
1952
First African American Graduate
Harold Lee Holliday Sr. becomes the first African American graduate.
1957
Supreme Court Justice
Charles Whittaker Jr. (’24) is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, serving for five years.
1959
Law Foundation of UMKC
The Law Foundation of UMKC is founded as the philanthropic and alumni engagement partner of the School of Law. Both U.S. Supreme Court Justice Charles Whittaker (’24) and former President Harry S. Truman signed the foundation’s original articles of incorporation.
1961
Chair of U.N. Commission on the Status of Women
President Kennedy names Margaret A. Hickey (LL.B. ’28) chair of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
1963
UM System
UKC and its School of Law become part of the University of Missouri System.
1972
Polsinelli Law Firm
With fellow alumni Lee Shapiro and Dale Schulte, James Polsinelli founds a law firm in a 1,000-square-foot office above a theater on Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza. Today the firm is an Am Law 100 firm with over 800 attorneys across the United States.
1973
FBI Director
Clarence Kelly (’40) appointed as director of the FBI, a position he held until 1978.
1979
New Law School Building
- School moves to its new building at 52nd and Oak on the UMKC Volker campus.
- E.E. Thompson Courtroom dedicated.
1990
Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
The Journal of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the premier organization for family law attorneys, begins publication at UMKC Law.
2001
Child and Family Services Clinic
UMKC Child and Family Services Clinic opens.
2017
Trial Advocacy Program Ranking
U.S. News & World Report ranks the school’s Trial Advocacy Program 21st in the nation.
2019
Legal Research and Writing Program Ranking
U.S. News & World Report ranks the school’s Legal Research and Writing Program 20th in the nation.