FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington will present a talk by University of Maine School of Law Dean Danielle Conway, at 11:45 a.m. Monday, April 15, in Lincoln Auditorium, UMF Roberts Learning Center. The event is free and open to the public.

 

Conway will present “Developing Leaders for Service to Rural Communities,” a talk about leadership and the law school’s rural lawyer project. The program was created in response to the lack of access to lawyers by Mainers living in rural communities. According to the Maine Law Magazine, the program aims to pair students with rural lawyers who serve as mentors, provide students with direct exposure to rural practice and inspire them to consider pursuing careers in these communities.

“Adequate legal representation should not be found only in urban areas. It must exist in every corner of the state,” said Conway.

Conway has realized the goal of immersing Maine Law into the greater Maine community by promoting access to affordable legal services in rural parts of the state, creating leadership opportunities for underrepresented students through Maine Law’s PLUS Program, and driving workforce development with new programs, one in regulatory compliance and another in information privacy and cyber-security.

A leading expert in public procurement law, entrepreneurship and intellectual property law, Conway was named dean of the University of Maine School of Law in 2015. She is the seventh dean at Maine Law since its founding in 1962. She also has over 27 years of military service and recently retired in the rank of lieutenant colonel.

In order to help students interested in the legal field get into professional practice more quickly and with less debt, the University of Maine at Farmington partnered with the University of Maine School of Law in Portland to give students the opportunity to earn both their bachelor’s degree and juris doctor (JD) law degree in six years rather than seven.

UMF’s 3+3 Accelerated Pre-Law Program (APL) provides qualified UMF students with ready access to a path for a professional law degree a year early while also saving a year’s worth of tuition and fees. The program began in fall 2018 and has three students from Presque Isle, Farmington and Portland enrolled.

For more information, visit the UMF website at: https://www.umf.maine.edu/academics/programs/33-accelerated-pre-law/.

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