Monday, April 27, 1998 | 11:18 a.m.
Law school administrators say some 70 students of a planned first class of 140 students have accepted offers of law school admission.
"I think they've given us commitments we can count on," said Frank Durand, assistant dean for admissions and financial aid. However, "individuals can make verbal agreements and change their minds. You're never sure of what your student body will be until the first day."
One of those students will be Nadia Akhavan of Las Vegas, the first student who accepted an offer from the Boyd Law School for admission to the new program.
The 21-year-old is interested in corporate law and international law., and graduated from UNLV in May with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
"I'm excited about it being brand-new," she said
Durand said the law school received 450 applications and the university made offers to 100 of those applicants. The law school plans by early May to offer admission to at least 40 more applicants.
If students change their minds over the summer about studying law at UNLV, slots will become available to those on a waiting list.
"We are definitely seeing a strong student body shape up," Durand said. "We're all very happy with these individuals."
Although undergraduate grade point averages and scores on law school entrance exams were two of several factors considered by the admissions committee, the law school has not set minimum standards for either.
Joe Cain, assistant director in the lobbying office of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, will be among UNLV's first part-time law students. That program will take four years, compared with three for the full-time program.
Cain, 27, said he always wanted to get a law degree, but he wasn't willing to put his life on hold and send himself into debt.
"When the UNLV law school came along, it seemed to be too good of an opportunity to pass up," he said. "Because it's a state school, it's more affordable, and I can still work because of the part-time program."
Tuition for the full-time program is $7,000 a year and $233 a credit for the part-time program.
The inaugural class, so far, is a diverse group of students, Durand said. Although the law school will not have a quota system in place for minority students, Durand said the selection committee is striving to "take into account a variety of life experiences" when choosing who should be admitted.
Law school Dean Richard Morgan said eight faculty members for the fall have been hired away from campuses such as the University of South Carolina, Arizona State University and Louisiana State University, among others. Within in two more years, 24 professors will be on the law school faculty.
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