October 23, 2025 — Students, faculty, and staff joined University of Houston Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes for a lunch-time heart-to-heart at the beginning of the fall semester.
These “Discussion with the Dean” sessions, regular occurrences before the COVID-19 pandemic, enable UH Law Dean Leonard M. Baynes to provide everyone updates about UH Law Center achievements and initiatives, while giving students the opportunity to ask questions and share their perspective and suggestions regarding UHLC’s growth, academic offerings and community. The plan is to offer these more regularly again.
Dean Baynes kicked off the event with a question that immediately sparked dialogue: “What do you think prevents us from being Top 50?”
Hands went up around the room as students shared their thoughts. One student mentioned “the student medians,” noting that LSAT scores and GPA averages continue to play an important role in national rankings.
Another student offered “name recognition” on a national level maybe a challenge.
The Dean agreed that legacy and visibility matter. “Some of the schools you mentioned—Harvard, Yale, Columbia…have been around for hundreds of years,” he said. “They have this built-in recognition and an alumni base that is phenomenal because they have alumni going back decades, years, centuries.”
He then highlighted UHLC’s metrics and national strengths. “We have four programs in the top 15,” Dean Baynes said. “We have a part-time program at number five, the health law program at number nine, intellectual property at number 12, and legal writing at number 15.” He added that UHLC is ranked, “number 29 in the nation in sending our graduates to the biggest law firms.”
The conversation turned to why students chose the UH Law Center for their legal education.
Several students shared that the school’s momentum and supportive environment factored in their decision to attend. “I thought it was a good opportunity,” one student said. “I thought the school was undervalued as far as the ranking, and that I’d have more opportunities here.”
Another added, “Not being number one is an advantage, because you’re not on the defense. You’re curating an environment here.”
Dean Baynes also emphasized the rising student success and employment outcomes. “The median GPA is 3.79, and the median LSAT is 163, the highest numbers we’ve had in the law school’s history,” he said. “94.6% had jobs ten months after graduation, which is great. When you think about it, that’s just 12 students out of a class of 240.”
As the discussion turned towards alumni and funding, Dean Baynes reported that UHLC has already raised $8.5 million towards its $10 million fundraising goal for this year. “The goal is to make sure students have the resources that they need and that we attract the best and brightest,” he said. “All of us need to work together to [make] sure we have almost zero unemployed after graduation. That should be our goal.”
The conversation closed with questions about support for the Law Center’s first-generation students. Assistant Dean Monica Mensah, who oversees student affairs, encouraged participation in the First-Gen Student Organization.
“You don’t know what you don’t know,” she said. “It helps to be around people who know some things and don’t know other things. You can help each other.”
Dean Baynes ended the discussion by thanking attendees and reaffirming UHLC’s mission. “We’re here for students, they are the lifeblood of the Law Center,” he said. “All of us together can make a difference.”
