Nashville School of Law

From 1911 to 1991 the Nashville School of Law operated out of the lower basement level of the Downtown YMCA. The law school’s founders were Morton Adams, William Cooper, Lee Douglas, and Robert Henry—all graduates of Vanderbilt Law School. The school was designed for working and middle-class men, and later women, who did not have the time or the money to attend a traditional law school as full-time students. The YMCA Night Law School offered evening classes, providing non-traditional students the opportunity to pursue their professional aspirations in the legal field. 

In 1927, the law school was incorporated as a non-profit educational institution. In 1986, the name was changed from the Nashville YMCA Night Law School to the Nashville School of Law. Four years later, the school moved to a new campus. The school is accredited by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners but not by the American Bar Association. The school’s motto is “Professionalism, Excellence, Civility.” Notable alumni include former U.S. Senator Albert Gore, Sr., former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Ross Dyer, former Mayor of Metro Nashville and Davidson County Bill Boner, and current State Senator Sarah Kyle.

Walk up Church Street to Eighth Avenue South/Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. Turn RIGHT to cross Church Street and continue straight down Rosa L. Parks Boulevard toward Broadway. On your RIGHT look for the next tour stop: Ward Seminary. This stop is marked with a historical marker next to The Standard Restaurant, located in one of Nashville’s oldest standing townhouses, built in 1859.