It is important to note that Cumberland Law School does not require the purchase and use of personal desktop or notebook computers. This information is being provided to guide those of you who have already decided to make such a purchase. There are sufficient computer resources in the Law Library and throughout the campus to meet student demand.

If you are considering purchasing a computer, please consider purchasing an extended warranty.

Laptops

Law students may use PCs or Macs.

Law students at Cumberland School of Law use computers primarily for four things:

• Word processing
• E-mail & Internet access
• Computer-assisted legal research (for example, using LexisNexis, Westlaw, etc.)
• Computer-assisted legal instruction (for example, tutorials run from  a website)

None of these activities require a “super-computer”. Any basic computer that is three years old or less should be sufficient.  I usually suggest that students use computers with the following MINIMUM specifications:

Minimum requirements for Windows computers are:

• 1.5Ghz or faster Processor
• 512 GB Hard Drive
• 8 GB Memory
• Wireless (802.11b/g) and/or Wired Ethernet
• Windows 10 or later
• Microsoft Office- free from Samford
• Anti-Virus Software- plenty of good free options available

Minimum requirements for Macintosh computers are:

• 1.5Ghz or Faster Processor
• 512 GB Hard Drive
• 8 GB Memory
• Wireless (802.11b/g) and/or Wired Ethernet
• Mac OS X 10.14 or later
• Microsoft Office - free from Samford
• Anti-Virus Software - plenty of good free options available

Wireless

For those of you considering purchasing a laptop computer, you will be happy to learn that the Law Library is a wireless hotspot and has 144 networked carrels and 11 networked conference rooms, that allow users to connect to the Internet as well as to Samford’s local area network. Please refer to our floor maps for more information concerning the location of the network jacks (note: the purple desks on the maps and the yellow conference rooms are the networked areas).

Samford’s main library, Davis Library, is wireless as well.

WiFi Instructions

In December of 1997, Cumberland School of Law became a member of CALI: The Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction.

Objectives

According to the CALI website,the objectives of CALI are to:

• Coordinate distribution and use of computerized instructional materials
• Support authors in the development of new instructional programs
• Sponsor research for advancing quality and effectiveness of exercises
• Establish standards for hardware, software and courseware
• Support and coordinate the sharing of information relating to computer applications in legal education and law
• One way they do this is by distributing the CALI Lessons to member schools. 

To register for CALI, please contact Grace Simms for the authorization code.

Register Today