[caption id="attachment_20710" align="alignright" width="300" caption="John Marshall Law School's expansion will feature a new entrance at 304 S. State."][/caption] The John Marshall Law School has kicked off construction on the first phase of its campus expansion - at 304 South State as the school begins the renovation process that will eventually open its doors to State Street with a new entrance. The first phase of the $10 million expansion will include a new entrance, student commons, book store, and food services.  Architects for the project are Griskelis Young & Harrell and the general contactor is Bulley & Andrews. John Marshall will expand its space by 50,000 square feet between the 304-08 South State building* and a newly-acquired property adjacent to the law school at 19 W. Jackson. The law school is currently housed in 255,000 square feet of space between its main campus at 315 S. Plymouth Court, the upper level floors at 304 S. State, its Fair Housing Clinic space at 55 W. Jackson, and nine floors at 321 S. Plymouth, which also houses the Chicago Bar Association. “The new face of the law school on State Street is emblematic of the many good things we are doing here at John Marshall, and I believe it will convey in part the feeling of pride we have in both our law school and our graduates,” said John Corkery, Dean of The John Marshall Law School.  “This enhanced space will help us accommodate the needs of current and future students, and reaffirm our commitment to our growing student body, our faculty, alums, and the Chicago legal community.”

[caption id="attachment_20698" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The students interact with Tuesday's speaker, Northwestern Law Professor Sheila M. Maloney."][/caption] The Illinois State Bar Association's Law and Leadership Institute has rolled into its second week -- and the students are loving it. They enjoyed visits to the Daley Center and 1st District Appellate Court on Friday. The students got to witness a trial in Traffic Court at the Daley Center spent nearly three hours discussing a variety of topics with Justice Bertina Lampkin at the Appellate Court. Justice Lampkin even walked the students through her famous dissent in the Rahm Emanuel ballot case. On Tuesday, the students were treated to a negotiations class with Northwestern Law School Professor Sheila Maloney. Click here to view pictures from the court visits. Click here to view pictures from the negotiations class. The Institute continues through July 8 at the John Marshall Law School.