- published: 01 Aug 2013
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The College of Law of England and Wales (commonly known as the College of Law) is a private higher education institution in England which provides legal education for students and professionals. It is a registered charity and was founded in 1962. The College has its own degree awarding powers under British law.
The Law Society of England and Wales created the College of Law by merging its own School of Law and the tutorial firm Gibson and Weldon in 1962. The College was created in its current legal form by Royal Charter on 5 December 1975. It was registered as a charity on 24 May 1976 with the aim " to promote the advancement of legal education and the study of law in all its branches".
In 1975, the College of Law submitted proposals which changed the face of legal education, recommending a 36-week Final Examination course for aspiring solicitors and a Common Professional Examination (CPE) or law conversion course for non-law graduates. It became a major provider of – and examining body for – the CPE (now known as the Graduate Diploma in Law).
Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is a retired United States Supreme Court justice. She served as an Associate Justice from her appointment in 1981 by Ronald Reagan until her retirement from the Court in 2006. She was the first woman to be appointed to the court.
Prior to O'Connor's appointment to the Court, she was an elected official and judge in Arizona. On July 1, 2005, she announced her intention to retire effective upon the confirmation of a successor.Samuel Alito was nominated to take her seat in October 2005, and joined the Court on January 31, 2006.
O'Connor tended to approach each case narrowly without arguing for sweeping precedents. She most frequently sided with the court's conservative bloc. In the latter years of her tenure, she was regarded as having the swing vote in many cases as the court grew more conservative.
O'Connor was Chancellor of The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and currently serves on the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Several publications have named O'Connor among the most powerful women in the world. On August 12, 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the United States, by President Barack Obama.