Founded in 1878, Creighton College started as a high school and graduated its first class holding bachelor’s degrees in 1891. Between 1892 and 1905 it added the professional schools of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and law. Its benefactor, Count John A. Creighton, was reluctant to support the training of lawyers, but he trusted the wisdom and vision of his friend and counsel Father Michael P. Dowling and Creighton welcomed its first law students in 1904. This study is a narrative of the one hundred-year interaction among teachers, students, administrators, the judiciary, and the practicing bar about what it means to be a lawyer in America.

“The breadth of [Pollak's] research is breathtaking....Capable leaders, capable alumni, and a strong religious tradition have made the Creighton University School of Law a well-regarded part of the legal landscape, both in Nebraska and regionally....Pollak has told its story well.” — Nebraska History, Summer 2008