PORTLAND, Maine — The University of Maine School of Law celebrated the opening of its new campus on Thursday.
The school, now located at 300 Fore St. in Portland, held an open house. Maine Law faculty, members of the public, as well as Gov. Janet Mills, attended the event.
"It's really important that we're bringing together law, and commerce, and public policy, and research in one building," Mills told NEWS CENTER Maine. "This [new campus] brings all of this together where people can share their knowledge and help make Maine a better place."
The renovated office space in Portland's Old Port is expected to save the UMaine system millions of dollars, instead of constructing a new building at the location it's occupied since 1972 on Deering Avenue.
"This building allows collaborations across aspects of the university, including business, policy, soon engineering, in a way that will prepare all of our students for a future that's changing all the time," University of Maine School of Law Dean Leigh Saufley said.
Saufley added Maine Law will play an important role in solving the state's public defender shortage.
"The University of Maine School of Law will be one of the many aspects of the solution to the public defender challenges that we're working on right now," Saufley explained. "In fact, my students and I have reached out to people in leadership to determine whether there are areas where we can make an immediate difference while the legislature and the governor work on longer-term solutions."
Students will have class for the first time at the new school on Tuesday, January 17.