As important as these upgrades were, the School needed to do more. In 1999, the Law School undertook a major project to renovate the courtroom and classroom area on its fourth floor. That project resulted in what are now referred to as the millennium renovations. In planning the renovations, The Law School faced several major issues. The courtroom was the biggest challenge.
Many law schools have large, richly appointed ceremonial courtrooms.
With its handsome, wood paneling, the room is now intimate and elegant as well as technologically capable of providing for Webcasting and videoconferencing. Everything has worked wonderfully, particularly the remote monitoring facilities for jury deliberations. Since the School has been offering a growing number of seminars, it also needed quality seminar rooms with technology and seating arrangements that would encourage lively class discussions. The key to the new design was to turn the old smoking hallway into a classroom and two seminar rooms with windows by creating a hallway behind the courtroom away from the exterior windows. Through careful design, three superb teaching spaces replaced one windowless classroom and a couple of underutilized offices.