New England School of Law has a new "nickname"

New England School of Law will change its name to New England Law | Boston as it looks to avoid confusion with other law schools with similar names and tie its identity more closely to the city of Boston.

In an e-mail to students, faculty, and alumni that was made available to the Globe, John F. O'Brien (right), dean and professor of law, wrote that as the school prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary this month, one way to mark its entry into its second century was to adopt a new "'nickname' - New England Law | Boston - that will serve as our public identity (although our legal name will remain the same, including on diplomas)."

The school will be using not just a new nickname but also a new logo and a revamped website, he wrote.

O'Brien also wrote in the e-mail, "We chose a name that we feel differentiates us from other law schools in the region with very similar names, provides continuity with our old name, and connects the school with its very appealing location in Boston."

The school is set to commemorate its 100th anniversary at a convocation ceremony Sept. 23, and former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (left) is scheduled to be the featured speaker.

The new name and the new logo seek to recall the spirit of graduate Lenny Zakim (right), the late New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, whose civil rights legacy was honored in the naming of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, the school said in a memo.

O'Brien discussed the school name change further in a telephone interview.

"We're downtown," he said. "We're in the Theater District, and we want people to know who we are."

The school's name change was first reported by the Boston Business Journal.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)