The TC Beirne School of Law has a distinguished history. The School was founded in 1936 and is the premier law school in Queensland. The School's first graduate was Mrs Una Prentice (née Bick), who graduated in 1938 and was the first woman to be admitted to the Queensland Bar. In 1939, there were 30 students enrolled and five LLBs were awarded, one of them to the Rt Hon Sir Harry Gibbs, who went on to become the Chief Justice of Australia (1981-1987).

The School's student body is comprised of approximately 2000 high achieving students from a diverse range of backgrounds and nationalities. Law students are well served by two representative bodies: the University of Queensland Law Society (UQLS) and the Justice and the Law Society (JATL). UQ students have access to a range of exceptional services.

The Law School is committed to providing its students with undergraduate and postgraduate programs of the highest quality that reflect the research strengths of the teaching staff. The teaching curriculum is under constant review to ensure currency.

The School's teaching staff comprises over fifty full-time academics, most of whom have doctoral or advanced qualifications in their teaching areas. The teaching staff are complemented by international visiting professors, part-time lecturers and adjunct professors who provide additional teaching and research expertise.

The Law School's research is internationally recognised, with particular strengths in the areas of Corporate/Commercial Law, Intellectual Property Law, Public, International and Comparative Law, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, and Marine and Shipping Law. The School's PhD program attracts students from around the world.

Graduates of the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) regularly win some of the most coveted scholarships in the world. Numerous Rhodes Scholarships were awarded in recent years to graduates of the School. Some notable graduates include the Rt Hon Sir Harry Gibbs, the Hon Sir Gerard Brennan and the Hon Ian Callinan (former Chief Justices of Australia), the Hon Paul de Jersey (the present Chief Justice of Queensland), Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce, AC (former Governor of Queensland and current Governor-General of Australia) and a number of notable politicians including the Hon GE ‘Tony' Fitzgerald, the Hon Wayne Goss and the Hon Peter Beattie.

Students of the Law School have access to world class UQ facilities, including Queensland's largest law library, the Walter Harrison Law Library with its collection of top online legal databases, and the Sir Harry Gibbs Moot Court, 24/7 quiet study facilities, and campus-wide wireless computer network.