Lewis & Clark Law School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Established | 1884 |
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| Type | Private |
| Postgraduates | 700 |
| Location | Portland, Oregon, USA |
| Interim Dean | Lydia Loren |
| Website | law.lclark.edu |
Lewis and Clark Law School (L&C) is the top ranked environmental law school for 2 years in a row. L&C offers the traditional J.D., LL.M. and J.D.'s within the following specialty areas: Business and Commercial Law, Criminal Law, Intellectual Property Law, Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Tax Law. The master of laws (L.L.M.) is offered in Environmental Law. Located on the Southern end of Portland in the hills west of the Willammette River, Lewis & Clark Law School is associated with Lewis & Clark College, and reflects the liberal nature of both Portland and the College.
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[edit] Academic Programs
Lewis & Clark Law thrives on several unique or well affiliated departmental programs. While the entire school is ranked 77th, Xth, and Yth, individual programs such as the Environmental Law Program is ranked 1st. In addition to coursework, each law program has affiliated interest/activist groups and possibly mentoring programs.
[edit] Environmental Law Program
The Environmental Law (e-law) program is a high profile academic program. Unofficially, the courses offered derive into two general areas: pollution control and natural resources management. Pollution control courses tend to involve regulation of waste products of industries. Natural resource management courses tend to involve restrictions on use of land and water to prevent ecological damage. Practical experience involving environmental law is developed through a variety of clinics, skills courses, and organizations present on campus. Most of these groups focus on the Pacific Northwest, although any related environmental work of student interest is encouraged.
[edit] PEAC / NEDC
The Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (PEAC) and the Northwestern Environmental Defense Center are among two organizations hosted at L&C, where students apply practical environmental law skills. Both these groups regularly file motions and negotiate with government, industry, community groups and other NGO's.
[edit] Indian (Native American) Law
With the recent inclusion of Indian Law on the Oregon State Bar, the Indian Law program at L&C has received a boost in attention. In addition to the coursework taught during the fall and spring semesters, L&C has an Indian Law Summer Program, in which legal scholars come to teach at Lewis & Clark.During the fall and spring hiring process representatives of Indian interest groups and Indian courts have appeared at L&C.
[edit] Intellectual Property
The Intelletual Property program at L&C benefits greatly from the proximity of Portland. As the 6th largest city on the West Coast of the U.S., Portland is host to Intel, Nike, and other technology firms both local and international. In addition, several local law firms are involved with intellectual property.
[edit] Law Reviews
Three law reviews exist at L&C as well as at least one legal newsletter. Each of the law reviews are edited and reviewed by law student staff. The newsletter follows a similar method of review.
- Lewis & Clark Environmental Law Review (est. 1969) - US's oldest law review dedicated solely to environmental issues
- Lewis & Clark Law Review (est. 1996) - Formerly Journal of Small and Emerging Business Law 1996
- Lewis & Clark Animal Law Review (est. 1992) - First US law review devoted to legal issues involving animals
- Newsletters
- Oregon Intellectual Property Newsletter (est. 1999)
[edit] History
L&C was originally founded in Portland in 1884 as the state school of law. In 1915 the legislature moved the school to Eugene, but the law faculty resisted and reformed the school as the Northwestern College of Law. In 1965, the college associated with the largest private institution in Portland, Lewis and Clark College. In 1967 a new campus was built beside Lewis & Clark College and Tryan Creek State Park. The school expanded in 2001 with the renovation of Boley Library and construction of the Gantenbein Building. In the 2002 the school expanded into a 5th building, Wood Hall.
[edit] Community Involvement
Lewis & Clark Law's devotion to community involvement is exhibited through several campus organizations, two public interest/pro bono/community service coordinators, and frequent invitations to bring speakers from local community groups. The law school encourages student work by providing additional honors on transcripts of students who document 30+ hours of pro bono legal work or 30+ of community service work during the course of the school year.
In addition, law school is host to the Public Interest Law Project (PILP). PILP is a funding organization for pro bono legal work done by students and graduating students. Each year PILP holds a charity auction and a funding application process in order to provide pay for summer work and loan repayment. In summer 2006 18 students were provided a summer stipend for legal work.
