| Georgetown University Law Center | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Law is but the means — Justice is the end[1] |
| Established | 1870 |
| Type | Private |
| Dean | William Michael Treanor |
| Students | 2,017 |
| Location | Washington D.C., USA |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | http://www.law.georgetown.edu |
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law.[2] As the second largest law school in the United States, Georgetown Law often touts the advantages of its wide range of program offerings and proximity to federal agencies and courts, including the Supreme Court.[3]
Georgetown Law is one of the most prestigious institutions of legal education in the United States.[4] The Law Center is one of the top ten most selective law schools in the United States,[5] as well as one of the 14 law schools that consistently rank at the very top of U.S. News and World Report's annual rankings.[6]
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Georgetown was ranked 7th in the 2009–10 Law School 100 rankings, which purports to use qualitative rather than quantitative criteria.[7] Georgetown Law was ranked 5th in the Super Lawyers rankings, which measures the number of graduates from each law school who are voted Super Lawyers.[8] In Brian Leiter's law school rankings, Georgetown ranks within the top ten law schools based on selectivity, student quality, and Supreme Court clerkship placements.[9][10]
In the 2010 edition of U.S. News & World Report, Georgetown Law was ranked the #14 law school in the nation overall. Additionally, it ranked #1 in clinical programs, #6 in environmental law, #5 in trial advocacy, #7 in healthcare law, #3 in international law, #2 in tax law (LL.M.), and #1 part-time J.D. program. This means that of the ten specialized programs that USNWR ranks separately, Georgetown Law received special distinction in seven of those programs, more than any other law school.
Opened as Georgetown Law School in 1870, Georgetown Law was the first law school run by a Jesuit institution within the United States. Georgetown Law has been separate from the main Georgetown campus (in the neighborhood of Georgetown) since 1890, when it moved near what is now Chinatown. The Law Center campus is located on New Jersey Avenue, several blocks north of the Capitol, and a few blocks due west of Union Station. In 1989, the school added the Edward Bennett Williams Law Library and in 1993, the Gewirz Student Center opened, providing on-campus living for the first time. The "Campus Completion Project", finished in 2005, brought the addition of the Hotung International Building and the Sport and Fitness Center.
The Georgetown Law School's original wall (or sign), is preserved on the quad of the present-day campus.
Georgetown Law is one of the top ten most selective law schools in the United States,[11] and in recent years has received more applications than any other law school.[12] For the class entering in the fall of 2010, Georgetown accepted 2,640 of 13,917 J.D. applicants (19.0%) for a class of 591 students.[13] The median LSAT score was 169 (full-time: 171, part-time: 166) and the median GPA was 3.65 (full-time: 3.68, part-time: 3.62).[13] In the 2009–2010 academic year, Georgetown Law had 1,653 full-time J.D. students, 374 part-time J.D. students,[13] and hundreds more graduate students seeking L.L.M., S.J.D. and other degrees.[14]
Career Placement Georgetown Law hosts one of the largest on-campus recruitment programs in the country, with nearly 7,000 interviews taking place.
Graduating Class of 2010 Career Placement Stats [15]
Median Starting Salaries
Private Sector $160,000
Public Interest $40,000
Government $62,467
Types of Practice Private Practice 51.7% Government 14.7% Public Interest 14.2% Judicial Clerkships 9.7% Business/Academic/Other 9.7%
Location of Practice Washington, DC 42.19% New York 15.92% West Coast 9.11% International 1.3% Other 31.48%
A January 2011 New York Times article cited Georgetown Law as the example for "a number of law schools [which] hire their own graduates, some in hourly temp jobs that, as it turns out, coincide with the magical date" (February 15) for the employment statistics nine month after graduation, which forms "the most competitive category" of the U.S. News rankings and one of several that "seem open to abuse".[16] It reported that Georgetown Law had created three temporary jobs in the admissions office for students "still seeking employment", to begin on February 1 and lasting six weeks. The school denied that it had created the jobs in order to count the unemployed graduates as employed within nine months of graduation. In what the NYT called "the oddest" of several different explanations offered by the school, the Assistant Dean of Career Services Gihan Fernando said the school had "lost track" of two of the three alums, even though they were still working at Georgetown.[16]
The Law Center is located in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, D.C. It is bounded by 2nd St. NW to the west, E St. NW to the south, 1st St. NW and New Jersey Avenue to the east, and Massachusetts Avenue to the north.
The campus consists of five buildings. Bernard P. McDonough Hall (1971, expanded in 1997) houses classrooms and Law Center offices and was designed by Edward Durrell Stone. The Edward Bennett Williams Law Library building (1989) houses most of the school's library collection and is one of the largest law libraries in the United States. The Eric E. Hotung International Law Center (2004) includes two floors of library space housing the international collection, and also contains classrooms, offices, and meeting rooms. The Bernard S. and Sarah M. Gewirz Student Center (1993) provides housing mostly for 1Ls. A four-level Sport and Fitness Center (2004) includes a pool, fitness facilities, and cafe, and connects the Hotung Building to the Gewirz Student Center.
The Georgetown Law Library supports the research and educational endeavors of the students and faculty of the Georgetown University Law Center. It is the second largest law school in the United States and as one of the premier research facilities for the study of law, the Law Library houses the nation's fourth largest law library collection and offers access to thousands of online publications.
The mission of the library is to support fully the research and educational endeavors of the students and faculty of the Georgetown University Law Center, by collecting, organizing, preserving, and disseminating legal and law related information in any form, by providing effective service and instructional programs, and by utilizing electronic information systems to provide access to new information products and services.
The collection is split into two buildings. The Edward Bennett Williams Law Library (1989) is named after Washington, D.C. lawyer Edward Bennett Williams, an alumnus of the Law Center and founder of the prestigious litigation firm Williams & Connolly. It houses the Law Center's United States law collection, the Law Center Archives, and the National Equal Justice Library. The Williams library building consists of five floors of collection and study space and provides office space for most of the Law Center's law journals on the Law Library's first level.
The John Wolff International and Comparative Law Library (2004) is named after John Wolff, a long-serving member of the adjunct faculty and supporter of the Law Center's international law programs. The library is located on two floors inside the Eric E. Hotung building. It houses the international, foreign, and comparative law collections of the Georgetown University Law Center. Wolff Library collects primary and secondary law materials from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, and South Africa. English translations of primary and secondary legal materials from other jurisdictions and compilations of foreign law on special topics are also included.
In addition to foreign law, the Wolff Library maintains an extensive collection of public and private international law, focusing on international trade, international environmental law, human rights, arbitration, tax and treaty law. The collection also includes documentation from many international organizations, including the International Court of Justice, the United Nations, the European Union, and the World Trade Organization.
Georgetown Law's J.D. program can be completed over three years of full-time day study or four years of part-time evening study. The school offers LL.M. programs in Taxation, Securities and Finance Regulation, and Global Health Law, as well as a general LL.M. curriculum for lawyers educated outside the United States. Georgetown launched a Master of Studies in Law (M.S.L.) degree program for professional journalists in the 2007–08 academic year. It also offers the highest doctoral degree in law (J.S.D.).
Students are offered the choice of two tracks for their first year of study. "Curriculum A" is a traditional law curriculum similar to that taught at most schools, including courses in contracts, constitutional law, torts, property, criminal procedure, civil procedure, and legal research and writing. Three fourths of the day students at Georgetown receive instruction under the standard program (sections 1, 2, and 4).
"Curriculum B" is a more interdisciplinary, theoretical approach to legal study, covering an equal or wider scope of material but heavily influenced by the critical legal studies movement. The Curriculum B courses are Bargain, Exchange and Liability (contracts and torts), Democracy and Coercion (constitutional law and criminal procedure), Government Processes (administrative law), Legal Justice (jurisprudence), Legal Practice (legal research and writing), Legal Process and Society (civil procedure), and Property in Time (property). One fourth of the full time JD students receive instruction in the alternative Curriculum B program (Section 3).
Students in both curricula participate in a week-long introduction to international law between the fall and spring semesters.
Notable current faculty include (the following is a non-exhaustive list):
The roster of current professors also includes many former Supreme Court clerks and other notable legal academics and professionals.
Former professors include:
Georgetown University Law Center has eleven student-run law journals and a weekly student-run newspaper, the Georgetown Law Weekly. The journals are:
Most of these journals are available on both LexisNexis and Westlaw, but several are available only on LexisNexis.
| Name of alumnus or alumna | Degree and year received | Accomplishments |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Abramoff | 1986 | Lobbyist and businessman who was a central figure in a series of high-profile political scandals |
| Ian C. Ballon | LL.M., 1988 | Internet lawyer and author of several legal books, including a 4-volume treatise on E-commerce and Internet law |
| Thomas L. Ambro | 1975 | Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit |
| Kary Antholis[17] | 1989 | Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker |
| Bob Barr | 1977 | U.S. Representative from Georgia (1995-2003), United States Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate (2008) |
| Gary Bauer | 1973 | Conservative activist and Reagan Administration official |
| William W. Belknap | 1851 | United States Secretary of War (1869-76) |
| Francisco Besosa | 1979 | Judge, United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico |
| Robert W. Bigelow | J.D., 1993 |
Attorney, television commentator[18] [19] |
| J. Caleb Boggs | 1937 | U.S. Senator from Delaware (1961-73), Governor of Delaware (1953-60), U.S. Representative from Delaware (1947-53) |
| Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr. | 1965 | Chairman of the law firm Patton Boggs LLP |
| Jesus Borja | J.D., 1974 | Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands (1994-1998) |
| Richard C. Bosson | J.D., 1969 | Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court (2002-2006) |
| Michael N. Castle | J.D., 1964 | U.S. Representative from Delaware (1993-2011) |
| Dennis Chavez | 1920 | U.S. Senator from New Mexico (1935-1962) |
| John Chiang | California State Controller from California | |
| Joyce Chiang | 1995 | INS attorney, whose murder drew similarities to the murder of Chandra Levy |
| Sean Coffey | 1987 | Candidate for New York State Attorney General |
| Doriane L. Coleman | 1988 | Law professor at Duke University School of Law |
| Brian Concannon | 1989 | Founder and Director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti |
| George Cortelyou | 1895 | U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Labor (1903-04), U.S. Postmaster General (1905-07), U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1907-09) |
| Mitch Daniels | 1979 | Governor of Indiana, director of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) |
| Ronald Davies | LL.B., 1930 | Judge for United States District Court for the District of North Dakota who ordered the integration of Little Rock Central High in the 1950s |
| Robert E. Davis | LL.B., 1964 | Kansas Supreme Court Justice |
| Michael Delaney | 1994 | New Hampshire Attorney General |
| John Dingell | J.D., 1952 | U.S. Representative from Michigan |
| Richard Durbin | J.D., 1969 | U.S. Senator from Illinois, Democratic Whip |
| John A. Durkin | 1965 | U.S. Senator from New Hampshire |
| Lane Evans | J.D., 1978 | U.S. Representative from Illinois (1983-2007) |
| Douglas Feith | J.D., 1978 | Undersecretary of Defense for Policy in the George W. Bush Administration |
| D. Michael Fisher | 1969 | Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit |
| Martin Frost | 1970 | U.S. Representative from Texas |
| Gene Franchini | J.D., 1960 | Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court (1997-1999) |
| Joe Garagiola, Jr. | J.D., 1975 | Major League Baseball senior vice president, Arizona Diamondbacks general manager (1997-2005) |
| Thomas Hardiman | 1990 | Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit |
| Mazie Hirono | J.D., 1978 | U.S. Representative from Hawaii |
| Derek Hodge | J.D., 1971 | Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (1987-1995) |
| Thomas Hogan | 1966 | Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia |
| Nancy Hogshead-Makar | 1997 | 1984 Summer Olympics swimming champion; law professor, Florida Coastal School of Law |
| Herman "Ed" Hollis | 1927 | FBI special agent involved in shootouts with John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson |
| Jerome A. Holmes | 1988 | Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit |
| Jeffrey R. Howard | 1981 | Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit |
| Steny Hoyer | J.D., 1966 | U.S. Representative from Maryland, House Majority Leader (2007-2011) |
| Henry P. Hughes | LL.B., 1927 | Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1948-51) |
| Bill Jefferson | LL.M., 1995 | U.S. Representative from Louisiana |
| Mickey Kantor | 1968 | U.S. Secretary of Commerce (1996-97) |
| Paul Kilday | 1922 | Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (1961-68) |
| Mark Kirk | J.D., 1992 | U.S. Senator from Illinois |
| Rives Kistler | J.D., 1981 | Oregon Supreme Court Justice |
| Stephen P. Lamb | J.D., 1975 | Delaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor |
| Patrick Leahy | J.D., 1964 | U.S. Senator from Vermont, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman |
| Thomas E. Leavey | 1923 | Co-founder of Farmers Insurance, co-founder of Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation |
| Doug Leeds | J.D., 1996 | CEO, Ask.com |
| Dan Lungren | J.D., 1971 | U.S. Representative from California |
| Hall S. Lusk | 1907 | U.S. Senator from Oregon (1960), Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court |
| Gov. John Lynch | J.D., 1984 | Governor of New Hampshire |
| Terry McAuliffe | 1984 | Chairman of the Democratic National Committee |
| M. Margaret McKeown | Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
| Jim McGreevey | 1981 | Governor of New Jersey[20] |
| Marilyn Milian | J.D., 1984 | Host of The People's Court, Florida circuit court judge |
| George Mitchell | 1961 | U.S. Senator from Maine, Democratic Senate Majority Leader (1989-95), chairman of the board of the Walt Disney Co., board of directors of the Boston Red Sox, compiler of reports on the Arab-Israeli conflict and performance-enhancing drugs in baseball that bear his name |
| Kimberly Ann Moore | 1994 | Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit |
| Dann J. Naggiar | 2000 | U.S. Army Judge Advocate, President, S.R. Hadden, LLC |
| John Podesta | 1976 | White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton, President of Center for American Progress |
| Carmen Policy | 1966 | NFL executive for the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns |
| Michael Powell | J.D., 1993 | Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) |
| Francis Rooney | J.D., 1978 | United States Ambassador to the Holy See, 2005-2008 |
| James Patrick Rossiter | 1916 | Mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania, 1932-1936 |
| Stephanie Herseth Sandlin | J.D., 1997 | U.S. Representative from South Dakota |
| John Sears | 1963 | Political strategist, managed Ronald Reagan's first two presidential campaigns |
| Josh Shapiro | J.D., 2002 | State Representative from Pennsylvania |
| Don Siegelman | 1972 | Governor of Alabama |
| Sheila Simon | 1987 | Lieutentant Governor of Illinois |
| John Sirica | 1926 | Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia |
| Michael Slive | 1966 | Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, first commissioner of Conference USA and Great Midwest Conference |
| Van P. Smith | 1955 | Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce |
| John D. Spellman | 1953 | Governor of Washington |
| Michael Steele | 1991 | Chairman of the Republican National Committee |
| Brendan Sullivan | J.D., 1967 | Senior partner of the law firm of Williams & Connolly |
| Daniel S. Sullivan | J.D., 1993 | Alaska Attorney General |
| Ricardo M. Urbina | J.D., 1970 | Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia |
| Chris Van Hollen | J.D., 1990 | U.S. Representative from Maryland |
| Greta Van Susteren | J.D., 1979 LL.M., 1983 |
Anchor of On the Record on the Fox News Channel |
| Pete Visclosky | LL.M., 1982 | U.S. Representative from Indiana |
| James H. Webb | 1975 | U.S. Senator from Virginia, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, noted author |
| Rick White | 1980 | U.S. Representative from Washington |
| Edward Bennett Williams | 1944 | Owner of the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Orioles, founder of law firm Williams & Connolly LLP |
| Frank Wolf | J.D., 1965 | U.S. Representative from Virginia |
| Albert Wynn | J.D., 1977 | U.S. Representative from Maryland |
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