| Washington University School of Law | |
| Established | 1867 |
|---|---|
| School type | Private |
| Endowment | US $121 million |
| Dean | Kent D. Syverud |
| Location | St. Louis[1], Missouri, USA |
| Enrollment | 723 |
| Faculty | 134 (Fall) 129 (Spring) |
| USNWR ranking | 18 |
| Annual tuition | $43,420 |
| Website | http://www.law.wustl.edu/ |
Washington University School of Law (WULS), is a private American law school located in St. Louis, Missouri.[2] The law school is one of the seven graduate and undergraduate schools at Washington University in St. Louis. Founded in 1867, the School of Law is the oldest continually operating private law school west of the Mississippi River. Originally, the law school was located in downtown St. Louis, but it relocated in 1904 to the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis, and is presently housed in Anheuser-Busch Hall. It is currently ranked 18th overall among American Bar Association approved law schools by U.S. News & World Report.[3] Its clinical training and trial advocacy programs have consistently ranked in the top ten according to the same source.
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For the Fall 2011 entering class (Class of 2014), Washington University School of Law received 3,848 applications for 245 spots. The median undergraduate GPA for the 2011 entering class was 3.70 and the median LSAT score was 168 (top 4% of test takers). The entering class represents 135 undergraduate institutions, 38 states and DC, and 4 foreign countries. 66 students in the entering class are minorities.
For the Fall 2010 entering class (Class of 2013), Washington University School of Law received 4,386 applications for 276 spots.The median undergraduate GPA for the 2010 entering class was 3.70 and the median LSAT score was 167 (top 5% of test takers). The entering class represents 142 undergraduate institutions, 36 states and DC, and 4 foreign countries. 104 students in the entering class are minorities.[4]
The 2011 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "Best Law Schools" ranked the Washington University School of Law:
Recent Leiter’s Law School Rankings placed the law school:
Most of the students at Washington University School of Law are enrolled in the Juris Doctor (JD) program. JD students are required to take 86 semester hours of credit in order to graduate. In the fall of their first year, students are required to take Contracts, Property, Torts, Legal Practice I and Legal Research Methodologies I, and in the spring of their first year, students are required to take Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Legal Practice II and Legal Research Methodologies II. The second and third year offer more flexibility in planning the student's curriculum as there are only two mandatory classes (a class from the ethics curriculum and one seminar). In addition to their substantive coursework, many second and third year students participate in moot court, a scholarly publication, a clinic, or an externship.
For students interested in a more general interdisciplinary course of study, the School of Law offers five joint degree programs (usually completed in four years, as opposed to three for a standard JD). These include:
Washington University School of Law offers an LL.M. in U.S. Law for International Students, an LL.M. in Intellectual Property & Technology Law, and an LL.M. in Taxation.
This program is designed for individuals who need a limited legal education, but who do not require a professional degree. This degree, which requires 30 credit hours, is the equivalent of an MA or MS degree.
This program is available to students who have already completed their LL.M. studies. The program does not follow a general program format. Rather, the student's faculty advisor will select the student's JSD requirements, which highly emphasizes original research and writing skills.
Washington University has one of the oldest and largest moot court programs in the country. The program includes the Giles Rich Moot Court Competition, sponsored by the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, sponsored by the International Trademark Association (INTA), the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, sponsored by the International Law Students Association, the Niagara International Arbitration Competition, and Environmental, National Appellate Advocacy, William E. McGee National Civil Rights, and Wiley Rutledge Moot Court Competitions.[2]. Washington University is historically one of the most accomplished American universities in the Jessup International Law Moot Court competition. From 1998-2009, Washington University has advanced from the regional competition to the Sherman & Sterling International Rounds of the competition seven times, a feat only matched by Harvard Law. [3]. In 2008, the team took first place in the Dillard Competition for the Best Memorial out of all the national and regional competitions in the world. The WU team's brief not only won over more than 120 U.S. law schools, but also over hundreds of teams that competed in more than 100 countries around the world. [4] Additionally, in 2009, the National Moot Court Team won the William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition. The team went undefeated through seven rounds of competition to win the championship with three students receiving unanimous decisions on the scorecard of every judge in every round they argued. The National Moot Court Team also won the Midwest Regional of the American Bar Association’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition and advanced to the National Representation in Mediation Competition. The Trial Team, who won first place at the Regional Qualifying Tournament of the ABA/American College of Trial Lawyers National Trial Competition, advanced to the National Finals of the NTC against the 22 other national qualifiers from across the country. In addition, the Niagara International Law Moot Court Team placed third out of 19 teams and advanced to the semifinals of the competition, the National Environmental Moot Court Competition Team progressed through three preliminary rounds and advanced to the quarterfinals at Pace University’s competition in New York, ranking third out of 74 teams. [5]
The clinical program at Washington University School of Law is ranked by U.S. News and World Report fourth in the nation, and claims to "provide students opportunities to learn professional skills and values by working in the real world with clients, attorneys, judges, and legislators."
Students in the Appellate Clinic represent pro se litigants in cases to be heard on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. After the clerk of the court assigns cases at the beginning of the semester, students handle all aspects of the appeal, including motions, filings, and briefs. The representation typically provides at least one student each semester an opportunity to argue a case before a panel of the Eighth Circuit. This clinic calls for extensive research and writing.
The Civil Justice Clinic requires students to handle their own case load under the supervision of the faculty. In utilizing the student body for representation, the Civil Justice Clinic assists in the provision of legal services to needy members of the community and imparts the obligation for public service. The Clinic also includes a weekly seminar in which students are encouraged to think critically about the law, the legal system, lawyers, and their roles as professionals.
In the Civil Rights and Community Justice Clinic, students work in the fields of immigration and employment discrimination. Students are placed at Legal Aid, selected non-profits, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in selected plaintiff law firms to assist on immigration status and immigrants rights cases as well as cases of alleged discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex, age, and disability in employment, education, and other arenas. Students engage in interviewing, counseling, case analysis and planning, problem solving, fact investigation, document drafting, negotiation, mediation, and community education. In addition to law office practice, the Civil Rights and Community Justice Clinic includes an in-house component in which students observe and conduct mediations, assist in at least one legislative drafting experience, and participate in at least one civil rights community education project of the student's choosing. The Civil Rights and Community Justice Clinic recently became involved in larger scale community lawyering by assisting on the lawsuit opposing the anti-immigrant ordinances in Valley Park, Missouri.
The Criminal Justice Clinic operates in collaboration with the St. Louis County office of the Missouri State Public Defender System, which is the second largest criminal defense office in Missouri, and which is located approximately one mile from the law school in the St. Louis County Justice Center. The Criminal Justice Clinic exposes students to real life lawyering skills within the framework of the state level criminal justice system. Clinic students have the opportunity to serve as Rule 13 certified legal interns, and perform the work of a lawyer, representing clients facing criminal charges.
In this Clinic, approximately 24 third-year law students spend their Spring semester in Washington D.C. and work under the direction of attorneys in a variety of government offices. Examples include the House and Senate Judiciary Committee, the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, the Corporate Finance Section of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
As prerequisite to taking this course, students participating in the Congressional and Administrative Law Clinic are required to enroll a course on ethics in government in addition to their daily work at the internship. Well-known personalities - which in the past have included Ken Starr, Webb Hubbell, Bob Bennett and David Kendall - regularly lead classroom discussions on topical subjects.
The Government Lawyering Clinic provides the opportunity for students to work with attorneys in the Criminal or Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office.
Students in this Clinic work in the Eastern District of Missouri office in St. Louis or the Southern District of Illinois office in East St. Louis. Clinic students in the Criminal Division participate in criminal investigations and prosecution (from initial fact investigations to final appellate work).
This Clinic consists of both "student attorneys" (second and third year law students) and "student consultants" (graduate and upper-level undergraduates students of Washington University studying engineering, environmental studies, medicine, social work and/or business), work in interdisciplinary teams under faculty supervision. These teams offer legal and technical assistance on environmental and community health problems to individuals and organizations that cannot afford to pay for such services. Clinic teams work on issues relating to air and water quality, lead poisoning, environmental justice, habitat destruction and wetlands.
In March 2007, the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic helped reach a milestone agreement between Sierra Club and Kansas City Power & Light ("KCPL"). This agreement requires KCPL to make the most significant carbon reduction commitments of any utility in the Midwest. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Students in this Clinic collaborate with students from the School of Medicine, Olin School of Business, the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, and Arts & Sciences; and to provide intellectual property and business formation legal services to clients who might otherwise not have access to competent legal counsel. This Clinic is designed to work with St. Louis-area IP attorneys to provide early stage legal advice to other innovators and entrepreneurs, especially with business incubators in the St. Louis area; work with nonprofit organizations such as: St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (VLAA), and Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors (PIIPA).
The Judicial Clerkship externship exposes students to civil and criminal litigation from the judicial perspective. Students work as part-time law clerks under the supervision of local, state or federal trial or appellate judges. Students participating in the Judicial Clerkship externship course observe hearings, trials and other court proceedings; perform legal research; and draft a series of legal memoranda relevant to cases under submission by the courts.
The Washington University School of Law presently has four student-run publications. After the completion of their first year, students are encouraged to participate in a "write-on" competition. This competition has generally entailed writing a case comment. Based upon the quality of a student's case comment, a student may be invited to join the publication of their choice.
Second-year students participating in one of the three Washington University School of Law student-run publications are considered "associate" or "staff" editors. In addition to their editing responsibilities (which generally consist of "shelf-checks"), these students are required to write a "note." Based upon the quality of their writing, students may be asked to publish their note in the publication in which they belong. Rising third-year law students are encouraged to apply for an editorial position within their publication. These board positions range from lower-level editing positions to the editor-in-chief position.
The Washington University School of Law presently thirty-six distinct student organizations. A majority of these organizations represent a local chapter of a larger national organization. These local chapters include:
In addition to the organizations which represent as national chapter, Washington University School of Law has several student organizations that are unique to the Law School;
In January 1997, Washington University School of Law moved into Anheuser-Busch Hall. Anheuser-Busch Hall architecturally mirrors the classic style of the Washington University Danforth Campus. Anheuser-Busch Hall includes two fully functional courtrooms; numerous classrooms; and an open-stacks Law Library. Additionally, AB Hall includes common areas, such as the W.L. Hadley Griffin Student Commons and the glass-domed Crowder Courtyard. In AB Hall all classrooms, seminar rooms, and breakout rooms have both computing and multimedia capabilities. Each classroom and seminar room is also equipped with a multimedia projection system. This allows instructors to video-tape classes and post the lectures online.
Construction of a new Social Sciences and Law Building recently finished. The new building is situated just southwest of Anheuser-Busch Hall. Ground was broken for the four-story, Collegiate Gothic building on September 5, 2006; the targeted date for completion was June 30, 2008. About 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of the new building’s 142,000 net square feet were earmarked for the law school, housing some administrative offices, law journal offices, and classrooms.