Washington University School of Law


Washington University in St. Louis School of Law is the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, a private university in St. Louis, Missouri.
Founded in 1867, the school is the oldest continually operating private law school west of the Mississippi River. WashULaw is consistently ranked in the top 20 law schools in the country; it is currently ranked 17th among the 198 American Bar Association-approved law schools by U.S. News & World Report. 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 housed in Anheuser-Busch Hall.

Admissions

For the class entering in fall 2019, there were 229 matriculants. The 25th and 75th LSAT percentiles for the 2019 entering class were 162 and 170, respectively, with a median of 169. The 25th and 75th undergraduate GPA percentiles were 3.40 and 3.93, respectively, with a median of 3.83.

Ranking and honors

The 2021 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "Best Law Schools" ranked Washington University School of Law:
Above The Law ranked Washington University School of Law 15th in their annual Top 50 Law School Rankings.
GraduatePrograms.com ranked Washington University as number 1 for social life.

Degree program

Juris Doctoris (JD) program

Most of the students at Washington University School of Law are enrolled in the Juris Doctor program. JD students are required to take 86 semester hours of credit in order to graduate. In the first year of law school all students are required to take one semester each of Contracts, Property, Torts, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, and Criminal Law. Additionally, in fall of their first year all students are required to take Legal Practice I and Legal Research Methodologies I, and in spring of their first year students are required to take Legal Practice II and Legal Research Methodologies II. For the entering class of 2016–2017 all first-year students took Civil Procedure in the spring; the rest of the first-year doctrinal courses were offered in both fall and spring. It remains to be seen if that scheduling practice will continue in the future. The second and third year offer more flexibility in planning the student's curriculum as there are only two mandatory classes. In addition to their substantive coursework, many second and third-year students participate in moot court, a scholarly publication, a clinic, or an externship.

Joint Degree programs

For students interested in a more general interdisciplinary course of study, the School of Law offers five joint degree programs :

[Master of Laws] (LL.M.) program

Washington University School of Law offers an LL.M. in U.S. Law for International Students, an LL.M. in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, an LL.M. in Intellectual Property & Technology Law, and an LL.M. in Taxation. An Online Master of Laws in U.S. Law program and an Online Master of Legal Studies program are also available. Additionally, the school offers a Dual LL.M. Degree with the Tecnológico de Monterrey's Escuela de Gobierno y Transformación Pública.

Master of Legal Studies (MLS) program

This program is a graduate program designed for non-lawyers. Students in the MLS program may choose to study the legal system broadly or may choose to pursue focused course of study in a particular area.

Juris Scientiae Doctoris (JSD) program

The JSD program of Washington University School of Law is very small and geared towards exceptional candidates who have a sophisticated scholarly focus. The JSD program emphasizes original research and writing culminating in the preparation of a significant and extensive dissertation of publishable quality.

Online Law Programs

In January 2013, Washington University School of Law began offering an online LL.M. in U.S. Law degree for international lawyers. Students in the program attend live, virtual lectures weekly and participate in classroom discussions using the Socratic method. The school also offers an online Master of Legal Studies degree and a dual LL.M. degree.
Online LL.M. in Taxation Program
Washington University School of Law now offers an online LL.M. degree in Taxation for U.S. candidates who already possess a J.D. degree, and for foreign lawyers.

Online LL.M. Program

The Master of Laws in U.S. Law program at Washington University's School of Law is an online degree offering meant for international lawyers. Students will learn to research and write like a U.S. lawyer. The LL.M. curriculum consists of live online classes with weekly coursework. When a student completes the program, they are eligible to sit for the bar exam in both California and Washington State.

Online Master of Legal Studies Program

The online Master of Legal Studies degree from Washington University School of Law aims to develop practical legal skill sets including analytical thinking, legal research, and a comprehensive understanding of U.S. legal concepts. The program is designed for non-lawyers who want to advance their careers with legal acumen in a wide variety of professions. The curriculum focuses on appropriate legal procedure with regard to contracts, intellectual property, business associations, negotiation, immigration law, and cyber security.

Moot court competitions

The school's moot court 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, 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.
From 1998 to 2009, Washington University advanced from the regional competition to the Sherman & Sterling International Rounds of the competition seven times, a feat only matched by Harvard Law. 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. 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.. In addition, the Niagara International Law Moot Court Team placed third out of 19 teams and advanced to the semifinals, the National Environmental Moot Court Competition Team advanced to the quarterfinals at Pace University’s competition in New York, ranking third out of 74 teams.

Clinical program

The clinical program at Washington University School of Law is ranked by U.S. News and World Report seventh 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".

Appellate advocacy

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.

Civil Justice

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.

Civil Rights and Community Justice

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 became involved in larger scale community lawyering by assisting on the lawsuit opposing the anti-immigrant ordinances in Valley Park, Missouri.

Criminal Justice

The Criminal Justice Clinic operates in collaboration with the St. Louis County office of the Missouri State Public Defender System, 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.

Congressional and Administrative Law

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.

Government Lawyering

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.

Interdisciplinary Environmental

This Clinic consists of both "student attorneys" and "student consultants", 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. This agreement requires KCPL to make the most significant carbon reduction commitments of any utility in the Midwest.

Intellectual Property and Nonprofit Organizations

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.
It works 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, and Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors.

Judicial Clerkship

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 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.

Student publications

The Washington University School of Law 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, 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 has an always-evolving variety of student organizations. A majority of these organizations represent a local chapter of a larger national organization. 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.

Campus

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 has been 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 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.

Employment

According to WashU Law's official 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 87.1% of 2018 graduates had secured full-time, long-term, JD-required employment within nine months of graduation. A total of 52.1% had found employment in firms of more than 100 lawyers or had secured federal judicial clerkships. WashU Law's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 5.7%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2018 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.
For new graduates, the self-reported median starting salary for the class of 2018 was $162,500 in the private sector, and $57,000 in the public sector. WashU Law placed 55 graduates from the class of 2013 at NLJ 350 firms, ranking it 25th on the National Law Journal "Go-To Schools" for large law firm employment.

Costs

The total cost of attendance at Wash U Law for the 2019–2020 academic year was $83,654.

Notable alumni

Academia and business