Founded in 1867, WashULaw is the oldest continuously operating law school west of the Mississippi River (the oldest, Saint Louis University School of Law, operated briefly from 1843-1847 and was reestablished in 1908).[7][8] The law school was originally located in downtown St. Louis and then relocated in 1904 to the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.
In January 1997, the Washington University School of Law moved into Anheuser-Busch Hall. Anheuser-Busch Hall architecturally mirrors the classic style of the Washington University Danforth Campus.
For the class entering in fall 2022, there were 260 matriculants. The 25th and 75th LSAT percentiles for the 2022 entering class were 164 and 173, respectively, with a median of 172. The 25th and 75th undergraduate GPA percentiles were 3.43 and 4.00, respectively, with a median of 3.94. Eight students were not included in the LSAT calculations and nine were not included in the GPA calculations. The acceptance rate for JD candidates in 2022 was 18.02% and 25.18% of accepted applicants enrolled. Ten enrollees were not included in the acceptance rate.[9]
According to WashULaw'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.[10] WashU Law's Law School Transparency under-employment score was 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.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12]
The Washington University School of Law sponsors four student-run scholarly legal journals.
Washington University Law Review began as the St. Louis Law Review in 1915 and was re-titled the Washington University Law Quarterly in 1936.
Washington University Journal of Law and Policy originated in 1968 as the Urban Law Annual and focused entirely on issues surrounding land use, urban development, and other legal concerns of urban communities.
Washington University Global Studies Law Review is a student-edited international legal journal dedicated to publishing articles by international, foreign, and comparative law scholars.
Washington University Jurisprudence Review was formed in 2008 and is the only student-edited, in-print journal of law and philosophy.
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. 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).
The 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.[17][18] The school also offers a Dual LL.M. Degree with the Tecnológico de Monterrey's Escuela de Gobierno y Transformación Pública in Mexico.[19]
The JSD program emphasizes original research and writing culminating in the preparation of a significant and extensive dissertation of publishable quality.[21]
In January 2013, the Washington University School of Law started to offer an online LL.M. in U.S. Law degree for international students.[22] The school also offers an online Master of Legal Studies degree and a dual LL.M. degree.
Online program in taxation
The Washington University School of Law offers an online LL.M. degree in Taxation for U.S. candidates who already possess a J.D. degree, and for foreign lawyers.[23]
The Master of Laws in U.S. Law program at the Washington University School of Law is an online degree offering meant for international lawyers. The LL.M. curriculum consists of live online classes with weekly coursework.[24]
The curriculum focuses on appropriate legal procedure with regard to contracts, intellectual property, business associations, negotiation, immigration law, and cyber security.[25]
Washington University School of Law legal clinics[edit]
Center for Empirical Research in the Law - focuses on applying sophisticated empirical methodology to legal studies research.[26]
Center for Research on Innovation and Entrepreneurship - provides law students with the ability to work with intellectual property counsel and provide legal advice to both the University and the wider community. Law students 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.
Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute - focuses as a center for instruction and research in international and comparative law to prepare students for a global society.
