Washington University School of Law

Introduction

Washington University School of Law offers its students an outstanding legal education in an intellectually challenging and collegial environment. Our faculty members are recognized for their excellent teaching and scholarship, and they are highly accessible to our students. WashULaw’s flexible curriculum blends traditional theory with opportunities to participate in a wide variety of lawyering skills courses and cocurricular activities that encourage the development of practical skills and interdisciplinary learning.

St. Louis

St. Louis is a great place to study law. With dozens of major corporations based in St. Louis, there is a thriving and sophisticated legal community. Firms of all sizes represent the full range of expertise. Hundreds of law-related organizations—governmental agencies, major law firms, advocacy groups, and more—open doors to internships and other practical experiences. In this bi-state region, WashULaw’s campus is minutes away from two federal courthouses, multiple state courts, numerous counties, and dozens of municipal jurisdictions.

St. Louis is also a great place to live. The neighborhoods surrounding Washington University put students in close proximity to desirable housing, bookshops, coffee shops, cultural institutions, sports, restaurants, and more. Forest Park, one of the nation’s great urban green spaces, is across the street from campus. Of particular interest to law students on a budget: compared to other major metropolitan areas, St. Louis is an affordable city to call home.

Curriculum

WashULaw offers a broad-based, flexible curriculum that highlights applied lawyering skills. A three-year, full-time course of study leads to the JD degree. All first-year students have half their courses in small sections of 45 students or fewer. These small classes increase the opportunities for participation in class discussions and individualized teacher-student contact. Second- and third-year students have full flexibility to choose their own classes and can tailor them to fit their particular interests. Students may also enroll in courses from other graduate programs at the university and apply up to six credit hours toward the JD requirements. In addition, numerous school-sponsored conferences and symposia expose our students to a wide range of nationally and internationally renowned legal scholars.

Library and Physical Facilities

The law school is situated in beautiful, state-of-the-art facilities, Anheuser-Busch and Seigle Halls. Both buildings provide vibrant spaces that enhance the law school’s sense of community and collaboration. Although the buildings appear traditional, the latest computing and multimedia technologies are incorporated in their designs. Wireless connections and digital signage are available throughout both buildings. The law library is the focal point for much of the intellectual activity at the law school. It has a collection of over 675,000 volumes and provides access to a rich collection of online databases. The library has particularly strong collections in the areas of international law, environmental law, land-use planning, urban law, tax law, Chinese law, and Japanese law.

Clinical Education Program

With 19 clinics and externships, WashULaw’s exceptional Clinical Education Program provides opportunities to learn professional skills and values by working with clients, attorneys, judges, and legislators under the close supervision of experienced and expert faculty. Through our Practical Experience Guarantee, all students are ensured at least one experiential learning opportunity during law school—and 85 percent of WashULaw students choose to participate. While offering a diverse array of experiences for students, the program also benefits the larger community—locally, nationally, and internationally.

Clinical Opportunities

Recent additions to the Clinical Education Program include the Prosecution Law Clinic (PDF) and the Post-Conviction Relief Clinical Practicum (PDF). Other clinical opportunities include

• Appellate Clinic
• Children’s Rights Clinic
• Civil Rights, Community Justice, and Mediation Clinic

• Congressional and Administrative Law Externship: Students can spend a semester working in Washington, DC, for a member of Congress, a congressional committee, a federal administrative agency, or a nonprofit organization.

• Corporate Judicial Externship
• Criminal Justice Clinic
• Entrepreneurship and Intellectual Property Law Clinic
• Government Lawyering Externship
• Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic
• International Justice and Conflict Resolution Externship
• Judicial Clerkship Externship
• Lawyering Practice Externship
• Low Income Taxpayer Clinic

• New York Regulatory and Business Externship: Students can work under the direction of attorneys in a variety of nonprofit, government, and in-house counsel offices with an emphasis on business associations and regulation.
• Prosecution Clinic
• Semester-in-Practice (SIP) Externship: This innovative program empowers second- and third-year law students to gain hands-on professional experience anywhere in the United States. Through this externship, students earn academic credit by spending a semester working full time for a nonprofit, government, or in-house corporate law office in the location of their choice. Students in the SIP externship work directly with an attorney/field supervisor and receive oversight at the law school from a faculty supervisor. The rigorous program provides direct professional training while serving students’ diverse geographic interests.
• Supervised Practicum
• Urban Revitalization Clinical Practicum

Brookings Institution

Washington University has also established an academic partnership with the Brookings Institution (PDF) in Washington, DC. This affiliation provides research collaborations, internships for students, faculty exchanges, and other mutually beneficial projects in which students may be involved.

Special Degree Programs

WashULaw complements its outstanding JD program with many different joint-degree opportunities. In addition to our formal joint-degree programs, students may design their own joint degrees, combining law and another course of study that leads to a master’s degree.

Formal Joint Degrees

• JD/MBA Business Administration
• JD/MSW Social Work
• JD/MPH Public Health
• JD/LLM Taxation
• JD/MA Biology
• JD/MA Computer Science
• JD/MA East Asian Studies
• JD/MA International Affairs
• JD/MA Islamic and Near Eastern Studies
• JD/MA Jewish Studies
• JD/MA Political Economy and Public Policy

LLM Programs

LLM programs include Intellectual Property and Technology Law, Taxation, and US Law for International Students, as well as an LLM with a concentration in Alternative Dispute Resolution.

A combined JD/LLM in Taxation or JD/LLM with a concentration in Alternative Dispute Resolution may be completed in six or seven semesters.

Transnational Law Program

The law school also offers unique dual-degree programs with a number of international law schools in Europe and Australia. At the conclusion, each student will receive a JD from Washington University and an LLM from one of the partner schools.

Study-Abroad Opportunities

In addition to the international joint-degree offerings listed above, WashULaw’s students can study abroad for a semester. Our students take regular courses at leading international institutions. WashULaw also offers the Summer Institute for Global Justice, a six-week, intensive course in Utrecht, the Netherlands, focusing on international and comparative law, and the Transnational Law Program. WashULaw has exchange or study-abroad agreements in place with each of the following 15 law schools:

• Utrecht University in the Netherlands
• National University of Singapore in Singapore
• Universidade Catolica Portuguesa in Portugal
• Fudan University in China
• Korea University in the Republic of Korea
• Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland (UK)
• University of Trento in Italy
• Hong Kong University in Hong Kong (PRC)
• Bucerius Law School in Germany
• University of Queensland (TC Beirne School of Law) in Australia
• Interdisciplinary Center-Herzliya (Radzyner School of Law) in Israel
• National Taiwan University
• University of Bergen
• L’Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne in France
• Université de Cergy Pontoise in France

Student Activities

Journals

WashULaw publishes four student-edited law review periodicals:

• Washington University Law Review
• Washington University Journal of Law & Policy
• Washington University Global Studies Law Review
• Washington University Jurisprudence Review

Trial and Advocacy

The Trial and Advocacy Program includes a very active moot court program, mock trial competitions, and competitions in negotiation and client counseling.

Student Organizations

Students are actively involved in over 40 student organizations, including

• Women’s Law Caucus
• Student Bar Association
• Black Law Students Association
• American Indian Law Students Association
• Asian Pacific American Law Students Association
• South Asian Law Student Association
• OUTLaw (LGBTQ* alliance)

Public Service

Students also participate in a number of volunteer public service projects through student organizations or the school’s Public Service Advisory Board (PSAB) and Pro Bono Pledge.

Public Interest

WashULaw has a long-standing commitment to public service and lawyering in the public interest. In addition to the extensive clinical education program, public interest law is supported in a number of different ways: the Webster Society Scholarship provides full tuition for three years and an annual stipend to entering JD students with exemplary academic credentials and an established commitment to public service; funding is guaranteed for 1L students who work in summer internships in public service; the Mel Brown Family Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) assists graduates beginning their careers in public service positions; and the popular Public Interest Law and Policy Speakers Series brings 10 prominent lecturers to campus each year. The class of 2017 completed over 95,000 public service hours.  

Career Services

Our Center for Career Development (CCD) is committed to matching students with outstanding employment opportunities from around the country. The CCD’s priority is to connect students with the jobs they desire and employers with the students they seek. In addition to hosting extensive on-campus and off-campus recruiting programs in the fall, the CCD offers a wide range of services throughout the year, including workshops, a mock interview program, and other programming activities. The CCD offers programs on networking and skill development, clerkships, fellowships, and researching employers, and a variety of informational sessions on different practice areas. With six JD Strategists and other professional staff, the CCD takes a proactive, individualized approach to working with students. Our graduates move on to many different locations to practice: WashULaw alumni are in all 50 states and 24 countries. Summer employment is equally diverse. There is a placement for every 1L nationally and internationally. 

Scholarships and Financial Aid

All admitted students are automatically considered for scholarships. Most need-based aid is in the form of student loans. The majority of students receive some scholarship assistance; two-thirds receive loans. (Virtually all of those receiving scholarships also receive loans.) The school also offers loan repayment assistance for students who choose qualifying public interest law jobs upon graduation.

Housing

The cost of living in St. Louis is much less than in other large metropolitan areas, which is an excellent way to reduce the overall cost of law school attendance. There is a wide range of affordable housing available near campus. The Admissions Office provides a Housing Concierge to help incoming first-year students find housing suited to their needs in any of the neighborhoods in St. Louis. Many students choose to live close to the law school, but with free Metro passes from the university, students can easily live farther away.

Safety and Security

Learn about safety and security at the university by visiting Clery Reports & Logs.