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Washington University School of Law

Private law school in St. Louis, Missouri, US From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Washington University School of Lawmap
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For the law school in Seattle, Washington, see University of Washington School of Law.

The Washington University School of Law[3][4] (WashU Law) is the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri.[5] Founded in 1867, it is the oldest continuously operating law school west of the Mississippi River.[6]

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WashU Law offers JD, LLM, MLS, and JSD degrees, along with a range of dual-degree programs in conjunction with other schools at the university. Currently, the school graduates around 230 to 250 JD students each year.

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History

Founded in 1867, WashU Law 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).[6][7]

Washington University's law school (originally known as The St. Louis Law School) was the first undergraduate division of the University to admit women and is believed to be among the first U.S. law schools to do so.[8] In 1869, Lemma Barkeloo and Phoebe Couzins enrolled.[8] Barkeloo passed the Missouri bar exam in her first year and did not complete the program, while Couzins earned her LL.B. in 1871, becoming one of the first women in the country to do so.[8] The consistent admission of women did not take place until 17 years later.[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.

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Admissions

For the class entering in fall 2024, there were 244 matriculants. The 25th and 75th LSAT percentiles for the 2022 entering class were 163 and 176, respectively, with a median of 173. The 25th and 75th undergraduate GPA percentiles were 3.45 and 4.00, respectively, with a median of 3.96. 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]

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Employment

According to WashU Law's official 2023 ABA-required disclosures, 98.2% of 2023 graduates had secured full-time employment within nine months of graduation. A total of 63.7% had found employment in firms of more than 250 lawyers or had secured federal judicial clerkships.[10]

According to U.S. News & World Report, the median starting salary for WashU Law's Class of 2023 graduates in the private sector was $205,000.[11]

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at WashU Law for the 2022–2023 academic year was $89,678.[12]

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Journals

The Washington University School of Law sponsors four student-run scholarly legal journals.[13]

  • 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.
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Rankings and honors

The 2025 edition of U.S. News & World Report Best Grad Schools ranked WashU Law:

  • tied for #14 overall

Law School Specialty Rankings:

  • tied for #20 in Business/Corporate Law
  • tied for #19 in Clinical Training
    1. 18 in Constitutional Law
    2. 18 in Contracts/Commercial Law
  • tied for #21 in Criminal Law
  • tied for #29 in Dispute Resolution
  • tied for #64 in Environmental Law
  • tied for #40 in Health Care Law
  • tied for #31 in Intellectual Property Law
  • tied for #19 in International Law
    1. 21 in Law Schools with the Most Graduates at Big Law Firms
  • tied for #11 in Law Schools with the Most Graduates in Federal Clerkships
  • tied for #35 in Tax Law
  • tied for #34 in Trial Advocacy[11]

The 2022 edition of The Princeton Review Best Law Schools ranked WashU Law:

  • 6th in Best for Federal Clerkships[14]

Leiter's Law School Rankings placed the law school:

  • 10th in where elite litigation boutiques hire[15]

The Above the Law 2022 law school rankings ranked WashU Law:

  • 6th in the country overall
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Degree programs

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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. 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).

Joint degree programs

The School of Law offers five joint degree programs (usually completed in four years):

JD-MBA, with the Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School
JD-MA in East Asian Studies, with the Washington University School of Arts and Sciences
JD-MA in Economics, with the Washington University School of Arts and Sciences
JD-MHA in Health Administration, with the Washington University School of Medicine
JD-MSW, with the Washington University in St. Louis George Warren Brown School of Social Work
JD-LLM, with the University of Queensland

Master of Laws program

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.[16][17] The school also offers a Dual LL.M. Degree with the Tecnológico de Monterrey's Escuela de Gobierno y Transformación Pública in Mexico.[18]

This program is a graduate program designed for non-lawyers.[19]

Juris scientiae doctoris program

The JSD program emphasizes original research and writing culminating in the preparation of a significant and extensive dissertation of publishable quality.[20]

Online law programs

In January 2013, the Washington University School of Law started to offer an online LL.M. in U.S. Law degree for international students.[21] 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.[22]

Online program

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.[23]

The curriculum focuses on appropriate legal procedure with regard to contracts, intellectual property, business associations, negotiation, immigration law, and cyber security.[24]

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Washington University School of Law legal clinics

  • Appellate Clinic
  • Civil Rights and Mediation Clinic
  • Criminal Justice Clinic
  • Entrepreneurship & Intellectual Property Clinic
  • First Amendment Clinic
  • Immigration Clinic
  • Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic
  • Low Income Taxpayer Clinic
  • Post-Conviction Relief Clinical Practicum
  • Prosecution Law Clinic
  • Veterans Law Clinic
  • Wrongful Conviction Clinic

Research centers and institutes

  • Center for Empirical Research in the Law - focuses on applying sophisticated empirical methodology to legal studies research.[25]
  • 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.

Notable alumni

Academia and business

Government and politics

Judiciary

Other

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References

External links

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