Washington University School of Law

The Washington University School of Law    (WashULaw) is the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1867, the law school was originally located in downtown St. Louis, and relocated in 1904 to the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

History
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). 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.

Admissions
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.

Employment
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. 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.

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 (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at WashULaw for the 2022–2023 academic year was $89,678.

Journals
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.

Rankings and honors
The 2024 edition of U.S. News & World Report Best Grad Schools ranked WashULaw: Law School Specialty Rankings:
 * tied for #16 overall
 * tied for #20 in Business/Corporate Law
 * tied for #12 in Clinical Training
 * tied for #19 in Constitutional Law
 * tied for #18 in Contracts/Commercial Law
 * tied for #18 in Criminal Law
 * tied for #21 in Dispute Resolution
 * tied for #70 in Environmental Law
 * tied for #24 in Health Care Law
 * tied for #30 in Intellectual Property Law
 * tied for #29 in International Law
 * tied for #32 in Tax Law
 * tied for #25 in Trial Advocacy

The 2022 edition of The Princeton Review Best Law Schools ranked WashULaw:
 * 6th in Best for Federal Clerkships

Leiter's Law School Rankings placed the law school:
 * 10th in where elite litigation boutiques hire

The Above the Law 2022 law school rankings ranked WashULaw:
 * 6th in the country overall

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

Master of legal studies program
This program is a graduate program designed for non-lawyers.

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.

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. 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.

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.

Online master of legal studies program
The curriculum focuses on appropriate legal procedure with regard to contracts, intellectual property, business associations, negotiation, immigration law, and cyber security.

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
 * Wrongful Conviction Clinic

Research centers and institutes

 * Center for Empirical Research in the Law - focuses on applying sophisticated empirical methodology to legal studies research.
 * 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.

Academia and business

 * Edward Cranch Eliot of the Eliot family (AB 1878, LLB 1880, AM 1881): former president of the American Bar Association
 * Francis J. Beckwith (MJS 2001): philosopher

Government and politics

 * Carl J. Artman (JD): Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, and head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs 2007–08
 * David Bohigian, Assistant Secretary of Commerce from 2005 to 2009 under George W. Bush
 * Henry S. Caulfield (JD 1895): 37th Governor of Missouri, 1929–1933; United States Representative for Missouri's 11th congressional district
 * Clark M. Clifford (LLB 1928): U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1968–69; presidential advisor
 * Earl Thomas Coleman (JD 1969): U.S. congressman from Missouri, 1977–1993
 * Edward Coke Crow (LLB 1879): 23rd Attorney General of Missouri, 1897–1905, advisor to Missouri Governor Lloyd Crow Stark (1937–1941)
 * Dwight F. Davis (LLB): founder of Davis Cup, and 49th US Secretary of War
 * Alan J. Dixon (LLB 1949): U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1981–93
 * Leonidas C. Dyer (JD 1893): U.S. congressman from Missouri, 1915–1933
 * Harry B. Hawes (JD 1896): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1926–1933
 * Thomas C. Hennings Jr. (JD 1926): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1951–1960
 * William L. Igoe (JD 1902): U.S. congressman from Missouri, 1913–1921
 * Alphonso Jackson (JD 1972): U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 2004–2008
 * Jonathan Kanter (JD): Assistant Attorney General, United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division
 * Andrew G. McCabe (JD 1993): 16th deputy director of the FBI
 * Victor J. Miller (JD): mayor of St. Louis, 1925-1933
 * Roscoe C. Patterson (JD 1897): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1929–1935
 * Kenneth J. Rothman (AB, JD): Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, 1981–1985
 * Steven Rothman (JD 1977): US Congressman from New Jersey, 1997–2013
 * Brian W. Shukan (JD 1994): United States Ambassador to Benin, 2022-Present
 * Ralph Tyler Smith (JD 1940): U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1969–1970
 * Selden P. Spencer (JD 1886): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1918–1925
 * Louis Susman (JD): United States Ambassador to Great Britain, 2009-2013
 * William H. Webster (JD 1949): 14th director of the CIA and the 6th director of the FBI
 * Andrew Wheeler (JD): 15th administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency under Donald J. Trump
 * Xenophon P. Wilfley (JD 1899): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1918
 * George Howard Williams (JD 1897): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1925–1926

Judiciary

 * Robert E. Bacharach (JD 1985): current judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
 * David Bernhard (JD 1985): current judge, Fairfax Circuit Court, Virginia (Judge-elect of the Court of Appeals of Virginia)
 * Michael Cherry (JD 1969): chief justice, Supreme Court of Nevada, 2017-2018
 * Stephanie D. Davis (JD 1992): current judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
 * Audrey G. Fleissig (JD 1980): current judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
 * Raymond Gruender (JD/MBA 1987): current judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
 * Jean Constance Hamilton (JD 1971): current judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
 * Andrew Jackson Higgins (JD 1948): former judge, former chief justice, Supreme Court of Missouri
 * John Francis Nangle (JD 1948): former chief judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, 1983–1990
 * Catherine D. Perry (JD 1980): current judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
 * Rodney W. Sippel (JD 1981): current judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
 * Richard B. Teitelman (JD 1973): former judge, former chief justice, Supreme Court of Missouri
 * Richard B. Teitelman (JD 1973): former judge, former chief justice, Supreme Court of Missouri

Other

 * Phoebe Couzins (LLB 1871): first female U.S. Marshal; feminist; leader in the women's suffrage movement
 * Eric P. Newman (JD 1935): numismatist
 * Phyllis Schlafly (AB 1944, JD 1978): author, lawyer, conservative and antifeminist activist
 * Luther Ely Smith (JD 1897): founder of Gateway Arch National Park