The school consistently ranks highly in popular law school ranking publications. In 2024, it was ranked 16th among 196 law schools by U.S. News & World Report and 6th in the nation by Above the Law in 2022.[7][8]
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.
History
Anheuser Busch Hall
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][9] 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 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.[10]
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.[11]
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.[7]
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]
2022-23 Expenses
Category
Per Annum
Tuition
$64,488
Room
$8,910
Board
$5,958
Books
$1,500
Misc
$5,000
University Health & Wellness Fee
$576
Student Bar Association Fee
$70
Legal LAUNCH Week Fee
$70
University Health Insurance
$2,232
Yellow Zone 3 Parking Permit
$874
Total
$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.
The Above the Law 2022 law school rankings ranked WashU Law:
6th in the country overall
Degree programs
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):
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.[15][16] The school also offers a Dual LL.M. Degree with the Tecnológico de Monterrey's Escuela de Gobierno y Transformación Pública in Mexico.[17]
Master of legal studies program
This program is a graduate program designed for non-lawyers.[18]
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.[19]
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.[20] 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.[21]
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.[22]
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.[23]
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.[24]
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.
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