University of Washington School of Law

Infobox Law School


name = University of Washington School of Law
established = 1899
type = Public
endowment =
parent endowment = $2.68 billion [http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/article.asp?articleID=39468]
head = Interim Dean Gregory Hicks
city = Seattle
state = Washington
country = United States
students = ~540
faculty = 57 Full Time
ranking = 30
bar pass rate = 87.6%
annual tuition = $17,846 In-State
homepage = [http://www.law.washington.edu www.law.washington.edu]

The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington. It is regarded as the top law school in the Pacific Northwest, as well as one of the top thirty law schools in the United States, as ranked by US News and World Report. [ [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_brief.php USNews.com: America's Best Graduate Schools 2008: Top Law Schools ] ]

The school was first organized in 1899 and the current law building, William H. Gates Hall, was completed and occupied in September 2003. It is located on the northwest corner of the main University campus. Entering classes at the law school are typically around 180 students, and all are full-time. There are 57 full-time professors at the school, and the student-to-faculty ratio is approximately 11:1. The school is fully ABA accredited. [ [http://www.law.washington.edu/about/ About | UW School of Law ] ]

The University of Washington School of Law has a reputation as one of the most collegial and friendly environments among top tier law schools. For many years the school did not rank its students, and just started ranking students in 'bands' in 2007. Its ratio of female to male students, at roughly 2:1 for the class of 2010, is rare among major law schools.

Admissions and Careers

The 2006-2007 first-year student admission rate was 22.7% and was among the most selective in the country. The median GPA was 3.63 and the median LSAT score was 162 (87th Percentile). Washington residents made up 54% of the entering class, and 25% of students were minorities. 99.4% of 2006 UW School of Law graduates seeking employment secured professional employment within nine months of graduation. The median starting salary for 2006 graduates employed in the private sector (60% of students) was $90,000, and the median starting salary for those employed in the public sector (40%) was $45,000.

Library

The law school is home to The Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library. Its collection is among the largest university law collections on the West Coast and currently numbers more than 525,000 volumes. In addition to an extensive research collection, it supports the Asian Law, Law of Sustainable Development, and Tax graduate programs and serves as a federal depository for selected U.S. government documents. The Librarianship program at the law school has consistently been ranked #1 in the country. [ [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_brief.php USNews.com: America's Best Graduate Schools 2008: Top Law Schools ] ]

Degrees and Curriculum

The Law School offers the standard J.D. degree along with LL.M. and Ph.D. degrees.

J.D. students can also choose from one of six specializations. These include a concentration on Asian Law, Dispute Resolution, Environmental Law, Health Law, Intellectual Property, and International and Comparative Law. The Law School also offers the opportunity to undertake a concurrent degree program, for example, a J.D./M.B.A. dual-degree.

Advanced standing students with J.D. degrees can choose from an LL.M. degree in Intellectual Property Law and Policy, Taxation, or Law of Sustainable International Development. An LL.M. degree or Ph.D. degree is also available in Asian and Comparative Law.

cholarly Publications

The University of Washington School of Law currently has three separate and distinct legal publications.

* Washington Law Review
* Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal (specializing in East Asian and trans-Pacific affairs)
* Shidler Journal of Law, Commerce & Technology (an exclusively electronic publication)

Notable Alumni

Listed chronologically:
*Vern Countryman (1942): Supreme Court Clerk to William O. Douglas
*Lucile Lomen (1944): Supreme Court Clerk to William O. Douglas and the first woman to serve as a law clerk for a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
*Thomas J. Klitgaard (1944): Supreme Court Clerk to William O. Douglas
*William H. Gates, Sr. (1950): Father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Co-founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
*Betty Fletcher (1956): Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
*Tom Foley (1957): Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
*Gerry L. Alexander (1964): Current Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice
*Norm Maleng (1966): Former longtime King County prosecuting attorney
*Jeffrey Brotman (1967): Co-founder of the Costco Wholesale Corporation
*Norm Dicks (1968): Current member of the United States House of Representatives
*Richard B. Sanders (1969): Current Washington State Supreme Court Justice
* Tom Chambers (1969): Current Washington State Supreme Court Justice
*James M. Johnson (1970): Current Washington State Supreme Court Justice
*Richard Jones (1975): U.S. District Court Judge for Western District of Washington
*Bobbe Bridge (1976): Former Washington State Supreme Court Justice
*Joseph L. Hoffmann (1984): Supreme Court Clerk to William Rehnquist

References

External links

* [http://www.law.washington.edu University of Washington School of Law] website.
* [http://www.law.washington.edu/wlr Washington Law Review] website.
* [http://www.lctjournal.washington.edu/ Shidler Journal of Law, Commerce & Technology] website.
* [http://www.law.washington.edu/pacrim Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal] website.