Washington and Lee University School of Law in the United States

This educational institution is a small private law school located in Lexington, Virginia with a total enrollment of about 1000-1100 students per year. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1920.

Admission to this School of Law is quite competitive among the many students who apply (more than 3.000).

The mission of the institution is “to provide an educational program emphasizing critical thought, the power of the written word, continual reflection on ethical duty, and the meaning of law and justice in a swiftly changing world. The Law School aims to produce leaders whose unique combination of intellectual ability, academic and practical training, and professionalism. The Law School seeks to sustain a first-rank faculty from a spectrum of background and experience, whose scholarship enriches the public discourse of American and global society.”

History of the Washington and Lee University School of Law

The origin of Washington and Lee University School of Law is the (federal) Judge John White Brockenbrough’s Lexington School of Law. When it opened in 1849, the school of law had only a one-man faculty, without campus, building or library. The Lexington Law School became affiliated with Washington College (the precursor of Washington and Lee University) in 1866, while Robert E. Lee was the college’s president. In 1870 the institution become an integral part of Washington and Lee University. Some years leter the faculty still complained that the school has no law library. But before 1881 (its origins are unrecorded) a separate law library existed.

After Lee’s death, Washington College (and its “School of Law and Equity”) was renamed Washington and Lee University, in honor of General Lee.

Tucker Hall

The former Virginia Attorney General John Randolph Tucker was Dean of the School, followed by his son Henry St. George Tucker, Sr. When, in 1900, the law school moved into the new builder, the name of the erected building was Tucker Memorial Hall, the first building devoted entirely to the School of Law. After December 16, 1934, when the Tucker Memorial Hall was destroyed by a fire that consumed all 11,000 volumes held in the Bradford Library, the new building had the same name (Tucker Hall). The new Tucker Hall was occupied by the law school on February 16, 1936.

During World War II Tucker Hall was used as the Army’s Special Services training quarters. The law school returned to its Tucker Hall home in 1946.

The Wilbur C. Hall Law Library of the Washington and Lee University School of Law

The Law Library contains more than 473,000 volumes, including microform materials, appellate records and briefs, and government documents.

History of the The Wilbur C. Hall Law Library

Philadelphia attorney Vincent Bradford gave money annually for the purchase of books during the 1880s and 1890s. Upon his death, the law library received his 1,000 volume law library collection along with an annuity “for the maintenance and increase of the library.” In gratitude, the library was named the Vincent L. Bradford Law Library. By 1906, the library was open 24 hours a day–a tradition that continues today.

The 1976 law school moved into Lewis Hall, which houses the Wilbur C. Hall Law Library.

Frances Lewis Law Center

The Frances Lewis Law Center is the research arm of the Washington and Lee University Law School. The center brings visiting judges and lawyers to the campus. It supports research by the law school faculty and students, and it convenes scholarly colloquia on topics of current legal interest.

Law Journals and Law Reviews

More information and listings about Law Journals and Law Reviews can be found here.

Washington and Lee Law Review

“First published in 1938, the Washington and Lee Law Review presents articles contributed by leading scholars, judges, and lawyers, as well as essays, book reviews, and student notes. Student writers are chosen during the summer after their first year of law school based upon grades and the results of a writing competition. The review is published four times per year.” (1)

Washington and Lee School of Law Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

This law journal is a “student-edited journal. It is published by the law school student volunteers, whose members comprise the JECE. The journal includes articles, notes, case summaries, and legislative summaries from professors, practitioners, and students focused primarily on the areas of law surrounding energy and the climate, including, but not limited to, energy generation, energy usage, and climate impacts. JECE publishes the journal solely in an online format.” (2)

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

This journal “focuses on legal issues that affect historically underrepresented classes of persons in a wide variety of subject matter that includes real estate, education, healthcare, environment, and public welfare. JCRSJ publishes articles submitted by leading scholars and practitioners as well as student notes. It is a biannual publication.” (3)

German Law Journal

This jounal is “an online journal. It publishes commentary and scholarship in the fields of German, European, and international law. Its English-language treatment of comparative and international law attracts more than two million site visits from more than 50 countries each year. W&L students have the opportunity to write book reviews, case comments, short articles, and, following instructional learning, assist in discussing and assessing submissions for the journal.” (4)

Website Journals

Have a look at the above journal websites:

Activities

Clinical programs of the Washington and Lee University School of Law

“One of the most significant opportunities afforded by a law school education at W&L is its legal clinics. Third-year students help to meet the need for legal assistance in the region and, at the same time, develop client contact and advocacy skills. Enrollment in an in-house clinic course satisfies the “actual practice” requirement of the Washington and Lee University School of Law third-year curriculum.” (5)

Clinical programs offered by the school include:

Black Lung Clinic
Community Legal Practice Clinic
Criminal Justice Clinic
Tax Clinic
Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse
Immigrant Rights Clinic
Transnational Programs: Tribunals and Human Rights
Federal Civil Rights Program
Judicial Clerkship Program
Public Prosecutors Program
General Externship Program
The Citizenship and Immigration Program
The Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse

Resources and Projects of Washington and Lee University School of Law

Moot Court Programs of Washington and Lee University School of Law

More information about Moot Court is available here.

“All students at the law school can participate in the Moot Court program. First year students help as bailiffs, clients, witnesses, and time keepers. Second- and third-year students can compete so long as they have signed and submitted the participation agreement after reading the professionalism policy and grievance procedure.
Teams consisting of two members interview and counsel a “client” with a legal problem in the Client Counseling Competition. Competitors are judged on their ability to establish and maintain an effective rapport
with the client and are then chosen from the intra-school competition to represent Washington and Lee in the ABA-sponsored Regional Client Counseling Competition.

The John W. Davis Appellate Advocacy Moot Court Competition provides interested students the opportunity to sharpen their brief writing and oral advocacy skills. Participants individually write a brief on an issue of constitutional law and then present at least two oral arguments to a bench of distinguished judges. Students who place at the top in this competition go on to represent Washington and Lee in several competitions”(6) in the United States.

Externships and Internships

Externships

The University’s “innovative third-year curriculum is entirely experiential; expanding upon the lessons and law of the first- and second-year curriculum, students move out of the classroom and into the real world of legal practice. The new third-year curriculum is not merely a year devoted to practice skills, though lawyering skills are addressed in a variety of ways. Student externs spend one to two days at their externship site each week, and enroll themselves in an accompanying course.” (7)

Prosecutor Externship

“Six to Eight students will be placed with a Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office. Recent participating offices are located in Covington, Fincastle, Lexington, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Salem, and Staunton, Virginia. For most externs, travel time is significant. Externs prosecute felonies and misdemeanors under Virginia law in Virginia trial courts under the supervision of a prosecutor at the placement.

In Judicial Externship Program, students are selected to serve as extern with state and federal trial and appellate judges. Externs can work side by side with the judge and his or her regular law clerks, and attend court as schedules and duties permit. They can work with judges of Federal and Appellate and Virginia Circuit Court.” (8)

General Externships

“Students can work at a variety of offsite placements. Externs have worked with private law firms, City and County Attorney Offices, Corporate and University Counsel, Legal Aid, Public Defenders, The Justice Center, or other legal organizations. Other options include working for a state or federal agency, a public interest organization, etc. Select bankruptcy externships with bankruptcy practitioners, trustees, and judges are also available for students that have taken the bankruptcy course. Students may choose to apply to federal agencies, courts, NGOs and other organizations working on federal issues located in DC for an externship.” (9)

Internships

“The Transnational Law Institute sponsors several summer internships involving international or comparative law matters in a broad array of organizations. These students are designated Institute Summer Associates.” (10)

Notes

The 2014 BCG Attorney Search Guide to Americaca ’s Top 50 Law Schools
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Washington and Lee University School of Law