Willamette University, College of Law 2024 Viewbook

EDUCATING the NEXT GENERATION of PROBLEM-SOLVING LAWYERS & LEADERS FIND YOUR

STRENGTH

MAKERS CHANGE of

Since 1883

139 years ago Willamette became the first law school established in the Pacific Northwest and never looked back.

to the BUILD FUTURE YOU WANT LEAD

The WILLAMETTE EDGE

We are producing the next generation of problem solvers, community leaders, legal dealmakers, and changemakers in the most innovative region of the country. As one of the nation’s top law schools, we give you a solid foundation upon which to build a career full of meaning and purpose.

Our student-centric approach will help focus and give you the confidence to reach farther than you ever imagined. Our robust experiential learning opportunities provide real-world experience with onthe-job training, particularly in our curricular strengths— Business Law, International Law, Public Service, Advocacy, and Health Law.

FIND YOUR FUTURE

SIGNATURE STRENGTHS

Willamette University College of Law develops the next generation of problem-solving lawyers and leaders dedicated to serving their communities and the legal profession.

BUSINESS LAW

We are committed to providing students with the legal, ethical and practical skills necessary to mature into problem-solving lawyers able to advise and represent businesses and organizations in an increasingly complex environment. Students have opportunities to learn from and work alongside national leaders in the fields of Business Transactions, Estate Planning & Elder Law, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment Law, and Real Estate Transactions.

INTERNATIONAL LAW

Our graduates will make critical decisions that transcend the boundaries of a national legal system. Building on our deep and historic strengths in teaching and scholarship of international law, we instill in our students the confidence needed to help clients find clarity amid global complexity. Our focus areas include Comparative Law, Foreign Relations Law, Immigration & Refugee Law, International Business Transactions, International Criminal Law, Private International Law, and Public International Law.

ADVOCACY

With numerous leading jurists on the faculty, Willamette’s trial advocacy program is known for producing confident, courtroom-ready graduates with the ability to face litigation challenges — wherever they may arise in their careers — when the stakes are highest. Our focus areas include Family Law, Mediation & Arbitration, Personal, Injury, and Trial & Litigation.

PUBLIC SERVICE

We train servant-leaders in a state capital packed with legislators and judges, offering hundreds of externships. Our alumni have risen to serve as distinguished jurists in roles such as state bar leaders, judges, state supreme court justices, US Attorneys, governors, and members of Congress. Our focus areas include Civil Rights, Criminal Defense & Prosecution, Criminal Justice & Sentencing, Election Law, Environment Law & Justice, Government Service & Regulation, and State & Federal Constitutional Law.

HEALTH LAW

Capitalizing on our proximity to Salem Health and Oregon Health and Science University, and with our undergraduate focus in public health, we are developing healthcare industry leaders with the expertise necessary to deliver legal certainty in the complex and rapidly changing field of health law. Our focus areas include Disability Law and Public Health Law.

CLASS PROFILE for 2023

We select the best and the brightest from around the world, giving us the most diverse student body in the state that represents a range of languages, cultures, interests, hometowns and expertise.

Whether fresh from their undergraduate or degree or pursuing a second career, Willamette Law students are smart, talented, and excited to be part of the close community that defines the College of Law.

GOVERNMENT, CENTER LAW BEAUTY &

Learn the law by participating in its creation. Our location across the street from the Oregon State Capitol, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, District Court, many law firms and multiple state agencies provides our students with a logistical advantage that is unmatched anywhere in the region.

Nestled in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the city of Salem is just a short drive away from Portland, the Cascade Mountains, and the Oregon Coast. So whether you’re interested in history, winemaking, biking, hiking, food festivals, snowboarding, or kayaking, adventure is right outside your door.

MILES to Mount Jefferson

MILES to the Oregon Coast

OREGON STATE CAPITOL

4. MARION COUNTY DISTRICT COURT

PARKS BAUER SIME WINKLER & FERNETY Law Offices

HELTZEL WILLIAMS Law Offices

NAPOLI SHORT

SAALFELD GRIGGS PC

BRILLIANT, WARM, WITTY

DEEPLY COMMITTED SUCCESS &

to your

LEARN from THE BEST

Our faculty includes nationally recognized scholars, seasoned practitioners, and former and current judiciary members who serve as teachers and mentors. Their deep dedication to our students distinguishes Willamette Law professors from others.

Our thought-leading scholars advance and promote our shared responsibility to make a difference in society, placing justice, fairness, and equality at the heart of everything we do.

9:1

STUDENT / FACULTY Ratio

Our graduates are highly sought after by employers ‘for their talent and hands-on training experience.’

NAVIGATE your PATH

Map out your career with individualized help from our career advisors. They will work with you to identify where you want to go and what experiences you need to get there. Whether meeting with our advisors, gaining experience through our Externship Program, or participating in our Attorney-Mentor Program, students, alumni, and employers find the tools for success in Willamette Law’s Office of Career Planning & Development.

The influence of our alumni is immediately apparent in this process. They hold leadership positions in law firms, the judiciary, private government industry, in-house legal departments, academia, and public interest organizations and work closely with our Career Planning and Development Office to help new graduates launch their careers.

THREE YEAR Employment Summary

JD advantage

SPECIAL BOND

6,000 16 27

MUCH MORE than a NETWORK

The Willamette Law community fosters a special bond among our students, and includes thousands of loyal, connected and truly involved alumni. Our alumni are authors of their own success stories and include state and federal judges, governors, and heads of Fortune 500 companies.

Ours is a law school with an analytical mind and a social conscience, and we want students who understand the important role and responsibility of lawyers in society. As students, faculty, staff, and alumni, we are bound together by our motto, “Not unto ourselves alone are we born,” reflecting our deep-seated, life-long commitment to giving back.

ALUMNI CHANGEMAKERS

JAY INSLEE Washington Governor JD ,76

JURIS DOCTOR (JD) The Juris Doctor is a three-year professional degree required for taking the bar exam and practicing law in the United States. We offer the program on both a part-time and full-time basis

JD/MBA JOINT DEGREE: Graduates

receive both a JD from the College of Law and an MBA from Willamette’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management.

BA/JD Allows students to complete a bachelor’s degree and law degree in six years rather than the usual seven.

MASTER OF LAW (LLM) For those who have completed their JD, Willamette offers a one-year Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Transnational Law.

MASTER OF LEGAL STUDIES (MLS)

Willamette’s Master of Legal Studies (MLS) Program is a one-year master’s program designed for professionals whose job involves working within a legal or regulatory framework.

6 CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

Gain unique and comprehensive training in one of six specialty areas offered through our Certificate Programs: Law & Business, Dispute Resolution, Law & Government, Sustainability Law, International & Comparative Law, and Health Law.

CLINICAL LAW PROGRAM

Law students have the opportunity to gain professional experience through our Clinical Law Program. The three clinics offered at Willamette Law — Immigration and Trusts and Estates — give second- and third-year students the chance to help real clients navigate a variety of legal matters. Under the supervision of licensed professionals, students develop transferable skills and promote a more just society.

EXTERNSHIPS

Students earn academic credit while working under the supervision of a practicing attorney. Willamette students have enjoyed externships with local, national, and international hosts in a variety of legal settings that fit their career interests.

LIMITLESS STUDY ABROAD OPPORTUNITIES

Willamette Law’s study abroad opportunities help students to develop the cross-cultural understanding they will need to navigate the globalization of business, society, and the legal profession. Law students have a choice of programs in a range of countries. In most cases, programs that have been reviewed and approved by the ABA are eligible for credit toward your Willamette Law degree. A list of these summer study abroad programs can be found on the ABA for Students website, abaforlawstudents.com

MORE THAN 20 STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

Share interests with classmates through one of our many law student organizations. Student groups host networking events, social gatherings, community service opportunities, and study sessions, among many other activities

LAW JOURNALS

• Willamette Law Review

• Willamette Journal of International Law & Dispute Resolution

• Willamette Journal of Social Justice & Equity

• Willamette Law Online

PREPARE PRACTICEto

CONSIDER YOURSELF

Warmly INVITED

Tour our campus, talk to faculty and students, explore our academic environment and get to know our community.

VISIT US:

Schedule a visit to Willamette Law and experience it for yourself. Meet with an admissions representative, and tour the school with a current student. We can also arrange for you to meet with a professor.

OFFICE: 245 Winter St SE, Salem, OR 97301

EMAIL: law-admissions@willamette.edu

CALL: 503-370-6282

CONNECT: VISIT: willamette.edu/law

APPLY:

Willamette Law’s application deadline is August 1, but we suggest you apply early in the admissions cycle (September - April).

There is no application fee. Apply with an LSAT or GRE score.

TO APPLY PLEASE VISIT: lsac.org