Washington University School of Law

The school offers JD, LLM, MLS, and JSD degrees, along with a range of dual-degree programs in conjunction with other schools at the university, and graduates around 230 to 250 JD students each year.

• Name — Washington University School of Law • Motto — Per Veritatem Vis (Strength Through Truth) • Established — 1867 • Parent — Washington University in St. Louis • Type — Private law school • Head — Stefanie Lindquist • City — St. Louis • State — Missouri • Country — U.S. • Students — 718 • Ranking — 13th (tie) (2026) • Faculty — 136 (full-time), 95 (part-time) • Bar Pass Rate — 93.57% (2024 first-time takers) • Website — https: law.washu.edu/ • Parent Endowment — $12 billion • Aba Profile — Standard 509 The Washington University School of Law (WashU Law) is the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1867, it is the oldest continuously operating law school west of the Mississippi River. The school offers JD, LLM, MLS, and JSD degrees, along with a range of dual-degree programs in conjunction with other schools at the university, and graduates around 230 to 250 JD students each year.

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). Washington University's law school (originally known as The St. Louis Law School) was the first undergraduate division of the University to admit women and is believed to be among the first U.S. law schools to do so. In 1869, Lemma Barkeloo and Phoebe Couzins enrolled. Barkeloo passed the Missouri bar exam in her first year and did not complete the program, while Couzins earned her LL.B. in 1871, becoming one of the first women in the country to do so. The consistent admission of women did not take place until 17 years later. 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.

For the class entering in fall 2025, there were 258 matriculants. The 25th and 75th LSAT percentiles for the 2025 entering class were 165 and 176, respectively, with a median of 175. The 25th and 75th undergraduate GPA percentiles were 3.58 and 4.00, respectively, with a median of 3.96. The acceptance rate for JD candidates in 2025 was 18.96% and 24.23% of accepted applicants enrolled. Three enrollees were not included in the acceptance rate.

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. 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.

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.

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).

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

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.

This program is a graduate program designed for non-lawyers.

The JSD program emphasizes original research and writing culminating in the preparation of a significant and extensive dissertation of publishable quality.

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.

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.

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

• 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.

• Francis J. Beckwith (MJS 2001): philosopher, professor of philosophy and church-state studies at Baylor University • Bruce Ovbiagele (MLS 2021): professor of neurology and associate dean at the University of California, San Francisco; chief of staff at the San Francisco VA Medical Center,

• Eric P. Newman (JD 1935): numismatist, author, and vice president of by Edison Brothers Stores

• 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 • Phoebe Couzins (LLB 1871): first female U.S. Marshal; feminist; leader in the women's suffrage movement • Andrew G. McCabe (JD 1993): 16th deputy director of the FBI • 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 Trump

• Edward Coke Crow (LLB 1879): 23rd Attorney General of Missouri, 1897–1905, advisor to Missouri Governor Lloyd Crow Stark (1937–1941) • Jonathan Kanter (JD): Assistant Attorney General, United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division • Luther Ely Smith (JD 1897): lawyer credited with founding Gateway Arch National Park

• 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 • 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 • Aubrey B. Hamilton (JD 1939), Missouri House of Represetnatives • 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 • 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 • Phyllis Schlafly (AB 1944, JD 1978): antifeminist activist and founder of Eagle Forum • 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 • Xenophon P. Wilfley (JD 1899): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1918 • George Howard Williams (JD 1897): U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1925–1926

• Robert E. Bacharach (JD 1985): current judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit • David Bernhard (JD 1985): current judge, 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