The School of Law at Washington and Lee University

Law School Admissions

Application

Director of admissions Stephen B. Twitty
Application deadline March 1
Full-time program application fee $0
Part-time program application fee $0
Besides the fall semester, can enter in N/A

The School of Law at Washington and Lee University

Admissions & Enrollment (Overall)

Acceptance rate 24.3% – Low
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.65
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 164

Admissions & Enrollment (Full-time)

Acceptance rate 24.3%
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 159-165
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 3.5-3.8
Median undergraduate GPA for full-time program entrants 3.65
Median LSAT score for full-time program entrants 164

Admissions & Enrollment (Part-time)

Acceptance rate N/A
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) N/A
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 0-0
Median undergraduate GPA for part-time program entrants N/A
Median LSAT score for part-time program entrants N/A

Law School Academics

Academic Program Details

Academic calendar Semester
Joint degrees offered
J.D./M.H.A.
Special programs offered to J.D. students (as provided by the school)
Community Legal Practice Center, Black Lung Benefits Program, VA Capital Case Clearinghouse,General Externship Program, Judicial Clerkship Program, Shepherd Poverty Program. Exchange programs with law schools in Germany, Ireland, Denmark, and Canada. Transnational Law Institute, Criminal Justice Clinic, Tax Clinic, Citizenship and Immigration Program.
Programs/courses offered in
appellate advocacy intellectual property law
clinical training international law
dispute resolution tax law
environmental law trial advocacy
health care law

Curricular Offerings (Overall)

Classroom course titles, beyond the first-year curriculum, offered last year 83
Seminars 17
Positions available in seminars 210
Positions available in simulation courses 402
Positions available in faculty-supervised clinical courses 45
Student activities (as provided by the school)
Law Review;CRSJ Journal;Journal of Climate, Energy, Environ.; German Law Journal;Student Bar Assoc;Moot Court Competitions;Women Law Students Org;Black Law Students Assoc;Interna. Law Soc;Federalist Soc;Environmental Law Soc; Outlaw; American Constitution Soc;Public Int. Law Students Assoc;South Asian Law St. Assoc;Powell Lecture Series;Latin Amer.Law St.Assoc;Secular St. Soc; SW VA Innocence Prgm

Curricular Offerings (Full-time)

Typical first-year full-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 65
Is there typically a full-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? Yes
Typical size of first-year “small section” 24
Positions filled in full-time program seminars 144
Positions filled in full-time program simulation courses 336
Positions filled in faculty-supervised full-time program clinical courses 45
Full-time students involved in field placements 98
Full-time students involved in law journals 115
Full-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 131
Full-time students enrolled in independent study 12

Curricular Offerings (Part-time)

Typical first-year part-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 0
Is there typically a part-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? N/A
Positions filled in part-time program seminars 0
Positions filled in part-time program simulation courses 0
Positions filled in faculty-supervised part-time program clinical courses 0
Part-time students involved in field placements 0
Part-time students involved in law journals 0
Part-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 0
Part-time students enrolled in independent study 0

Faculty Profile (Fall 2011)

Student-faculty ratio 9.5:1 – Low
Full- and part-time faculty 60
Full-time minority faculty 5.7%
Part-time minority faculty 4.0%
Total faculty 65
Total faculty (men) 72.3%
Total faculty (women) 27.7%
Total faculty (minorities) 4.6%

Class Size

Law School Ranking

#24 Best Law Schools

(1) Ranking by Specialties

#18 in Law Firms Rank Schools

Law Ranking Scores

Score 68
Peer assessment score (out of 5) 3.3
Assessment score by lawyers/judges (out of 5) 3.9
GPA (25th-75th percentile) 3.5-3.8
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.65
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 159-165
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 164
Acceptance rate 24.3% – Low
Student-faculty ratio 9.5:1 – Low
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 89.4% – High
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 90.2% – Medium
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 72.1% – Low
State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar VA
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 77.4%

Law School Student Body

Student Body (Overall)

Total Enrolled 395

Student Body (Full-time)

Enrollment (full-time) 395

Student Body (Part-time)

Enrollment (part-time) N/A
Gender distribution (part-time) N/A

Attrition Rates for Full- and Part-time Students (2010-2011)

First-year students discontinuing law school 2.1%
Second-year students discontinuing law school 14.2%
Third-year students discontinuing law school 0.8%
Fourth-year students discontinuing law school N/A
Male students discontinuing law school 8.0%
Female students discontinuing law school 2.4%

Law School Cost

Financial Aid Contact Information

Financial aid director Cynthia Hintze
Financial aid phone (540) 458-8729
Financial aid application deadline February 15

Expenses

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $41,947 per year
Room and board $11,600
Books $2,425
Miscellaneous expenses $6,113
Is the tuition the same for first-, second-, and third-year students? Yes
Does the university offer housing restricted to law students? Yes
Does the university offer graduate student housing for which law students are eligible? Yes
Does the university offer a public-interest scholarship program to current J.D. students? Yes

Grants (Full-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition 38.7%
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full 22.0%
Students receiving grants of full tuition 5.1%
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition 0.3%
Median grant amount $15,800
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $11,000–$25,000
Full-time students receiving grants 66.1%

Grants (Part-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition N/A
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full N/A
Students receiving grants of full tuition N/A
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition N/A
Median grant amount $0
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $0–$0
Part-time students receiving grants N/A

Indebtedness

Average indebtedness of 2011 graduates who incurred law school debt $111,957
Proportion who borrowed 81.5%
Does the school offer a loan repayment assistance program for 2011 J.D. graduates? Yes

Law School Library

Library Information Resources

Print titles (excluding nonbook titles) 67,931
Microform titles 102,409
Electronic titles 35,658
Other non-book titles 1,859
Total titles 207,857
Volumes (excluding microforms) 241,947
Volume equivalent microforms 230,760
Total volumes and volume equivalents 472,707
Number of volumes in the collection that are stored off site and are systematically retrievable 0
Library’s online catalog or website includes links to electronic titles or databases made available by another campus library or consortia Yes

Library Schedule of Operation

Number of hours per week library is open on a regular schedule 168
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty on a regular schedule 60
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on a regular schedule 0
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on a regular schedule 15
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on a regular schedule 60
Number of weeks per year library operates on an abbreviated schedule 21
Number of hours per week library is open on an abbreviated schedule 168
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty are on an abbreviated schedule 45
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 0
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 0
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on an abbreviated schedule 45
Number of weeks per year library operates on expanded schedule 3

Information Technology

Department(s) responsible for the law school information technology operations law school information technology department, university information technology department
Approximate number of full-time-equivalent information technology staff (excluding hourly students and other temporary staff) 5
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in the law library (excluding computer labs) 2
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in classrooms 305
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in computer labs 0
Number of open, wired network connections available to students elsewhere in the law school 33
Does the law school have a wireless network? Yes
Wireless network is available in the law library, in classrooms, in administrative/faculty offices and work areas, elsewhere in the law school
Does the school require entering students to own a computer? No

Physical Library Facilities

Net square feet of space assigned for library purposes 54,850
Total seats available for library users 530
Details about the library and other facilities (as provided by the school) Sydney Lewis Hall, approximately 136,000 square feet; wireless communication throughout building. Each student has his/her own carrel. Ethernet data ports and power supply are at each classroom seat. Library is hub of the school and is open 24/7. Library has a capacity of 530 seats or 130% of its enrollment. Law library contains more than 440,000 volumes.

Law School Careers

Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2010 administrations)

State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar VA
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 72.1% – Low
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 77.4%

Class of 2010 Graduates

Total graduates 123
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 89.4%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 90.2%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Graduation

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 0.0%
Graduates whose employment status is known 100.0%
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 89.4%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 4.1%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 0.8%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 5.7%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Nine Months

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 4.1%
Graduates whose employment status is known 95.9%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 90.2%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 4.1%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 1.6%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 0.0%

Starting Salaries of Graduates Employed Full-time (Class of 2010)

25th percentile private sector starting salary $67,500
Median private sector starting salary $93,500
75th percentile private sector starting salary $145,000
Percent in the private sector who reported salary information 40%
Median public service starting salary $51,000

Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2010)

Percent employed in academia 9.0%
Percent employed in business and industry 7.2%
Percent employed in government 20.7%
Percent employed in all judicial clerkships 20.7%
Percent employed in law firms 32.4%
Percent employed in public interest 9.0%
Percent employed in an unknown field 0.9%

Employment Location (Class of 2010)

Graduates employed in-state 31%
Graduates employed out-of-state 64.9%
Graduates employed in foreign countries 3%
Number of states where graduates are employed 23
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) 1.8%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) 12.6%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) 2.7%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) 0.9%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) 64.1%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) 1.8%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) 3.6%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) 5.4%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) 2.7%
Employment location unknown 1.8%

Career Services

(Data appear as originally submitted by this school)

Career services operations Office of Career Planning and Prof. Development serves JD and LL.M. students and alumni seeking legal and nonlegal positions. Offers individual counseling, resume and cover letter review, mock interviews, Myers-Briggs Type interpretations year round. Fall and spring on-campus interviews and off-site programs. Students and alumni may access free fax services and research resources 24/7.

Job Type

Bar admission required/anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks) 74.6%
Bar admission required/anticipated – percent employed in full-time positions 91.5%
J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent) 20.9%
J.D. preferred – percent employed in full-time positions 52.2%
Professional other (jobs that require professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither preferred nor particularly applicable; e.g., accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse) 3.6%
Professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 75.0%
Non-professional other (job that does not require any professional skills or training or is taken on a temporary basis and not viewed as part of a career path) 0.9%
Non-professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 0.0%