Join a long tradition of excellence.
The George Washington University Law School
Washington, D.C.
As D.C.’s first law school, the George Washington University Law School has set the standard for legal education for more than 150 years. GW Law has an impressive, longstanding record of educating forward-thinking leaders. For example, by 1895, our graduates had already written the patents for Bell’s telephone, Mergenthaler’s linotype machine, and Eastman’s roll film camera. We continue to set the curve today, with a robust curriculum offering more than 275 elective courses designed to give students both a broad and in-depth legal education.
Our world-renowned faculty is regularly featured in print and in the media for outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, and CNN. Our faculty also has been cited as having the second-most downloaded scholarship on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) law school list. Our faculty members are experts who have written the leading textbooks in their fields and testified before Congress, but their primary commitment is to prepare the next generation of lawyers to meet the challenges of our ever-evolving world. In addition, our location in the heart of Washington, D.C., has allowed us to build a superb adjunct faculty of distinguished practitioners who are top lawyers at law firms, at government agencies, and on Capitol Hill. We’re the only law school where a sitting Supreme Court justice teaches a regular course.
Along with offering a robust curriculum, GW Law emphasizes helping students gain practical skills and professional knowledge to help build fulfilling careers. Our Fundamentals of Lawyering course helps students master the core knowledge provided by traditional first-year legal research and writing courses, along with the client problem-solving, creative thinking, and sound judgment that law firms have told us they desire in first-year associates. In our new Legislation and Regulation course, students gain a uniquely Washington, D.C., perspective on the practice of law. Through the Inns of Court (called a section at other law schools), students interact with dedicated advisors who help them adjust to law school, facilitate networking opportunities with practitioners, provide advice on course selection, and help them make more informed and satisfying career choices.
Students may participate in the 11 well-established clinical programs, doing real-life legal work with real-life impact. As student-attorneys, clinics students represent actual clients, under faculty supervision. GW Law is home to nine student-run journals, many of them produced in collaboration with national bar associations, and more than 60 student organizations.
GW Law students benefit from the opportunity to participate in meaningful ways with the city around them. Ours is the most robust externship program in the country, with nearly 500 students participating in approved placements each year and receiving both academic credit and practical legal training. Our students hold semester-long externships at the World Bank, which is across the street; at the White House, which is four blocks from campus; and at major entities such as the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which are within walking distance of campus. They can ride the Metro to the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments, then return to campus in time for classes.
With a rigorous theoretical education along with outstanding opportunities for hands-on experience, GW Law graduates stand out in the marketplace. GW Law’s Career Center is committed to providing one-on-one counseling, nearly 100 public interest fellowships each summer, and mentorships with leading practitioners. Our graduates regularly secure clerkship opportunities with federal and state courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition, with more than 31,000 alumni throughout the world, the Career Center facilitates active mentoring relationships between current students and alumni practitioners worldwide.
At GW Law, students are at the center of the exciting, diverse city that is Washington, D.C. A cultural hub. An intellectual hub. The center of all major legal and policy activity in the nation. A vibrant, invigorating place to study the law.