| University of Wisconsin Law School | |
| Parent: | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Parent Endowment: | $4.0 billion (2021) |
| Type: | Public law school |
| Motto: | "Law in Action" |
| Dean: | Daniel Tokaji |
| City: | Madison |
| State: | Wisconsin |
| Country: | United States |
| Students: | 698 (fall 2023) |
| Faculty: | 145 (fall 2022) |
| Ranking: | 36th (tie) (2024)[1] |
The University of Wisconsin Law School is the law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a "law in action" legal philosophy which emphasizes the role of the law in practice and society. It offers the Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees; Juris Doctor graduates of the law school receive admission to the Wisconsin bar without taking a traditional bar examination via diploma privilege.[2]
For the class entering in 2023, the school accepted 35.58% of applicants, with 28.52% of those accepted enrolling. The average enrollee had a 165 LSAT score and 3.79 undergraduate GPA.[3]
The law school is located on Bascom Hill, the center of the UW–Madison campus. In 1996, it completed a major renovation project that joined two previous buildings and created a four-story glass atrium. The renovation was recognized by the American Institute of Architects for its innovative design, incorporating modern design into the 150 years of architecture on historic Bascom Hill. In addition to lecture halls and smaller classrooms, the law school contains a fully functional trial courtroom, appellate courtroom, and an extensive law library. With over 1,360,000 volumes, the library is the largest legal collection in the state of Wisconsin and the fourth largest amongst law schools nationwide.[4] [5] The library is also noted for the 1942 mural, "The Freeing of the Slaves" by John Steuart Curry, that dominates the Quarles & Brady Reading Room (also known as the "Old Reading Room").
The University of Wisconsin Law School subscribes to a "law in action" legal philosophy. This philosophy proposes that to truly understand the law, students must not only know the "law on the books", but also study how the law is actually practiced by professionals. The law school's classroom discussions, involvement with other campus departments, scholarship, and clinical practica all emphasize the interplay between law and society.
The University of Wisconsin Law School's flagship journal is the Wisconsin Law Review, which was founded in 1920[6] [7] and became an entirely student-run law review in 1935.[8] Students at the law school also publish two specialty journals: the Wisconsin International Law Journal, established in 1982, and the Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society, a continuation of the Wisconsin Women's Law Journal, established in 1985. A third specialty journal, the Wisconsin Environmental Law Journal, was founded in 1994 but discontinued publication in 2002.
The law school places a great emphasis on its clinical programs, as part of its law-in-action curriculum. The most well-known clinic is the Frank J. Remington Center, named after the late UW law professor Frank J. Remington. The center runs a variety of programs focused on the practice of criminal law. The largest program in the center is the Legal Assistance to Institutionalized Persons (LAIP) Project, which provides legal services to inmates incarcerated in Wisconsin. The center also runs clinics focused on family law, criminal defense, criminal prosecution, criminal appeals, community-oriented policing, a restorative justice project, and an innocence project that attempts to reverse judgments against wrongfully convicted defendants. The law school also runs a group of clinics focusing on civil law called the Economic Justice Institute. This clinical grouping includes the Neighborhood Law Clinic, which serves underrepresented clients in landlord/tenant, workers' rights, and public benefit disputes; the Family Court Clinic; the Consumer Law Clinic; the Immigrant Justice Clinic; and the VOCA Restraining Order Clinic. The Restraining Order Clinic provides support for petitioners for a domestic abuse restraining order.[9] [10] The Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic focuses on transactional law and provides assistance to start-ups and business entities. Finally, the Center for Patient Partnerships is an interdisciplinary patient advocacy clinical housed in the law school in which students of law, medicine, nursing, social work, pharmacy, public policy etc. serve as advocates for people with life-threatening illnesses as they negotiate the health care system.
The most visible tradition at the law school is that of the Gargoyle. The Gargoyle graced the roof of the original law school building, built in 1893. When that building was torn down in 1963, the gargoyle was found intact amongst the rubble and was saved as an unofficial mascot. It became the symbol of the law school and was displayed outside the law school building for many years. With the most recent renovation, it moved to a more protected location inside the law school atrium. The image of the gargoyle graces the cover of the Wisconsin Law Review and the law school alumni magazine is called the Gargoyle. Its image has been applied to law school memorabilia. In addition to the Gargoyle, "Blind Bucky" is also sometimes used as an unofficial mascot of the law school.
Another tradition is the homecoming cane toss, which dates from the 1930s. Before the university's homecoming football game, third-year law students run from the north end of the football field at Camp Randall Stadium to the south end wearing bowler hats and carrying canes. When the students reach the goalpost on the south end of the field, they attempt to throw their canes over the goalpost. Legend has it that if the student successfully throws the cane over the goalpost and catches it, she will win her first case; if she fails to catch it, the opposite will hold true.
Another tradition is an annual fall competition between the law and medical schools at the university. This competition, called the Dean's Cup, raises funds for local charities.
The University of Wisconsin Law School is one of only two law schools in the United States graduates of which enjoy diploma privilege as a method of admission to the bar.[11] Unlike all other jurisdictions in the United States, Wisconsin's state bar allows graduates of accredited law schools within the state to join the bar without taking the state's bar examination if they complete certain requirements in their law school courses and achieve a certain level of performance in those courses. The other school with this privilege is the Marquette University Law School.
Wisconsin residents who graduate from out-of-state law schools must pass the bar exam to be admitted to the bar in Wisconsin. Some states, but not all, will grant reciprocal admission to Wisconsin bar members admitted by diploma privilege after they have completed a certain number of years in the practice of law.
According to the 2023–2024 rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, the University of Wisconsin Law School is ranked 36th (tied) amongst 196 law schools fully accredited by the American Bar Association. [12]
According to ABA-required disclosures, 86% of the Class of 2022 had obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment within nine months of graduating.[13]
See main article: University of Wisconsin Law School alumni.