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Identity Statement

The University of Washington School of Law is committed to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and public service.

The teaching - emphasizing small classes and an accessible faculty - provides a solid foundation in legal doctrine, research skills, and lawyering skills through clinical and simulated programs. The curriculum also develops jurisprudential, interdisciplinary, comparative, and multicultural perspectives on law and legal institutions. The School capitalizes on the resources of other academic units of the University and the unique opportunities of the Pacific Northwest to offer graduate programs which also enhance the J.D.program in Asian and Comparative Law, Tax Law, Law of Sustainable International Development, Law Librarianship, and concentration tracks in Dispute Resolution, Asian Law, International and Comparative Law, Environmental Law, Health Law and Intellectual Property Law. Under consideration is the development of training and research programs in Native American Legal Studies and Intellectual Property Law.

The faculty is continually engaged in academic and professional research about law, legal institutions, and the role of law in society, at the state, national, and international levels. The School contributes to the practice and teaching of law by disseminating the results of that scholarship.

The School has a responsibility to serve the public by enhancing public understanding of the law, serving the profession through continuing legal education and law reform activities, and providing legal services to the indigent.

The School strives to nurture an open, collegial, and diverse community of faculty, students, staff, and administration. It seeks to sustain close involvement with the legal community and the alumni.

A University of Washington Law School education, in the foregoing setting, prepares graduates to be responsible members and leaders of the legal profession and of the broader community, dedicated to the highest standards of ethics, excellence, and professionalism.

Law School Student