at a Glance Established: 1779 America’s first law school Affiliation: The College of William & Mary America’s second oldest college, chartered in 1693 Location: Williamsburg, VA 150 miles southeast of Washington, DC 50 miles east of Richmond, VA 45 miles west of Norfolk, VA Tuition and 2014–15 Student Body Degree Financial Aid Programs 661 47 Full-time students States and the District of J.D. $30,800 [ 47% Male : 53% Female ] Columbia represented Virginia Resident J.D. / Master of Tuition (2015-16) 10 Arts in American 19% Studies Identify as students of color Countries represented $39,800 J.D. / Master Non-Resident of Business Tuition (2015-16) 20–62 315 Administration Age range Undergraduate schools represented J.D. / Master of 91% Public Policy Students receiving LL.M. (Master financial aid (2014) Class of 2017 of Laws in the American Legal $9.6 System) million Total scholarship 213 and fellowship Enrolled value (2014) 4,418 Applicants 163 3.79 A late eighteenth- Median LSAT Median GPA century illustration [ 75th/25th: 165/157 ] [ 75th/25th: 3.89/3.53 ] of the mythological griffin as it appears on George Wythe’s 35% 51% bookplate. William Studied abroad With full-time & Mary adopted the Griffin as its work experience mascot in 2010. Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, site of the Yorktown, site of the Local the world’s largest living first permanent English battle that ended the Landmarks history museum settlement in America Revolutionary War On the Cover: George Wythe, right, was the nation’s first professor of law. John Marshall, left, who would later become “the Great Chief Justice,” was among Wythe’s first students at William & Mary. Message from the Dean William & Mary holds a special place in American history as the nation’s first law school. Thomas Jefferson had the original idea, believing that university-trained lawyers could provide the leadership necessary to the success of the fledgling nation. We have since then created a compelling reputation as a top law school. Mindful of tradition and dedicated to innovation, we host everything from an amazing rare book collection to the most technologically advanced educational trial and appellate courtroom in the world. Davison M. Douglas We’re known for strong teaching, scholarly excellence, Dean and Arthur B. Hanson and innovative clinical and legal-practice programs. We’re Professor of Law committed to training highly skilled and ethical lawyers— Select Résumé: citizen lawyers—who graduate ready to make a difference for A.B., Princeton University; M.A.R., the greater good. Yale Divinity School; J.D., Yale Law School; Ph.D. (History), Yale Our faculty comprises internationally recognized scholars University; one of the nation’s and legal trailblazers who understand that teaching is leading constitutional historians; paramount. Their influential scholarship, which helps shape author or editor of seven books, the development of our legal system, informs their teaching including Jim Crow Moves whether in the classroom or one-on-one. North: The Battle over Northern School Segregation, 1865–1954 Our professors know students by name, not merely as faces (Cambridge University Press) passing in the hall or people on a list. We are a close-knit and Redefining Equality (Oxford community dedicated to providing an outstanding education University Press) at a reasonable price and ensuring that each of our graduates is well prepared to enter the legal profession. We hope that you will consider joining our community of citizen lawyers. a Storied History First in the Nation In 1779, against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War, Virginia Governor and William & Mary alumnus Thomas Jefferson urged William & Mary’s Board of Visitors to establish a chair in law. The appointment of Jefferson’s mentor, George Wythe, as the College’s—and the nation’s—first law professor marked the founding of the first law school in America. The training of American lawyers in a university setting had begun. Citizen Lawyers Jefferson’s actions were pivotal for American legal education and for the role of lawyers in our society. Jefferson and Wythe believed George Wythe that lawyers have an obligation not only to their clients and the legal profession but also to the greater good. William & Mary’s citizen-lawyer tradition resonates today throughout our community. Our graduates are effective, skilled, and creative attorneys who also do a great deal of pro bono work and extend their philanthropic reach far and wide. They are citizen lawyers in every sense of the term. Graduates leave here making a difference from day one of their new careers. It’s a responsibility they proudly fulfill. William & Mary’s Sir Christopher Wren Building, the oldest academic building in continuous use in America, was home to William & Mary Law School from 1779 to 1859. 2 Citizen Lawyers at Work Kendall Kemelek ’16 Hometown: Williamsburg, VA Degree: B.A., Hampton University, 2009 Summer 2015 Employment: United States Army JAG Corps (Fort Stewart, GA) I am the Community Service Chair for the Black Law Student Association. As a group, we held an international book drive that benefited children and adults in South Africa, and we partnered with the Election Law Society on its Revive My Vote initiative. William & Mary is an interactive, inclusive community of scholarship and friendship that molds a certain kind of person, lawyer, and experience, exemplifying the citizen-lawyer concept. S. Douglas Bunch ’06 Tyler Rosa ’16 Hometown: Carmel, CA Associate, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll (Washington, DC); Co-Founder and Chairman, Global Playground Degree: B.A., Dickinson College, 2012 Summer 2015 Employment: Pender & Coward Being a citizen lawyer is about more than (Virginia Beach, VA) simply taking pro bono cases. It’s about In order to help the community around engaging yourself with the world around you, you must first be able to speak to and you, identifying a human need, and then understand those who need your help. I using your skills and abilities—as a lawyer believe William & Mary does a great job and as a person of sound judgment—to fostering an environment where students respond. That’s why I co-founded Global can learn the intellectual and social skills Playground; I felt an obligation to reinvest a necessary to become excellent citizens and fraction of what I’ve been given to make the effective citizen lawyers. world a better place. 3 Academic Life Learning is everywhere at William & Mary Law School, both inside and outside the classroom. The Wolf Law Library’s spacious architecture, extensive print and electronic resources, and expert staff make it a welcoming place for study and research. We also host the world’s most technologically advanced educational courtroom, the McGlothlin Courtroom. Come here and you’ll discover another gem, our Legal Practice Program, a required set of courses that develop practical lawyering skills and professional responsibility. The three- semester program will allow you to cultivate first-hand knowledge of the law in a small group setting and will increase your skills as you work with experienced legal writing faculty and law librarians. During the 1L year, you will master objective and persuasive writing through individualized one- Wolf Law Library on-one writing conferences with your writing professor. In the spring semester of your 2L year, you will take your skills to the next level by choosing a specialized, upper-level course of study, such as pre-trial criminal law, pre-trial civil law, or transactional law. William & Mary Law School boasts five well- respected, student-edited law journals. Through journal work, students hone their writing while contributing to the world of legal scholarship. More than 340 students are involved in journals each year, and 190 of them earn credit as a board or staff member. McGlothlin Courtroom 4 Externships are important ways to earn academic credit, gain practical experience, and develop professional contacts by assisting judges and practicing attorneys. You may earn externship credit during any semester after your first year while in residence at the Law School or by externing full time in metropolitan Washington, DC, during the fall semester of your third year. Federal Government Public Defender Judicial State and Local Government Nonprofit Organization US Attorney Private Practice and In-House Counsel Virginia Attorney General Prosecutor Working as a Legal Practice Fellow has allowed me to mentor 13 first- year law students. So many second- and third-year students helped me during my first year of law school that I was certain I wanted some sort of teaching assistant role for the incoming first-year class. I think every second- and third-year Lacey Coppage ’16 law student should become a Hometown: Rochester, NY mentor in some way to pay Degree: B.A., Marist College, 2013 forward the help we received Summer 2015 Employment: US Government Accountability Office our first year. (Washington, DC) August Jones- Loiacono ’17 Applying the principles we’ve learned Hometown: West Orange, NJ Degree: B.A., Princeton University, 2012 to hypotheticals in class has been Summer 2015 Employment: McCarter challenging but effective. Not only & English LLP (Newark, NJ) does it help us prepare for law school exams, it synthesizes all we have learned over the course of the semester. I feel very fortunate to have had professors that teach the material through a hands-on approach. 5 Clinics Appellate and Supreme Court Federal Tax Domestic Violence Innocence Project Elder Law Special Education Advocacy Family Law Veterans Benefits From helping veterans get the benefits they earned to briefing and arguing constitutional claims in the United States Courts of Appeals, our students have the opportunity to practice their lawyering skills and professional judgment while working closely with supervising attorneys. These professors are leaders in their fields who provide close mentorship, guided reflection, and exploration of professional responsibility, all within the context of client representation.