Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

federally chartered A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress issued federal charters from 1791 until 1992 under Title 36 of the United States Code. The first charte ...

historically black

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldest historically black law school in the United States. Today, Howard University School of Law confers about 185

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

and

Master of Law A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degrees annually to students from the United States and countries in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. Howard University School of Law was accredited by the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

and the

Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non ...

in 1931.

History

Howard University opened its legal department, led by

John Mercer Langston John Mercer Langston (December 14, 1829 – November 15, 1897) was an American abolitionist, attorney, educator, activist, diplomat, and politician. He was the founding dean of the law school at Howard University and helped create the department ...

, on January 6, 1869. The founders of Howard Law recognized "a great need to train lawyers who would have a strong commitment to helping black Americans secure and protect their newly established rights" during the country's tumultuous

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

. The first class consisted of six students who met three evenings a week in the homes and offices of the department's four teachers. Classes were held in various locations throughout the years before the law school settled into its current location at 2900 Van Ness Street N.W. in 1974. At the time, the LL.B program required only two years of study. Ten students were awarded degrees at the first commencement ceremony, which was held on February 3, 1871. The school was accredited by the

and the

in 1931.

Women at Howard Law

Howard Law was the first school in the nation to have a non-discriminatory admissions policy. From its founding, it admitted white male and female students along with black students. It was a progressive policy at the time to admit women, but only eight women graduated from Howard Law during the first 30 years of its existence. An 1890 review of women lawyers in the United States published in ''The Green Bag'', found that many women had difficulty being admitted to law school, or gaining admission to the bar, and practice, even at Howard.

Charlotte E. Ray Charlotte E. Ray (January 13, 1850 – January 4, 1911) was an American lawyer. She was the first black American female lawyer in the United States. Ray graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1872. She was also the first female admit ...

was admitted to Howard's law program in 1869 and graduated in 1872, becoming its first black female lawyer. It is reported that Ray applied for admission to the bar using initials for her given and middle names, in order to disguise her gender, because she was " are of the school's reluctant commitment to the principle of

sexual equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

Mary Ann Shadd Cary Mary Ann Camberton Shadd Cary (October 9, 1823 – June 5, 1893) was an American-Canadian anti-slavery activist, journalist, publisher, teacher, and lawyer. She was the first black woman publisher in North America and the first woman publisher i ...

was among four women enrolled in the law school in 1880. She said in 1890 that she had actually been admitted to Howard's law program in September 1869, prior to Ray. However, Cary claims she was barred from graduating on time because of her gender and did not graduate until 1883. Eliza A. Chambers, an early white female graduate of Howard's law program, was admitted in 1885 and successfully completed the three-year course of study, earning two diplomas. But, "the Law School faculty refused to hand in liza'sname to the examiners, for admission to practice, omitting her from the list of her male classmates whom they recommended, simply because she was a woman." After that, she succeeded in entering practice.

Ties to the civil rights movement

Howard University School of Law has significant ties to the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. Former HUSL Dean

Charles Hamilton Houston Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950) was a prominent African-American lawyer, Dean of Howard University Law School, and NAACP first special counsel, or Litigation Director. A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard La ...

's work for the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

earned him the title of "The Man Who Killed Jim Crow."

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

, a 1933 graduate of Howard Law, successfully argued the landmark ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

'' case before the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

and in 1967 became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice. In 1950, Howard law graduate

Pauli Murray Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray (November 20, 1910 – July 1, 1985) was an American civil rights activist who became a lawyer, gender equality advocate, Episcopal priest, and author. Drawn to the ministry, in 1977 she became one of the first women ...

published ''States' Laws on Race and Color'', an examination and critique of state segregation laws throughout the nation. Thurgood Marshall called the book the "bible" of the civil rights movement. In 1952 and again in 1953, two HUSL professors,

James Nabrit Jr. James Madison Nabrit Jr. (September 7, 1900 – December 27, 1997) was a prominent American civil rights attorney who won several important arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, served as president of Howard University for much of the 1960s, ...

and George E. C. Hayes, successfully argued the landmark Supreme Court case ''

Bolling v. Sharpe ''Bolling v. Sharpe'', 347 U.S. 497 (1954), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court Legal case, case in which the Court held that the Constitution proh ...

'', a companion case to ''Brown v. Board of Education''.

Academics

Curriculum

First year students at Howard Law are required to take courses on

civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...

;

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

;

contracts A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

;

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

; legislative regulations; legal reasoning, research and writing; real property; and

torts A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishabl ...

. Students must also take courses on

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

and professional responsibility and fulfill the school's scholarly writing requirement. The school offers more than 90 courses beyond the first year curriculum.

Degrees offered

Howard University School of Law offers the

(J.D.) and the

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

(LL.M.). Additionally, students can enroll in the four-year J.D./M.B.A. dual degree program with the Howard University School of Business. HUSL students can also earn a certificate in

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

Faculty

As of Fall 2013, Howard Law employed 56 faculty and administrators. The school's student-faculty ratio was 16.52 to 1.

Programs and clinics

Howard Law boasts three institutes and centers: the Education Rights Center, the Institute of Intellectual Property and Social Justice, and the World Food Law Institute. The school's Clinical Law Center also offers seven in-house

legal clinics A legal clinic (also law clinic or law school clinic) is a legal aid or law school program providing services to various clients and often hands-on-legal experience to law school students. Clinics are usually directed by clinical professors. ...

that provide students with first-hand legal experience as well as an Externship and Equal Justice Program. These clinics are: *

Alternative Dispute Resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

Clinic *Child Welfare Clinic *

Civil Rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

Clinic *Criminal Justice Clinic *Fair Housing Clinic *

Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

and

Trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

Clinic *Investor Justice and Education Clinic

Publications

Howard Law has published the student-managed ''Howard Law Journal'' since 1955. The school also publishes the ''Howard Human & Civil Rights Law Review'', formerly known as the ''Human Rights & Globalization Law Review'' and the successor to the ''Howard Scroll: Social Justice Law Review''. ''The Barrister'' is the HUSL student-edited newspaper. The school publishes a news journal, ''The Jurist'', and the ''Howard Docket'' newsletter. For the school's 140th anniversary, the school published ''A Legacy of Defending the Constitution: A Pictorial History Book of Howard University School of Law (1869-2009)''.

Student life

Howard Law enrolled 407 J.D. students for the 2012-2013 academic year, 100% of whom were enrolled full-time. 84.5% of the J.D. students were African-American and 63.4% were female. As of 2016, the law school admits 39.3% of applicants. HUSL students may participate in 26 extra-curricular groups, including the

moot court Moot court is a co-curricular activity at many law schools. Participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, usually involving drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in oral argument. In most countries, the phrase " ...

team, associations focused on specific areas of law, law fraternities, and political, ethnic, and religious affiliation groups.

Campus

The campus is located at 2900 Van Ness St NW, Washington, DC 20008 in the upper

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

quadrant of Washington, D.C., in the Forest Hills area of the city. It is a few blocks from the University of the District of Columbia and the headquarters of Intelsat. The law school is located on its own campus approximately five miles from the main campus. The campus was built by Dunbarton College of the Holy Cross, which occupied it until the school closed in 1973. The school's main building, Houston Hall, is named after

. The library was named after

Vernon Jordan Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr. (August 15, 1935 – March 1, 2021) was an American business executive and civil rights attorney who worked for various civil rights movement organizations before becoming a close advisor to President Bill Clinton. Jor ...

after his death in March 2021.

Admissions

Howard Law had a 41.2% acceptance rate in 2013 with the school receiving 1,085 applications. The school's matriculation rate was 33.8% with 151 of the 447 admits enrolling. The median LSAT score for students enrolling in HUSL in 2013 was 151 (47.8th percentile) and the median GPA was 3.13.

Employment

According to Howard Law's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 50% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, bar passage-required employment nine months after graduation. HUSL's full-time long-term bar passage-required employment rate for 2013 graduates was below the national average of 57% for ABA-approved law schools. 301 firms recruit at Howard Law, a number that is comparable to "Top 14" law schools like

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

(where 326 firms recruit) and

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...

(where 211 firms recruit) and includes elite firms like

Cravath, Swaine & Moore Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (known as Cravath) is an American white-shoe law firm with its headquarters in New York City, and an additional office in London. The firm is known for its complex and high profile litigation and mergers & acquisitions ...

, which only conducts interviews at 21 law schools. But while more than 60% students who graduated from Yale Law School and Cornell Law School in 2013 were hired for federal clerkships or at law firms with more than 250 employees, only 13% of 2013 Howard Law graduates secured such positions. Howard Law's

Law School Transparency Law School Transparency (LST) is a nonprofit consumer advocacy and education organization concerning the legal profession in the United States. LST was founded by Vanderbilt Law School graduates Kyle McEntee and Patrick Lynch. LST describes its m ...

under-employment score is 18.1%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation. 84% of the Class of 2013 was employed in some capacity while 0.7% were pursuing graduate degrees and 10.9% were unemployed nine months graduation. Howard Law placed 45th on the 2014 ''National Law Journal'' "Top 50 Go-To" list, climbed to No. 22 on the 2015 list, and fell to a respectable 37th for the 2016 list, and climbed back to 32nd for the 2017 list. The list ranks the top 50 schools by the percentage of JDs who accept first-year associate positions at the 100 largest firms.

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Howard Law for the 2014-2015 academic year is $60,240 with tuition set at $31,148. The $60,240 total cost of attendance at Howard Law is lower than some schools in the D.C. area — for example

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...

's total cost of attendance is $78,040 for the 2014-2015 academic year — but higher than others, such as the University of the District of Columbia's David A. Clarke School of Law where the total cost of attendance for D.C. residents for the 2013-2014 school year was $41,630. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $229,755.

Rankings

'' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Howard Law 106th in its 2017 law school rankings. Howard Law ranked 140th among ABA-approved law schools in terms of the percentage of 2013 graduates with non-school-funded, full-time, long-term, bar passage required jobs nine months after graduation. Howard Law was ranked 45th on the ''

National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly newspape ...

s 2014 Go-To Law Schools ranking, a ranking of which law schools sent the highest percentage of new graduates to NLJ 250 law firms. Howard Law was the school that most outperformed its ''U.S. News & World Report'' rankings in the NLJ Go-To Law Schools ranking. Howard Law was ranked in the top 20 by the NLJ for law schools with the highest placement rate in government and public interest jobs for 2012 graduates and was ranked 11th by ''U.S. News & World Report'' in terms of the percentage of 2012 graduates working in state and local clerkships.

Notable alumni

Civil rights activism

Louis Berry Louis Berry (October 9, 1914 – May 3, 1998) was the first African American permitted to practice law in his native formerly segregated city of Alexandria in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana. Background A son of Frank Berry Sr., a tailo ...

, civil rights activist in Louisiana *

Mary Ann Shad Cary Mary Ann Camberton Shadd Cary (October 9, 1823 – June 5, 1893) was an American-Canadian anti-slavery activist, journalist, publisher, teacher, and lawyer. She was the first black woman publisher in North America and the first woman publisher i ...

, first black woman to cast a vote in a national election *

Danielle Conway Danielle Monique Conway (born April 26, 1968) is an American lawyer and academic. She has served as the Dean of Penn State Dickinson Law since 2019 and is an expert in government procurement law and intellectual property law. Her scholarship is f ...

, first African-American dean of

Maine Law School The University of Maine School of Law (UMaine Law or Maine Law) is public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Maine System. The school's ...

Mahala Ashley Dickerson Mahala Ashley Dickerson (October 12, 1912 – February 19, 2007) was an American lawyer and civil rights advocate for women and minorities. In 1948 she became the first African American female attorney admitted to the Alabama State Bar; in 1951 ...

, first African-American elected as president of the

National Association of Women Lawyers The National Association of Women Lawyers is a voluntary organization founded in 1899 and based in the United States. Its aim is to promote women lawyers and women's legal rights.

Emma Gillett Emma Millinda Gillett (July 30, 1852 – January 23, 1927) was an American lawyer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the advancement of legal studies for women. After being denied from local law schools because of her gend ...

, co-founder of

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

's Washington College of Law and the first woman to be appointed notary public by the President of the United States * Letitia James, First African American woman to hold citywide office in New York City. * Edward W. Jacko (1916–1979) American Civil Rights attorney, defended

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...

. *

, was an American civil rights activist, women's rights activist, lawyer, and author. She was also the first black woman ordained an Episcopal priest. *

, first African American female lawyer * Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Army officer, civil rights lawyer, and A.M.E. Church minister

Judges

Henry Lee Adams Jr. Henry Lee Adams Jr. (born April 8, 1945) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Education and career Adams was born in Jacksonville, Florida and graduated from Matthew G ...

, United States District Court Judge *

Loretta Copeland Biggs Loretta Yvonne Copeland Biggs (born March 6, 1954) is a United States District Court Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Biography Biggs was born on March 6, 1954, in Atlanta, Georgia. She graduat ...

, United States District Court Judge * William Bryant, United States District Court Judge *

Robert L. Carter Robert Lee Carter (March 11, 1917 – January 3, 2012) was an American lawyer, civil rights activist and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Personal history and early life ...

, United States District Court Judge * Wiley Young Daniel, United States District Court Judge *

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

, county judge and first African-American judge in Florida *

Leland DeGrasse Leland George DeGrasse (born 1945/1946) was a judge in New York, New York, who served for seven years as an associate justice of the New York Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, First Judicial Department. Early life and education DeGrasse ...

, New York Supreme Court (Appellate Division) Judge *

George W. Draper III George William Draper III (born August 5, 1953) is an American lawyer who served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri from 2011 to 2023. He was appointed to the court by Governor Jay Nixon. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, he ...

, Supreme Court of Missouri Judge *

Richard Erwin Richard Cannon Erwin (August 23, 1923 – November 7, 2006) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina and politician who was the first African American to be elected to state ...

, United States District Court Judge *

Wilkie D. Ferguson Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. (May 11, 1938 – June 9, 2003) was an American lawyer and judge. He served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, as well as serving on the Florida Thi ...

, United States District Court Judge *

William P. Greene William Parnell Greene Jr. (born July 27, 1943) is a former Federal tribunals in the United States#Article I tribunals, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Family, Early years and education Born in Bluefield, West Vir ...

, Judge to the United States Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims * LaShann Moutique DeArcy Hall, United States District Court Judge *

Joseph Woodrow Hatchett Joseph Woodrow Hatchett (September 17, 1932 – April 30, 2021) was an American lawyer and judge. He worked in private practice, was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Eleventh Circuit, a ...

, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the

Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...

Odell Horton Odell Horton (May 13, 1929 – February 22, 2006) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Education and career Born in Bolivar, Tennessee, Horton served in the United State ...

, former United States District Court Judge * J. Curtis Joyner, United States District Court Judge *

Damon Keith Damon Jerome Keith (July 4, 1922 – April 28, 2019) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern Distr ...

, United States Court of Appeals Judge *

Consuelo Bland Marshall Consuelo Bland Marshall (born September 28, 1936) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Education and career Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Marshall received an Assoc ...

, United States District Court Judge *

, first African American United States Supreme Court Justice and first African American Solicitor General of the United States *

Vicki Miles-LaGrange Vicki Miles-LaGrange (born September 30, 1953) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. She was the first African-American woman to be sworn in as United States ...

, United States District Court Judge *

Gabrielle Kirk McDonald Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald (née Kirk; born April 12, 1942) is an American lawyer and jurist who, until her retirement in October 2013, served as an American arbitrator on the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal seated in The Hague. She is a ...

, United States District Court Judge and International Criminal Tribunal *

Tanya Walton Pratt Tanya Marie Walton Pratt (born December 14, 1959) is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Early life and education Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Pratt graduated fro ...

, United States District Court Judge *

Scovel Richardson Scovel Richardson (February 4, 1912 – March 30, 1982) was a judge of the United States Customs Court and the United States Court of International Trade. Education and career Born on February 4, 1912, in Nashville, Tennessee, Richardson recei ...

, United States Court of International Trade Judge *

Spottswood William Robinson III Spottswood William Robinson III (July 26, 1916 – October 11, 1998) was an American educator, civil rights attorney, and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after previously s ...

, United States Court of Appeals Judge *

William M. Skretny William Marion Skretny (born March 8, 1945) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. Education and career Born in Buffalo, New York, Skretny received an Artium Baccala ...

, United States District Court Judge * Emmet G. Sullivan, United States District Court Judge *

Anne Elise Thompson Anne Elise Thompson (born July 8, 1934) is a Senior status, senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. She was the first female and first African American f ...

, United States District Court Judge *

Joseph Cornelius Waddy Joseph Cornelius Waddy (May 26, 1911 – August 1, 1978) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Early and family life Born in Louisa County, Virginia, Waddy moved to Alexandria, Vi ...

, United States District Court Judge *

Alexander Williams Jr. Alexander Williams Jr. (born May 8, 1948) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Education and career Born in Washington, D.C., Williams received a Bachelor of Arts degree fro ...

, United States District Court Judge * Carolyn Wright, American lawyer, jurist and the Chief Justice of the

Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas The Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas is one of the 14 Texas Courts of Appeals. It currently sits in Dallas, Texas. It has simultaneously both the smallest Court of Appeals' jurisdictional geographic size (only six counties, one of which is shared ...

John Milton Younge John Milton Younge (born July 19, 1955) is a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Biography Younge received his Bachelor of Science in 1977 fro ...

, United States District Court Judge

Politicians

Aisha N. Braveboy Aisha Nazapa Braveboy (born July 29, 1974) is an American politician and attorney, who represented district 25 in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2007 to 2015. In 2018, she was elected as Prince George's County State's Attorney. Background ...

, former Member of

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

and current

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...

State's Attorney *

Evandro Carvalho Evandro C. Carvalho (born September 9, 1981) is an American attorney and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2014 to 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party and represented the Fifth Suffolk District, ...

, former Representative,

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

Roland Burris Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937) is an American politician and attorney who is a former United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party. In 1978, Burris was the first African American elected to ...

, former

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

United States Senator * Kevin P. Chavous, Council of the District of Columbia Representative *

Darcel D. Clark Darcel Denise Clark (born April 2, 1962) is an American attorney and prosecutor serving as the Bronx County District Attorney, serving since 2016. Clark is the first woman to hold that office, and the first woman of color to serve as a district a ...

, District Attorney, Bronx County, New York *

Adrian Fenty Adrian Malik Fenty (born December 6, 1970) is an American politician who served as the sixth mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term, from 2007 to 2011, losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gra ...

, former Mayor of Washington, DC *

Earl Hilliard Earl Frederick Hilliard (born April 9, 1942) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Alabama who served as the U.S. representative for the state's 7th district. Life and career Hilliard was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and graduated f ...

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

* Letitia James, Attorney General of New York *

Sharon Pratt Kelly Sharon Pratt (born January 30, 1944), formerly Sharon Pratt Dixon and Sharon Pratt Kelly, is an American attorney and politician who was the third mayor of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995, the first mayor born in the District of Colum ...

, former Mayor of Washington, DC * Summer Lee,

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

Janeese Lewis George Janeese Lewis George (born April 30, 1988) is an American lawyer, politician, and activist in Washington, D.C. She is the Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 4. George is a member of the Democratic Party. Elected in ...

, member of the Council of the District of Columbia *

Henry L. Marsh Henry Leander Marsh III (born December 10, 1933) is an American civil rights lawyer and politician. A Democrat, Marsh was elected by the city council as the first African-American mayor of Richmond, Virginia in 1977. He was elected to the Senat ...

, former Mayor of Richmond, Virginia and Virginia State Senator *

Gregory Meeks Gregory Weldon Meeks (born September 25, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who has been a U.S. representative from New York since 1998. He is a member of the Democratic Party and has chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs since ...

, United States House of Representatives *

James E. O'Hara James Edward O'Hara (February 26, 1844 – September 15, 1905) was an American politician and attorney who in 1882, after Reconstruction, was the second African American to be elected to Congress from North Carolina.Vincent Orange Vincent Bernard Orange, Sr. (born April 11, 1957) is a former American politician from Washington, D.C. and former president of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. An attorney and a certified public accountant, Orange represented Ward 5 on the Co ...

, former Member of the Council of the District of Columbia *

Kasim Reed Mohammed Kasim Reed (born June 10, 1969) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 59th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia's state capital and largest city, from 2010 to 2018. A Democrat, Reed was a member of the Georgia House of Represe ...

, former Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia *

Hugh Shearer Hugh Lawson Shearer (18 May 1923 – 15 July 2004) was a Jamaican trade unionist and politician, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1967 to 1972. Biography Early life Born in Trelawny Parish, Jamaica, near the sugar an ...

, former Prime Minister of Jamaica *

Walter Washington Walter Edward Washington (April 15, 1915 – October 27, 2003) was an American civil servant and politician. After a career in public housing, Washington was the chief executive of Washington, D. C. from 1967 to 1979, serving as the first a ...

, first Mayor of Washington, DC * Togo D. West Jr., former United States Secretary of Veteran Affairs under

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. * L. Douglas Wilder, first African-American United States Governor since

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

and former Mayor of Richmond Virginia *

Harris Wofford Harris Llewellyn Wofford Jr. (April 9, 1926 – January 21, 2019) was an American attorney, civil rights activist, and Democratic Party politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1991 to 1995. A noted advocate of na ...

, United States Senate *

C. T. Wilson C. T. Wilson (born February 20, 1972) is an American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These ...

, Member,

Other

Denise George Denise N. George, also known as Denise George-Counts, is a U.S. Virgin Islands lawyer and former television news reporter who served as the Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands. She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio, te ...

Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands The Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands supervises and directs the Department of Justice. In 1962, the Virgin Islands Department of Law was established as an executive department in the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands pursuant ...

, former president of the

National Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

and Senior Managing Director with

Lazard Freres Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's ...

* Prince Joel Dawit Makonnen, Ethiopian prince *

Leigh Whipper Leigh Rollin Whipper (October 29, 1876 – July 26, 1975) was an American actor on the stage and in motion pictures. He was the first African American to join the Actors' Equity Association, and one of the founders of the Negro Actors Guild of ...

, actor. *

Cheryl L. Johnson Cheryl Lynn Johnson (born May 8, 1960) is an American government official who served as the 36th Clerk of the United States House of Representatives from February 26, 2019, to June 30, 2023. Between January 3, 2023, and January 7, 2023, Johnson se ...

, 36th

Clerk of the United States House of Representatives The Clerk of the United States House of Representatives is an officer of the United States House of Representatives, whose primary duty is to act as the chief record-keeper for the House. Along with the other House officers, the Clerk is elec ...

References

External links

* {{coord, 38.9437, -77.0584, display=title Forest Hills (Washington, D.C.) Howard University Law schools in Washington, D.C. Educational institutions established in 1869 1869 establishments in Washington, D.C. Historically black law schools Historically black universities and colleges in the United States

History

Women at Howard Law

Ties to the civil rights movement

Academics

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Campus

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Notable alumni

Civil rights activism

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