Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
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, ...
of
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
, 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 ...
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 ...
. It is located on the university's
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or
"T14" law schools, since ''
U.S. News & World Report'' began publishing its annual rankings. Northwestern Law is among the top ten most selective law schools. Its performance in the job market has also contributed to its prestige.
Founded in 1859, it was the first
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, ...
established in Chicago. Notable alumni include numerous governors of several states;
Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908January 19, 1990) was an American statesman and jurist who served as the 9th U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the 6th United States Ambassador to ...
,
United States Supreme Court justice
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 of ...
;
Adlai Stevenson, governor of Illinois, cabinet secretary, and Democratic presidential candidate;
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...
, United States Supreme Court justice;
Newton Minow
Newton Norman Minow (born January 17, 1926) is an American attorney and former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission. He is famous for his speech referring to television as a "vast wasteland". While still maintaining a law practice, Min ...
, former chairman of the
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
;
and
Harold Washington
Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st Mayor of Chicago. Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city's mayor in April 1983. He served as ma ...
, the first black Mayor of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
(1983–87) and, previously, a member of the
U.S. 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
.
History
Founded in 1859, the school that would become known as the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law was the first
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, ...
established in the city of Chicago. The school was originally the law department of the
Old University of Chicago
The Old University of Chicago was the legal name given in 1890 to the University of Chicago's first incorporation.
The school, founded in 1856 by Baptist church leaders, was originally called the "University of Chicago" (or, interchangeably, "Ch ...
under the founding direction of Henry Booth and enrolled twenty-three students. The law school became Union College of Law when it jointly affiliated with Northwestern University in 1873. In 1891, the law school formally became Northwestern University School of Law when Northwestern assumed total control. Throughout the 20th century, programs such as the JD-MBA and JD-PhD were added to maintain the law school's position as one of America's top-ranked schools of law. In October 2015, it was named, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, after
J.B. Pritzker
Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the List of governors of Illinois, 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker fami ...
and his wife, M.K. Pritzker, gave $100 million to the law school.
Campus
![Northwestern Law Rubloff Building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Northwestern_Law_Rubloff_Building.jpg)
Northwestern Law is located on Northwestern University's
downtown campus in Chicago's
Streeterville
Streeterville is a neighborhood in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, north of the Chicago River. It is bounded by the river on the south, the Magnificent Mile portion of Michigan Avenue on the west, and ...
/
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
neighborhood. The law school is on
Lake Shore Drive
Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive, and called DuSable Lake Shore Drive, The Outer Drive, The Drive, or LSD) is a multilevel expressway that runs alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan, and adjacent to ...
and Chicago Avenue, adjacent to Lake Shore Park and
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
, and a few blocks from the
John Hancock Center
The John Hancock Center is a 100-story, 1,128-foot supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was officially renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018.
The skyscraper was designed ...
,
Magnificent Mile
The Magnificent Mile, sometimes referred to as The Mag Mile, is an upscale section of Chicago's Michigan Avenue, running from the Chicago River to Oak Street in the Near North Side. The district is located within downtown, and one block ...
,
Water Tower
A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
,
Oak Street Beach
Oak Street Beach is located on North Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. One of a series of Chicago beaches, the Chicago Park District defines Oak Street Beach as the area from approximately 1550 North Lake Shore ...
, and
Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, famil ...
.
The law school's location in the heart of downtown Chicago provides a wealth of part-time employment options for students while in school and a setting in which to study law. The proximity to courts, commerce, and public interest activities enables students to experience the practice of law, as well as its theory.
Admissions
Admission to Northwestern Law is extremely selective. For the class entering in the fall of 2021, 1,031 out of 7,410 (13.9%) were offered admission, with 234 matriculating.
The 25th and 75th
LSAT
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT; ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension as well as logical and verbal reas ...
percentiles for the 2021 entering class were 167 and 172, respectively, with a median of 171.
The 25th and 75th undergraduate
GPA
Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
percentiles were 3.60 and 3.93, respectively, with a median of 3.86.
[
The law school's practical philosophy is manifested in a strong preference for applicants with at least two years of work experience. Approximately 90% of the school's students enter with at least one year of full-time work experience; 70% possess more than two years of experience.
]
Employment
According to U.S. News & World Report's 2017 Edition, 79% of the law school's 2016 graduates obtained prospective, full-time employment prior to graduation, with a median starting salary of $180,000.[ According to Northwestern's official 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 91% of the Class of 2015 obtained full-time, long-term employment nine months after graduation.] Northwestern'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 4.4%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2018 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.
Northwestern Law is well-established among BigLaw firms (defined as firms with 150 or more associates). In Vault's 2016 survey, of over 15,000 BigLaw associates, Northwestern Law ranked #2 as a "feeder" school for BigLaw firms, after accounting for school size. According to Vault, Northwestern Law outperforms its expected BigLaw representation by 315%.
The law school enrolls approximately 985 students in its J.D., LL.M.
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 ...
, S.J.D. and M.S.L. (Master of Science in Law) programs. The school employs an interdisciplinary research faculty, and has a low student-faculty ratio. According to Northwestern's 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 93% of the Class of 2016 obtained full-time, long-term employment nine months after graduation.
Costs
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, living expenses, books, and other miscellaneous expenses) at Northwestern Law for the 2015-2016 academic year is $79,904.[ The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $292,586.
]
Journals
Northwestern Law sponsors six student-run scholarly legal journals. Student staff members are selected based on a writing competition, editing competition, and first-year grades, or a publishable note or comment on a legal topic.
''Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business''
The ''Journal of International Law and Business'' has a substantive focus on private international law, as opposed to public international law or human rights. It seeks scholarship analyzing transnational and international legal problems and their effect on private entities. The Journal's stated goal is to promote an understanding of the future course of international legal developments as they relate to private entities.
''Northwestern University Law Review''
The ''Northwestern University Law Review'' was first published in 1906 when it was called the "Illinois Law Review." Prior editors include: Roscoe Pound
Nathan Roscoe Pound (October 27, 1870 – June 30, 1964) was an American legal scholar and educator. He served as Dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law from 1903 to 1911 and Dean of Harvard Law School from 1916 to 1936. He was a membe ...
, long-time dean of Harvard Law School; Judge Robert A. Sprecher
Robert Arthur Sprecher (May 30, 1917 – May 15, 1982) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Education and career
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Sprecher receive ...
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...
; Dean James A. Rahl; Illinois Governor Daniel Walker; and former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Newton N. Minow
Newton Norman Minow (born January 17, 1926) is an American attorney and former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission. He is famous for his speech referring to television as a " vast wasteland". While still maintaining a law practice, Mi ...
; US Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908January 19, 1990) was an American statesman and jurist who served as the 9th U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the 6th United States Ambassador to ...
and Presidential Candidate Adlai Stevenson.
''Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property''
''
The ''Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property'' addresses subjects relating to law at the intersection of technology and 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 ...
, including law and biotechnology, copyrights, the Internet, media, patents
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
, telecommunications, and trademarks.
''Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology''
The School states that its ''Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology'' "is one of the most widely read and widely cited publications in the world". It is the second most widely subscribed journal published by any law school in the country.[ It is one of the most widely circulated law journals in the country.][ The journal was founded in 1910 by Dean John Henry Wigmore.
]
''Journal of Law and Social Policy''
The ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'' is an interdisciplinary journal that explores the impact of the law on different aspects of society. Topics covered include race, gender, sexual orientation, housing, immigration, health care, juvenile justice, voting rights, family law, civil rights, poverty, the environment, and privacy rights.
''Journal of Human Rights''
The ''Journal of Human Rights'' is an interdisciplinary journal dedicated to providing a dynamic forum for the discussion of human rights issues and law. The Journal seeks contributions from professionals, scholars, and experienced field workers of every background, including but not limited to law, business, political science, public policy, economics, sociology, religion, and international relations. In addition to publication, the Journal seeks to promote the discussion of human rights law by organizing semi-annual Symposia and a Speaker Series. The Journal of Human Rights was founded in 2003 as the Journal of International Human Rights, but adopted its present name in 2016 to better reflect its focus.
Pritzker Legal Research Center
The Pritzker Legal Research Center is the library, and fulfills the research and information needs of the faculty and students of Northwestern Law. The Center is named after the Pritzker family
The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and List of wealthiest families, one of the wealthiest families in the United States of America (staying in the top 10 of ''Forbes'' magazine's "America's Riche ...
, a philanthropic Chicago family. Jay A. Pritzker
Jay Arthur Pritzker (August 26, 1922 – January 23, 1999) was an American entrepreneur, conglomerate organizer, and member of the Pritzker family.
Early life and education
Pritzker was born in Chicago, Illinois to Jewish parents who e ...
(1922-1999) graduated from Northwestern University in 1941 and Northwestern University School of Law in 1947.
Bluhm Legal Clinic
Clinical education at Northwestern dates back to the law school's beginnings. An innovative program developed by Dean John Henry Wigmore
John Henry Wigmore (1863–1943) was an American lawyer and legal scholar known for his expertise in the law of evidence and for his influential scholarship. Wigmore taught law at Keio University in Tokyo (1889–1892) before becoming the first ...
in 1910 with the Chicago Legal Aid Society evolved into the Legal Clinic, which opened its doors in 1969 with only two staff attorneys. In 2000, the Clinic was named for Northwestern University trustee and alum Neil Bluhm. Today, the Bluhm Legal Clinic houses more than 20 clinics within 14 centers and is widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive and effective clinical programs in the country. Through the law school's clinical program, students gain direct experience representing clients and fine-tune their skills as advocates. They also work with clinical faculty and staff to challenge the fairness of our legal institutions and to propose solutions for reform. From 2000 to 2013, its director was Steven Drizin
Steven A. Drizin is an American lawyer and academic. He is a Clinical Professor of Law at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, where he has been on the faculty since 1991. At Northwestern, Drizin teaches courses on Wrongf ...
.
Center on Wrongful Convictions
The Center on Wrongful Convictions (CWC) is dedicated to identifying and rectifying wrongful convictions. The Center investigates possible wrongful convictions and represents imprisoned clients with claims of actual innocence. It also focuses on raising public awareness of the prevalence, causes, and social costs of wrongful convictions and promoting reform of the criminal justice system. Faculty member Prof Steven Drizin
Steven A. Drizin is an American lawyer and academic. He is a Clinical Professor of Law at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, where he has been on the faculty since 1991. At Northwestern, Drizin teaches courses on Wrongf ...
founded the sister project to this Center which is specifically aimed at juvenile convicts; Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth
The Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth (the "CWCY"), part of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law's Bluhm Legal Clinic, is a non-profit legal clinic that represents children who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. Fo ...
.
Appellate Advocacy Center
Established in 2006, the Appellate Advocacy Center includes the Federal Appellate Clinic and the Supreme Court Clinic, along with a moot program for practitioners. The Appellate Advocacy Center is directed by Xiao Wang.
Federal Appellate Clinic
In the Federal Appellate Clinic, students research and brief cases in federal appellate courts across the country. In certain instances, where a case involves significant federal issues or interests, students will also participate in state appellate court work. Clinic cases generally focus on immigration, qualified immunity
In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "clearly established statu ...
, and criminal sentencing and post-conviction issues, although other topics and matters are covered as well. Where possible, Clinic students participate in oral argument before a United States court of appeals
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
.
Supreme Court Clinic
In the Supreme Court Clinic, students work with attorneys at Sidley Austin
Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,000 lawyers in 20 offices worldwide. The firm's headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. The firm specializes in a variety of areas in both litigation ...
to draft certiorari
In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...
, merits, and amicus briefs before the Supreme Court. Sidley attorneys Carter Phillips and Jeffrey Green co-direct the Supreme Court Clinic.
The Clinic works on a variety of legal matters. During any given year, the Clinic will file briefs in cases concerning international law, tribal law, sentencing, criminal procedure, habeas, and the First Amendment. The Clinic frequently collaborates with state and federal public defenders. The Clinic also works with nonprofit organizations, including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is an American criminal defense organization.
Members include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, active U.S. military defense counsel, law professors, judges, and defe ...
. In fall 2021, the Clinic partnered with Northwestern's Center for International Human Rights, Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, Global Justice Center
The Global Justice Center (GJC) is an international human rights and humanitarian law organization aiming to advance gender equality by helping to implement and enforce human rights laws. Headquartered in New York City and led by Akila Radhakrishn ...
, and Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
to file an amicus brief in ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', , is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both ''R ...
'', asserting that Mississippi's abortion ban was inconsistent with international law.
Children and Family Justice Center
The Children and Family Justice Center represents young people on matters of delinquency and crime, family violence, school discipline, health and disability, and immigration and asylum. Attorneys, a social worker, and affiliated professionals help second- and third-year law students meet with clients, research legal issues, learn pretrial investigation, interviewing, and counseling skills, and litigate cases.
MacArthur Justice Center
The MacArthur Justice Center focuses its work on police misconduct, wrongful detention compensation, post-9/11 work, and other public interest and civil rights issues. Of particular note is the Guantanamo Bay detainee representation led by Joseph Margulies, author of ''Guantanamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power'' and lead counsel in ''Rasul v. Bush''.
Donald Pritzker Entrepreneurship Law Center
The Donald Pritzker Entrepreneurship Law Center (DPELC), founded as the Small Business Opportunity Center (SBOC), is a transactional clinic that was founded in 1998. Clients include technology executives, consultants, inventors, manufacturers and sellers of consumer products, musical groups, and persons interested in establishing nonprofit organizations.
The Center is also heavily involved in teaching in the field of entrepreneurship law, and hosts symposia and conferences to facilitate that endeavor.
Center for International Human Rights
The Center for International Human Rights works to advance human rights while enabling students to test and refine their academic learning in real cases. Stressing a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach, the center provides policy perspectives to the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, the Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
, the U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
, foreign governments, and nongovernmental organizations. Over the years faculty and staff working in the center have addressed, among other matters, the role of the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
, international terrorism, U.S. death penalty laws, truth commissions, economic rights, NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
's humanitarian intervention, and political asylum cases. Students have investigated cases and had summer internships in Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
, Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, and at the U.N. Human Rights Centre in Geneva.
The Center also offers students an opportunity to earn an LLM in Human Rights. The degree program is designed for students from transitional democracies and for those with career interests in international human rights law.
Investor Protection Center
The Investor Protection Center provides assistance to investors with limited income or small dollar claims who are unable to obtain legal representation. Law students, under the supervision of faculty attorneys, represent customers in handling their disputes with broker-dealers.
During the last few years, the (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private American corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets. FINRA is the successor to the National Associati ...
)(FINRA) and other organizations have taken steps to make more information and services available to investors. Northwestern Law's Investor Protection Center operates with the aid of grants from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and other organizations to focus on priority areas. In particular, the Center is focused on helping to meet the needs of women, novice investors, and the elderly, in connection with securities arbitration.
Fred Bartlit Center for Trial Advocacy
Named in honor of an innovative leader in litigation and business strategies, the Fred Bartlit Center for Trial Advocacy was established in 1999 to conduct research and teach innovative and technologically advanced trial strategy. The Bartlit Center focuses on changes in trial craft brought on by new technologies and compensation approaches.
The Bartlit Center sponsors and conducts academic research on the litigation process; support teaching skills in the JD program; and holds national conferences to explore and teach innovative trial and trial management strategies. The Bartlit Center works to complement the law school's program in simulation-based teaching of trial skills and builds on the research produced by Northwestern Law faculty.
Buildings gallery
Image:Northwestern-Law-Atrium.jpg, Atrium inside Rubloff Building
Image:Northwestern Law School McCormick Hall.jpg, McCormick Hall
Image:Lincoln Hall Northwestern Law.jpg, Lincoln Hall
Image:Northwestern Law Rubloff Hall Room 180.jpg, Rubloff Hall
Image:Thorne Auditorium.jpg, Thorne Auditorium
Rankings and honors
Notable faculty
The 2016 student/faculty ratio was 6.5 to 1.[
Notable Northwestern Law faculty, past and present, include:
* Ronald J. Allen, renowned evidence scholar and adviser to foreign governments on law reform
*]Steven Calabresi
Steven Gow Calabresi (born 1958) is an American legal scholar and the Clayton J. and Henry R. Barber Professor of Law at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He is the co-chairman of the Federalist Society. He is the nephew of Guido C ...
, constitutional scholar and founder and chairman of the Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquartered ...
* Steven Drizin
Steven A. Drizin is an American lawyer and academic. He is a Clinical Professor of Law at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, where he has been on the faculty since 1991. At Northwestern, Drizin teaches courses on Wrongf ...
* Edwin R. Keedy
Edwin Roulette Keedy (January 19, 1880 November 25, 1958) was Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School from 1941 until 1945, as well as the law school's Algernon Sidney Biddle Professor of Law.
Biography
Keedy was born in Boonsboro, M ...
, dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...
*Andrew Koppelman
Andrew Koppelman (born August 29, 1957 in Nyack, New York) is the John Paul Stevens Professor of Law and professor of political science at Northwestern University. He is the recipient of the 2015 Walder Award for Research Excellence. The main focu ...
, noted legal scholar on same-sex marriage
*Leon Green
Leon Green (March 31, 1888 – June 15, 1979) was an American legal realist and long-tenured dean of Northwestern University School of Law (1929–1947). He also served as professor at Yale Law School (1926–1929) and the University of Texas Sch ...
, former dean; renowned for pioneering work in the law of torts, especially causation and injuries to relations
*Charles T. McCormick
Charles Tilford McCormick (29 June 1889 - 22 December 1963) was an American university professor.
Early life and education
McCormick was born in Dallas, Texas in 1889. He studied at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1909. He receive ...
, expert on evidence, damages, and federal court procedure; writings include the classic hornbooks, Handbook on the Law of Damages (1935) and Handbook on the Law of Evidence (1954).
*John O. McGinnis
John Oldham McGinnis is a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and author of over 90 academic and popular articles and essays. His popular writings have been published in ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''National Review'', a ...
, renowned expert on trade law and one of nation's leading scholars in the field of Constitutional Law.
*Dawn Clark Netsch
Dawn Clark Netsch (September 16, 1926 – March 5, 2013) was an American professor of law at Northwestern University and an Illinois politician. A member of the Democratic Party in the United States, she served in the Illinois State Senate fr ...
, expert in governmental organization law and the first woman to be nominated by a major political party to run for Governor of Illinois.
*James E. Pfander
James E. Pfander is the Owen L. Coon Professor of Law at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Pfander writes and teaches in the area of Federal jurisdiction (United States), federal jurisdiction, particularly as it relates to Article III of t ...
, renowned civil procedure, federal courts, and constitutional law scholar
*Roscoe Pound
Nathan Roscoe Pound (October 27, 1870 – June 30, 1964) was an American legal scholar and educator. He served as Dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law from 1903 to 1911 and Dean of Harvard Law School from 1916 to 1936. He was a membe ...
, former dean of Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
, founder of the movement for "sociological jurisprudence"
*Martin Redish
Martin H. Redish is the Louis and Harriet Ancel Professor of Law and Public Policy at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Redish has written 19 books and over a hundred law review articles in the areas of civil procedure and consti ...
, civil procedure and constitutional law scholar
*David S. Ruder
David Sturtevant Ruder (May 25, 1929 – February 15, 2020) was the William W. Gurley Memorial Professor of Law Emeritus at Northwestern University School of Law, where he served on the faculty since 1961, and where he served as Dean (education), ...
, former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
*David Scheffer
David John Scheffer (born September 18, 1953) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the first United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, during President Bill Clinton's second term in office. He is the Mayer Brown/Robert ...
, international law and war crimes expert who served as the first United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues
The United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice is the head of the Office of Global Criminal Justice in the United States Department of State. The ambassador-at-large advises the United States Secretary of State and the Under Se ...
* Charles Taylor, internationally renowned political philosopher, Royal Society of Canada fellow, British Academy fellow, member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
*David E. Van Zandt
David Van Zandt is an American attorney, legal scholar, and academia, academic Academic administration, administrator. He served as president of The New School from 2011 to 2020. Earlier he served as Dean of Northwestern University School of Law, ...
, former dean of Northwestern University School of Law
*John Henry Wigmore
John Henry Wigmore (1863–1943) was an American lawyer and legal scholar known for his expertise in the law of evidence and for his influential scholarship. Wigmore taught law at Keio University in Tokyo (1889–1892) before becoming the first ...
, the "father of modern evidence," first full-time dean of Northwestern Law (1901) and author of ''Treatise on Evidence''
Popular media
*The Chicago Code
''The Chicago Code'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan that aired on Fox in the United States. The series was filmed in Chicago, Illinois, originally airing from February 7 to May 23, 2011, with Fox announcing ca ...
was substantially filmed on the Northwestern Law campus in Chicago. This television drama premiered on Fox on February 7, 2011. Filming at Northwestern Law began in August 2010.[ Classrooms in the law school are depicted as interior offices for the fictional offices for City administration. Levy Mayer 212 served as the main taping location at the law school.][
* In The Judge, ]Robert Downey Jr.
Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...
plays the role of a Chicago defense attorney who is a Northwestern Law graduate.
* Prof Steven Drizin
Steven A. Drizin is an American lawyer and academic. He is a Clinical Professor of Law at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, where he has been on the faculty since 1991. At Northwestern, Drizin teaches courses on Wrongf ...
and Prof Laura Nirider
Laura Nirider (née Hepokoski, born October 16, 1981) is an American attorney and legal scholar working as an associate professor of law and the co-director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. An ...
feature heavily in the 2016 Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
documentary Making a Murderer
''Making a Murderer'' is an American true crime documentary television series written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. The show tells the story of Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in pris ...
as the post-conviction legal representatives of Brendan Dassey
Brendan Ray Dassey (born October 19, 1989) is an American convicted murderer from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who at 16 confessed to being a party to first-degree murder, mutilation of a corpse, and second-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced ...
. Dassey’s confession is thought by many to be false and coerced, so both Drizin and Nirider are acting as part of work by the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth
The Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth (the "CWCY"), part of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law's Bluhm Legal Clinic, is a non-profit legal clinic that represents children who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. Fo ...
.
Alumni
Selected prominent Northwestern Law alumni include:
Academia
For-profit / Non-profit organizations
Government and politics
Judiciary
Firsts
*Mary Bartelme
Mary Margaret Bartelme (July 24, 1866 – July 25, 1954) was a pioneering American judge and lawyer, particularly in the area of juvenile justice. She was the first woman appointed Cook County Public Guardian in Illinois in 1897, and the first w ...
, first woman elected judge in Illinois.[
* Ferdinand L. Barnett, first African-American assistant ]State's Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
in Illinois.
* Salem J. Chalabi, first General Director of the Iraqi Special Tribunal
The Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT), formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal and sometimes referred to as the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal, is a body established under Iraqi national law to try Iraqi nationals or residents accused of genocide, crimes aga ...
to try Saddam Hussein
* William Dawson, first African American to chair a congressional committee.
* Ada Kepley
Ada Harriet Miser Kepley (February 11, 1847 – June 13, 1925) was the first American woman to graduate from law school. She graduated in 1870 with a law degree, from what is today Northwestern University School of Law. At that time, she was pro ...
, first woman in the United States to graduate from a law school[ Charlton Thomas Lewis, Joseph H. Willsey]
"Harper's book of facts: a classified history of the world; embracing science, literature, and art"
Harper & Brothers, 1895, p. 939.
*Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his h ...
, first Commissioner of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, former U.S. District Judge for the
*Dawn Clark Netsch
Dawn Clark Netsch (September 16, 1926 – March 5, 2013) was an American professor of law at Northwestern University and an Illinois politician. A member of the Democratic Party in the United States, she served in the Illinois State Senate fr ...
, first woman to be elected to a statewide constitutional office in Illinois
*Harold Washington
Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st Mayor of Chicago. Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city's mayor in April 1983. He served as ma ...
, first African American Mayor of Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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(1983–87), Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
*Horace Ward
Horace Taliaferro Ward (July 29, 1927 – April 23, 2016) was a lawyer, state legislator, and judge in Georgia. He become known for his efforts to challenge the racially discriminatory practices at the University of Georgia School of Law and was ...
, challenged racial discrimination at the University of Georgia, and first African American to become a federal judge in Georgia
*Lloyd Garrison Wheeler
Lloyd Garrison Wheeler, Sr. (1848-1909) was an African-American attorney, businessman, philanthropist, and political leader. Wheeler was the first black American to practice law in the state of Illinois and was influential in the establishment of ...
, first African American admitted to the bar in Illinois.["Obituary: Lloyd Garrison Wheeler,"]
''Chicago Tribune,'' Aug. 31, 1909, pg. 4.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Northwestern University
Educational institutions established in 1859
1859 establishments in Illinois
Wrongful conviction advocacy
Law schools in Illinois
Streeterville, Chicago