Law School Profile

Gonzaga University School of Law

By Teresa Cajot Gonzaga University School of Law is located on the southern edge of the Gonzaga University campus in Spokane, Washington. The school is a fully ABA accredited Jesuit facility that is dedicated to providing students access to a legal curriculum based on the humanistic Jesuit and Catholic practices and beliefs.

When it was established in 1912, the law school consisted of two classrooms within the administration building. Gonzaga University School of Law was eventually relocated to a nearby unused grade school but due to an increase in the number of students, the school was forced to add additional buildings to the campus through the 1990s before moving to its current location in 2000. Today, the public service and social justice-centered law school has an enrollment of about 557. First year students are exposed to litigation, transactional, and legal writing skills followed by required participation in either a clinic or an externship program. Every student is expected to complete a minimum of 30 hours of public service, including pro bono work, prior to graduation. The law schools University Legal Assistance (ULA) not for profit clinical law program supports the public service focused curriculum. The clinic functions as a general practice law firm with focus areas that include general practice law, consumer law, federal tax law, environmental law, Indian law, elder law, and business law. Gonzaga University School of Law also provides students with ample learning opportunities beyond the general legal

coursework. The school is the home to the Task Force on Race and the Criminal Justice System, which is composed of law school students, as well as prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, associations, and citizens who are worried about discrimination within the criminal justice system. The schools other centers and institutes include the Commercial Law Center, the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning, the Center for Law in Public Service, the Indian Law Program, and The Thomas More Scholarship Program which supports students with an interest in public interest law. The school publishes two student-edited law journals, the Gonzaga Law Review and the online Gonzaga Journal of International Law. Additional learning opportunities are available through programs such as The Gonzaga Florence Summer Law Program and the Moot Court program. The Center for Professional Development provides students and alumni with access to personalized career planning advice, job fairs, workshops, and on-campus interview programs.

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