University of Oregon School of Law

In Brief

The University of Oregon School of Law is Oregon's only public law school. In 1923, Oregon Law became one of the first law schools to be approved by the American Bar Association. It is the only law school in the state with membership in the Order of the Coif and one of only two in the Pacific Northwest that is an integral part of a large, comprehensive AAU-ranked research university. Oregon Law is housed in the William W. Knight Law Center on the university's historic 295-acre campus in Eugene, the state's second largest city. The award-winning Knight Law Center, which includes the John E. Jaqua Law Library, is home to the Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) program, the Oregon LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Law, and the Master's in Conflict and Dispute Resolution, an interdisciplinary program of the University of Oregon Graduate School. The Green Business Initiative (GBI) and the Portland Externships programs are law school initiatives based at the University of Oregon in downtown Portland. Oregon Law offers program options that support a broad range of professional interests, and our class size (ranging between 150 and 180) is just right to provide individualized attention.

Our Students and Faculty

Oregon Law is a small, tight-knit community of interesting multifaceted students who are smart, friendly, and energetic. Among the characteristics that distinguish the first-year class: 64 percent are residents of states other than Oregon; (with 28 states represented); 95 colleges and universities are represented; 10 percent were college athletes; 70 percent majored in something other than political science; 48 percent come with volunteer or paid experience in the legal profession; 35 percent speak more than one language, and they visited, worked, or studied in 60 different countries; 15 percent of the students are the first in their family to graduate from college.

Perhaps, most significantly, 81 percent were engaged in public interest or public service employment or activities prior to entering Oregon Law. That passion and dedication flourishes at Oregon Law. In 2010 and 2012, the University of Oregon School of Law was recognized nationally for its public interest program.

Full-time faculty form the core of a respected community of scholars and teachers at Oregon Law. Engaged nationally on important issues in their fields, innovative in the classroom, and passionate about the law, the accomplishments of the faculty earned Oregon Law membership in the academy's honorary scholastic society, the Order of the Coif. A select group of adjunct faculty, who are practicing members of the bar, also contribute to broadening the professional network of our students. Finally, our Law Library faculty oversee vast information resources that support the work of both faculty and students.

Curriculum

Oregon Law offers a diverse curriculum that supports a wide variety of career goals and interests. All students at Oregon Law are engaged in full-time study.
Centers and Programs fuel much of the academic energy at Oregon Law. These include the Appropriate Dispute Resolution Center; Business Law; Family, Child Advocacy, and Elder Law; Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program; Center for Law and Entrepreneurship; Legal Research and Writing (LRW) Program; Ocean and Coastal Law Center; Oregon Child Advocacy Project; Oregon Office for Community Dispute Resolution; Public Service Initiatives that include the Pro Bono Program and Public Interest-Public Service (PIPS) Program; and the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics. Oregon Law's Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Appropriate Dispute Resolution, and Legal Research and Writing programs are consistently recognized on a national level.
Oregon Law offers eight concurrent JD/master's degree programs. A concurrent degree enables law students to earn a master's degree through another program at the University of Oregon, requiring only one additional year of study. Students apply separately to the master's program of their choice. The concurrent degree programs at the university are Business and Law with the Lundquist College of Business (JD/MBA), Conflict and Dispute Resolution and Law (JD/MA or MS), Environmental Studies and Law with the Environmental Studies Program (JD/MA or MS), International Studies and Law with the Department of International Studies (JD/MA or MS), Communication and Society and Law with the School of Journalism and Communication (JD/MA or MS), Community & Regional Planning Graduate Program and Law (JD/MCRP), or Master of Public Administration and Law (JD/MPA) with the Department of Planning, Public Policy, and Management. An Oregon Law student also can earn a concurrent master's degree in Water Resources Policy and Management (JD/MS) through the Water Resources Graduate Program at Oregon State University in Corvallis.
About one-third of Oregon Law students choose to concentrate their legal studies in a specialized area. Following a prescribed set of electives, students can earn a "statement of completion" in one of 12 areas. These include business law, criminal law, dispute resolution, environmental and natural resources law, estate planning, intellectual property law, international law, law and entrepreneurship, ocean and coastal law, public interest and public service law, Green Business law, and tax law.
More than 80 percent of Oregon Law students graduate with "real world" experience, completing at least one for-credit clinic or externship as part of their legal training, giving them practical skills and experience before they enter the workforce. Externships are available locally, in Portland, or throughout the Northwest region. There is opportunity to propose your own externship as well. The addition of 1L Fellowships gives incoming first-year students the chance to work closely with faculty and gain practical experience from day one.
A semester-long foreign exchange program with the University of Adelaide School of Law, situated in South Australia's capital, is another program option for students, particularly those focusing on international law. Many international study programs sponsored by other ABA law schools also are open to Oregon Law students for degree credit.
The Oregon LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Law is an advanced law degree program offered at Oregon Law. The cohort that participates in this one-year program is a small and select group of US law school graduates and international lawyers seeking more specialized training in environmental and natural resources law.

Admission Decisions

Oregon Law receives applications from many more qualified applicants than there are seats in the class. The fact that the first-year class is small makes the admission process competitive. Our admissions committee reads each applicant's file in a comprehensive and holistic way. To ensure fair consideration of a breadth of applicants, our admissions committee is comprised of faculty, both senior and new; program administrators; a law student; and admission officers. The committee is charged with determining if an applicant is prepared to succeed academically in law school. Both the LSAT and GPA, as well as other non-numeral factors, are considered. The committee also assesses to what extent an applicant's interests and goals match those reflected in the Oregon Law curriculum and community. The Oregon Law application process asks that you earnestly and fully respond to a wide range of questions, you provide us with a résumé of your professional experiences and accomplishments, and provide two letters of recommendation and/or evaluations. No specific LSAT score, GPA, or combination of test score and grades ensure admission. While Oregon is a public law school, we welcome applications from nonresidents. (In Fall 2011, 64 percent of the 1L class were residents of states other than Oregon.) Both residents and nonresidents are considered equally for scholarships at the time of admission. Scholarship renewal rates are high, ensuring that a student will be able to rely on this support for three years.

Student Life

Students come to Eugene, Oregon, from all over the country. In this city of 150,000, (metropolitan area of 350,000), life is relaxed and interactions are less formal. Rent is low compared to other West Coast cites. As the home of a Pac 12, Division I university, the city's designation as "Track Town, USA," and the setting equidistant from the Pacific Coast and Cascade Mountains, law students are drawn to the considerable outdoor activity in Eugene. And while many graduates work in major urban centers, the choice to go to law school in a more manageable and friendly setting is a common theme among Oregon Law alumni and students. However, the diversions of a busy metropolis, additional externships, and an extensive network of Oregon Law alumni are easily accessible to students in Portland, just two hours north of Eugene.

There are about 40 active student organizations promoting events throughout the year. Among them is Land, Air, Water (LAW), which annually hosts PIELC, the oldest and largest public interest environmental law conference in the world. There is an active women law students group, five multicultural organizations, and an LGBTQ organization. The School of Law supports three student-run publications: Oregon Law Review, Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation, and the Oregon Review of International Law. There are numerous public interest fundraisers and community outreach and mentoring programs in which to participate. Students also serve on numerous committees of the law school, including faculty hiring, dean's advisory, diversity, and others. Oregon Law alumni also participate with students in many public interest fundraising and community outreach events, as well as networking events throughout the year.

Careers

The Center for Career Planning and Professional Development provides comprehensive and personalized career counseling to law students. The Center capitalizes on its relationships with a network of more than 5,500 Oregon Law alumni, the larger UO alumni network, and a collegial, supportive legal community. An associate director of public service initiatives helps develop public interest externship opportunities, works on fundraising initiatives for our Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), and works in conjunction with the Center to assist public interest students in their job searches. More than half of the most recent graduating class chose to remain in Oregon, but alumni work on Wall Street, in Oregon, in DC, throughout the West, and across the globe. Graduates have risen to prominent positions, particularly in Portland and Washington state and in the judiciary. For 12 of the last 13 years, Oregon graduates have passed the Oregon state bar examination at rates that have exceeded or equaled the state average.

Applicant Profile

University of Oregon School of Law

LSAT Score	3.75+	3.50–3.74	3.25–3.49	3.00–3.24	2.75–2.99	2.50–2.74	2.25–2.49	2.00–2.24	Below 2.00
	GPA
LSAT score 175–180	Good	Good	Good	Good	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 170–174	Good	Good	Good	Good	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 165–169	Good	Good	Good	Good	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 160–164	Good	Good	Good	Good	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 155–159	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 150–154	Possible	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 145–149	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 140–144	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 135–139	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 130–134	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 125–129	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 120–124	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely

Good = Good Possibility

Possible = Possible

Unlikely = Unlikely