History
On September 5, 1972, 427 students and seven full-time faculty members came together to usher in a new era of legal education.
What began as the University of Puget Sound School of Law in a business park on South Tacoma Way has become Seattle University School of Law, the largest and most diverse law school in the Northwest, committed to educating outstanding lawyers who are leaders for a just and humane world.
Breaking ground in Seattle.
The law school celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2007-2008 by thanking the visionaries who founded the law school and those who made the momentous decision to move the program to Seattle and looking ahead to next generation in the life of the law school.
The law school's first class was made up of 10 percent women and three percent minorities. Today, women make up half the class, and minority students are 29 percent. The faculty has grown tenfold, from seven full-time professors to more than 70.
Seattle University's acquisition of the law school in 1994 strengthened its dual mission of academic excellence and education for justice.
With an outstanding faculty of dedicated teacher-scholars, one of the best Legal Writing Programs in the country, a street front legal clinic, leading centers and institutes an innovative alternative admission program and the only part-time legal education program in the state, the law school is both strengthening and changing the face of the legal community. More than 9,000 alumni are practicing in every field throughout the country and the world.
The Lawyer magazine chronicled the history of the law school in two parts:
Chapel of St. Ignatius
Seattle University
No history of the Seattle University School of Law would be complete without a history of Seattle University. "A History of Excellence" is an interactive look at Seattle University's past. It uses video clips, text, and photos to tell the story of the people and events that shaped our institution. Highlights of the feature include: stories of pride and accomplishment, snapshots of student life through the years, video interviews with faculty and staff, and profiles of famous alumni.
In the long term, we will be educating many of the region’s finest lawyers, women and men who are destined to play significant roles in determining how our society operates”
—Father William Sullivan