WELCOME FROM THE DEAN

Dean Frederick M. Lawrence

Welcome to The George Washington University Law School website. We hope to convey here some sense of the gifted scholars and teachers, the remarkably diverse and talented student body, the broad and varied curriculum, the unbeatable location, and so much more, that makes GW an exceptional place to study law.

The Law School enrolled its first class in 1865, and, two years later, 60 students received the degree of bachelor of laws. We can be certain that those students had a very different experience than this year's entering class will have. From the vastly expanded curriculum and faculty to ethnic and gender diversity to smart classrooms, it might seem that this is an entirely different law school.

But as you learn today about our school, in a way not possibly imagined by that first entering class, you can rest assured that some things have not changed. Since its founding, GW Law has held an important place in the local and national community. Our school remains grounded in its history and in its community while our curriculum evolves to meet the demands of a changing world and profession, our faculty attracts the most promising and proven scholars, and our students graduate to become leaders in every type of practice. As our law school has grown, its scope and mission have grown as well, taking on an international dimension that reflects the global nature of society and the law.

The strength of our enterprise always has been and always will be our students, and our faculty works extraordinarily hard to provide intellectual challenges worthy of them. Not only does our faculty provide an array of classes that is unsurpassed, but the opportunities for formal and informal discussion and debate outside of the classroom are so rich and varied that virtually not a day of the academic year goes by without a symposium, guest speaker, panel discussion, work-in-progress presentation, or the like on our calendar. Our location in the nation's capital certainly helps make this dynamic atmosphere possible, but it is our faculty, students, and alumni that make it a reality.

While it is difficult even in this medium to describe all that goes on in a dynamic and multifaceted institution like GW Law, let alone capture its spirit, I invite you to discover in these pages some of the many aspects of what makes this a truly extraordinary place to learn.

Frederick M. Lawrence
Dean and Robert Kramer Research Professor of Law