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{{Short description|Private law school in Washington, D.C., US}}{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox Law School
| name = Georgetown University Law Center
| image = Georgetown University Seal.svg
| motto = ''Law is but the means — Justice is the end''<ref>Expressed by Joseph A. Cantrel (Class of 1922), at the 50th Anniversary Celebration in December 1920. See [http://www.law.georgetown.edu/tour/library.html official site] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711181901/http://www.law.georgetown.edu/tour/library.html |date=July 11, 2007}}</ref>
| parent = [[Georgetown University]]
| established = {{start date and age|1870}}
| type = [[Private university|Private]] [[law school]]
| parent endowment= $3.7 billion (2024)<ref name=endowment>As of December 2024. {{cite report |url= https://georgetown.app.box.com/s/ce3hxunqzj6crjx5k0dc225ho38hb7zf|title=Georgetown University Consolidated Financial Statements |publisher=Georgetown University |access-date=December 5, 2024}}</ref>
| dean = [[William Treanor]]
| city = [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]
| state = D.C.
| country = United States
| coordinates = {{coord|38|53|54|N|77|0|45|W|display=inline|region:US-DC_type:edu}}
| students = 2,440: 1,982 JD, 441 LLM, 17 SJD
| faculty = 285: 126 full-time, 159 part-time
| ranking = 14 (tie) (2025)<ref>{{cite web|title=US News Law School Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/georgetown-university-03032}}</ref>
| bar pass rate = 93.05% (2024 first-time takers)<ref name=barpass/>
| website = {{URL|https://law.georgetown.edu}}
| logo = 
| religious affiliation=[[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] ([[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]])|image_size=150px|aba profile=''[https://www.law.georgetown.edu/admissions-aid/aba-required-disclosures/ Standard 509 Report]''}}

'''Georgetown University Law Center''' is the [[Law school in the United States|law school]] of [[Georgetown University]], a [[Private university|private]] [[research university]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over 2,000 students.<ref>[https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/georgetown-university-03032?test_src=gpn-control Georgetown University], [[U.S. News & World Report]], Retrieved: January, 2024</ref> It frequently receives the most full-time applications of any law school in the United States.<ref name="usnews.com">[https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/the-short-list-grad-school/articles/2016-03-31/10-law-schools-with-the-most-full-time-applications 10 Law Schools With the Most Full-Time Applications], [[U.S. News & World Report]], Published: March 31, 2016. Retrieved: January 30, 2017</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Strauss |first=Valerie |date=2021-11-13 |title=The country's most popular law school got an unexpected jolt |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/11/13/most-popular-law-school-georgetown/ |access-date=2022-10-03 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Georgetown is considered part of the [[T14 Law|T14]], an unofficial designation in the legal community of the best 14 law schools in the United States.

The school's campus is less than a mile from the [[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol Building]] and [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Visit Our Campus|url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/about/visit-campus/|access-date=2020-08-14|website=www.law.georgetown.edu|language=en-US}}</ref> Prominent alumni include 11 current members of the [[United States Congress]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eleven Georgetown Law Alumni Will Serve in the 117th Congress|url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/news/eleven-georgetown-law-alumni-will-serve-in-the-117th-congress/|access-date=2021-01-05|language=en-US}}</ref> federal and state judges, billionaires, and diplomats.
==History==
{{see also|History of Georgetown University}}

{{Multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| total_width = 400
| image1 = Georgetown Law 1910s.jpg
| alt1 = Georgetown Law School between 1910 and 1925
| image2 = GULC sign.jpg
| alt2 = Original Georgetown University Law Center entrance arch
| footer = All that remains of Georgetown Law's original building in [[Judiciary Square]] (left) is the arch from above the doorway (right)
}}
Opened as Georgetown Law School in 1870, Georgetown Law was the second (after [[St. Louis University School of Law|St. Louis University]]) law school run by a [[Jesuit]] institution within the United States.<ref>"Timeline of Saint Louis University". https://www.slu.edu/timeline/ Saint Louis University. Retrieved December 30, 2020.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/about/ |access-date=2020-12-30 |website=www.law.georgetown.edu}}</ref> Georgetown Law has been separate from the main Georgetown campus (in the neighborhood of [[Georgetown, Washington, D.C.|Georgetown]]) since 1890, when it moved near what is now [[Chinatown, Washington, D.C.|Chinatown]]. 

The Law Center campus is located on New Jersey Avenue, within a mile from the [[United States Capitol|Capitol]], and a few blocks west of [[Washington Union Station]]. Georgetown Law School changed its name to Georgetown University Law Center in 1953.<ref>{{Harvnb|Curran|2010b|p=311}}</ref> The school added the Edward Bennett Williams Law Library in 1989 and the Gewirz Student Center in 1993, providing on-campus living for the first time. The "Campus Completion Project" finished in 2004 with the addition of the Hotung International Building and the Sport and Fitness Center.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dickerson |first=Justin |title=Law Center Campus Completion Nears |url=https://thehoya.com/uncategorized/law-center-campus-completion-nears/ |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=The Hoya}}</ref>

Georgetown Law's original wall (or sign) is preserved on the quad of the present-day campus.

In January 2022, Ilya Shapiro, the incoming executive director and senior lecturer of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, wrote in a tweet that he opposed President Biden's intent to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court, writing that because Biden would not nominate Shapiro's friend [[Sri Srinivasan]], he was choosing a "lesser black woman".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ma|first=Alexandra|title=Incoming Georgetown Law professor prompts backlash by saying Biden will pick 'lesser Black woman' for Supreme Court|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/georgetown-law-ilya-shapiro-biden-lesser-black-woman-supreme-court-2022-1|access-date=2022-01-29|website=Business Insider|language=en-US}}</ref> The dean of Georgetown University Law Center condemned the remarks, stating, "The tweets' suggestion that the best Supreme Court nominee could not be a Black woman and their use of demeaning language are appalling...The tweets are at odds with everything we stand for at Georgetown Law".  Shapiro later deleted the tweet as well as many other tweets he had written in the past, and issued a statement calling it an, "inartful tweet."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Incoming Georgetown Law administrator apologizes after tweets dean called 'appalling'|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/01/27/georgetown-law-ilya-shapiro-tweets/|access-date=2022-01-29|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Shapiro was then placed on administrative leave while being investigated for violations of "professional conduct, non-discrimination, and anti-harassment" rules.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tweet by Mark Joseph Stern of Slate Magazine|url=https://twitter.com/mjs_dc/status/1488204730505519107/|access-date=2022-01-31|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref> As a result of the investigation, Shapiro was reinstated, as the school's investigators found that he was "not properly subject to discipline".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lumpkin|first=Lauren|title=Georgetown Law official cleared over tweets on Supreme Court pick|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/06/02/ilya-shapiro-georgetown-law-investigation/|access-date=2022-06-30|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en-US}}</ref> Nevertheless, on June 6 Shapiro chose to resign in protest, arguing that the school had "implicitly repealed Georgetown's vaunted Speech and Expression Policy and set me up for discipline the next time I transgress progressive orthodoxy".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lumpkin|first=Lauren|title=Georgetown Law official resigns, had been cleared in probe into tweets|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/06/06/ilya-shapiro-georgetown-resigns/|access-date=2022-06-30|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Admissions==
For the class entering in fall of 2025, the school received over 14,000 applications for 650 spots.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Randazzo |first=Sara |title=The Competition to Get Into Law School Is Brutal This Year |url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/law-school-application-increase-job-market-623bb314 |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref> For the class entering in the fall of 2024, 2,276 out of 11,309 J.D. applicants (20.13%) were offered admission, with 625 (27.46%) matriculating. The median LSAT score for the class entering in fall of 2024 is 171 and the median undergraduate GPA is 3.92. In the 2024-25 academic year, Georgetown Law had 2,176 J.D. students, of which 32% were minorities and 56% were female.<ref name="Standard 509 Information Report">{{cite web |title=2024 Standard 509 Information Report |url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/admissions-aid/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2024/12/Std509InfoReport-63-12-16-2024-11-16-05.pdf |access-date=December 14, 2023 |publisher=American Bar Association}}</ref> 

==Bar examination passage==
In 2024, the overall bar examination passage rate for the law school’s first-time examination takers was 93.05%. The Ultimate Bar Pass Rate, which the [[American Bar Association|ABA]]  defines as the passage rate for graduates who sat for bar examinations within two years of graduating, was 97.17% for the class of 2021 and 94.14% for the class of 2022.<ref name=barpass>{{cite web |title=Georgetown University {{!}} Bar Passage |url=https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/BarPassageOutcomes.aspx |website=abarequireddisclosures.org |publisher=[[American Bar Association]] |access-date=13 April 2024}}</ref>

==Employment==
{{bar box
|float= right
|title= ABA Employment Summary for 2020 J.D. Graduates<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/L20-ABA-Summary-Page-with-Addendum.pdf|title=Employment Summary for 2020 Graduates}}</ref>
|titlebar=#AAF
|width=550px
|left1=Employment Status
|right1=Percentage
|caption=Total of 691 J.D. Graduates
|bars=
{{bar percent|Employed – Bar Passage Required (Full-Time, Long-Term)|green|82.3}}
{{bar percent|Employed – Bar Passage Required (Part-Time and/or Short-Term)|lime|0.1}}
{{bar percent|Employed – J.D. Advantage|blue|4.6}}
{{bar percent|Employed – Professional Position|orange|0.9}}
{{bar percent|Employed – Non-Professional Position|teal|0.1}}
{{bar percent|Employed – Law School/University Funded|black|5.1}}
{{bar percent|Employed – Undeterminable|brown|0.0}}
{{bar percent|Pursuing Graduate Degree Full Time|purple|0.9}}
{{bar percent|Unemployed – Start Date Deferred|blue|1.0}}
{{bar percent|Unemployed – Not Seeking|sienna|1.3}}
{{bar percent|Unemployed – Seeking|red|3.6}}
{{bar percent|Employment Status Unknown|silver|0.0}}
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Of the 691 J.D. graduates in the Georgetown Law class of 2020 (including both full- and part-time students), 569 (82.3%) held long-term, full-time positions that required bar exam passage (i.e., jobs as lawyers) and were not school-funded nine months after graduation.<ref name="ABA">{{cite web | url = https://www.law.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/L20-ABA-Summary-Page-with-Addendum.pdf | title = American Bar Association Employment Summary for 2020 Graduates – Georgetown Law | access-date = October 3, 2021}}</ref> 644 graduates overall (93.2%) were employed, 6 graduates (0.9%) were pursuing a graduate degree, and 34 graduates (4.9%) were unemployed.<ref name="ABA" />

435 J.D. graduates (63.0%) were employed in the private sector, with 368 (53.3%) at law firms with over 250 attorneys.<ref name="ABA" /> 208 graduates (30.1%) entered the public sector, with 80 (11.6%) employed in public interest positions, 55 (8.0%) employed by the government, 68 (9.8%) in federal or state clerkships, and 5 (0.7%) in academic positions.<ref name="ABA" /> 35 graduates (5.1%) received funding from Georgetown Law for their positions.<ref name="ABA" />

The median reported starting salary for a 2018 J.D. graduate in the private sector was $180,000. The median reported starting salary for a 2018 graduate in the public sector (including government, public interest, and clerkship positions) was $57,000.<ref name="NALP">{{cite web | url = https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/documents/NALPReports/2018/gulc.pdf | title = Georgetown University Law Center Class of 2018 Summary Report | access-date = November 15, 2020}}</ref>

272 J.D. graduates (39.4%) in the class of 2020 were employed in Washington, DC, 155 (22.4%) in New York, and 31 (4.5%) in California. 13 (1.9%) were employed outside the United States.<ref name="ABA" />

As of 2011, Georgetown Law alumni account for the second highest number of partners at [[National Law Journal|NLJ]] 100 firms. It is among the top ten feeder schools in eight of the ten largest legal markets in the United States by law job openings (New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, San Francisco, and San Diego), again giving it the second-widest reach of all law schools. The school performs especially strongly in its home market, where it is the largest law school and has produced the greatest number of NLJ 100 partners.<ref>{{cite journal | ssrn = 1903934 | title = Where Do Partners Come From? |author=Theodore P. Seto | date= 2011 | journal = Journal of Legal Education}}</ref>

Georgetown Law was ranked #11 for placing the highest percentage of 2018 J.D. graduates into associate positions at the 100 largest law firms.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.law.com/2019/03/07/sneak-peek-at-the-2019-go-to-law-schools-nos-11-20/|title=Sneak Peek at the 2019 Go-To Law Schools: Nos. 11–20 {{!}} Law.com|work=Law.com|access-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref>

==Costs==
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Georgetown Law for the 2024-25 academic year is $113,450.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/tuition-cost-of-attendance/|title=Tuition & Cost of Attendance|website=www.law.georgetown.edu}}</ref> The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $419,938.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lstreports.com/schools/gulc/costs/|title=Georgetown University, Finances|website=www.lstreports.com}}</ref>

==Campus==

The Law Center is located in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, D.C. It is bounded by 2nd St. NW to the west, E St. NW to the south, 1st St. NW and New Jersey Avenue to the east, and Massachusetts Avenue to the north.

The campus consists of five buildings. Bernard P. McDonough Hall (1971, expanded in 1997) houses classrooms and Law Center offices and was designed by [[Edward Durell Stone]]. The Edward Bennett Williams Law Library building (1989) houses most of the school's library collection and is one of the largest law libraries in the United States. The [[Eric Hotung|Eric E. Hotung]] International Law Center (2004), named after Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist [[Eric Edward Hotung]], includes two floors of library space housing the international collection, and also contains classrooms, offices, and meeting rooms. The Bernard S. and Sarah M. Gewirz Student Center (1993) provides apartment-style housing for 250–300 students as well as hosting offices for nine academic centers and institutes, the Law Center's Student Health clinic, the Center for Wellness Promotion, the Counseling and Psychiatric Service office, a dedicated prayer room for Muslim members of the Law Center community, a moot court room, a daycare (the Georgetown Law Early Learning Center), and a ballroom event space commonly used for academic conferences. The four-level Scott K. Ginsburg Sport & Fitness Center (2004) includes a pool, fitness facilities, and cafe, and connects the Hotung Building to the Gewirz Student Center.{{Cn|date=November 2024}}
[[File:Georgetown Law (53839144407).jpg|thumb|Georgetown Law Campus]]

===Libraries===

The Georgetown Law Library supports the research and educational endeavors of the students and faculty of Georgetown University Law Center. It is the second largest law library in the United States, and as one of the premier research facilities for the study of law, the Law Library houses the nation's fourth largest law library collection and offers access to thousands of online publications. The Law Library was ranked by ''The National Jurist'' as the 14th best law library in the nation in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationaljurist.com/content/best-law-libraries|title=Best Law Libraries {{!}} the National Jurist|website=www.nationaljurist.com|date=October 12, 2010|language=en|access-date=April 28, 2018}}</ref>

The mission of the library is to support fully the research and educational endeavors of the students and faculty of Georgetown University Law Center, by collecting, organizing, preserving, and disseminating legal and law related information in any form, by providing effective service and instructional programs, and by utilizing electronic information systems to provide access to new information products and services.

The collection is split into two buildings. The Edward Bennett Williams Law Library (1989) is named after Washington, D.C. lawyer [[Edward Bennett Williams]], an alumnus of the Law Center and founder of the prestigious litigation firm [[Williams & Connolly]]. It houses the Law Center's United States law collection, the Law Center Archives, and the National Equal Justice Library. The Williams library building consists of five floors of collection and study space and provides office space for most of the Law Center's law journals on the Law Library's first level.

The John Wolff International and Comparative Law Library (2004) is named after [[John Wolff]], a long-serving member of the adjunct faculty and supporter of the Law Center's international law programs. The library is located on two floors inside the Eric E. Hotung building. It houses the international, foreign, and comparative law collections of Georgetown University Law Center. Wolff Library collects primary and secondary law materials from [[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Great Britain]], [[Ireland]], [[Mexico]], [[New Zealand]], [[Scotland]], and [[South Africa]]. English translations of primary and secondary legal materials from other jurisdictions and compilations of foreign law on special topics are also included.

In addition to foreign law, the Wolff Library maintains an extensive collection of public and private international law, focusing on international trade, international [[environmental law]], human rights, arbitration, tax and treaty law. The collection also includes documentation from many international organizations, including the [[International Court of Justice]], the [[United Nations]], the [[European Union]], and the [[World Trade Organization]].

==Curriculum==
[[File:Edward Bennet Law Library reading room for students.jpg|thumb|The reading room for students in the Edward Bennett Williams Law Library]]
[[File:Joe Biden speaking at Georgetown Law in 2016.jpg|thumb|With its strategic location in Washington and less than a mile from Congress, the law school has received many distinguished guest speakers like the 46th President of the US, [[Joe Biden|Joseph R. Biden]]. ]]{{Citations needed|date=December 2024}}
Georgetown Law's [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] program can be completed over three years of full-time day study or three to four years of part-time evening study. The school offers several [[LL.M.]] programs in specific areas, most notably [[tax law]], as well as a general LL.M. curriculum for lawyers educated outside the United States. Georgetown launched a [[Master of Studies in Law]] (M.S.L.) degree program for professional journalists in the 2007–08 academic year. It also offers the highest doctoral degree in law ([[Doctor of Juridical Science|J.S.D.]]).

Students are offered the choice of two tracks for their first year of study. "Curriculum A" is a traditional law curriculum similar to that taught at most schools, including courses in [[civil procedure]], [[United States constitutional law|constitutional law]], [[contracts]], [[criminal justice]], [[Property law|property]], [[torts]], and [[Legal writing|legal research and writing]]. Four-fifths of the day students at Georgetown receive instruction under the standard program (sections 1, 2, 4, and 5).

"Curriculum B" is a more interdisciplinary, theoretical approach to legal study, covering an equal or wider scope of material but heavily influenced by the [[critical legal studies]] movement. The Curriculum B courses are ''Bargain, Exchange and Liability'' ([[contracts]] and [[torts]]), ''Democracy and Coercion'' ([[United States constitutional law|constitutional law]] and [[criminal procedure]]), ''Government Processes'' ([[Administrative law#Administrative law in the United States|administrative law]]), ''Legal Justice'' ([[jurisprudence]]), ''Legal Practice'' ([[Legal writing|legal research and writing]]), ''Legal Process and Society'' ([[civil procedure]]), and ''Property in Time'' ([[Property law|property]]). One-fifth of the full-time JD students receive instruction in the alternative Curriculum B program (Section 3).

Students in both curricula may participate in a week-long introduction to [[international law]] between the fall and spring semesters.

==Clinics ==
Georgetown's clinics are: Appellate Litigation Clinic, Center for Applied Legal Studies, The Community Justice Project, Criminal Defense & Prisoner Advocacy Clinic, Criminal Justice Clinic, D.C. Law Students in Court, D.C. Street Law Program, [[Domestic Violence]] Clinic, Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic, Harrison Institute for Housing & Community Development Clinic, Harrison Institute for Public Law, Institute for Public Representation, International Women's Human Rights Clinic, Juvenile Justice Clinic, Intellectual Property and Information Policy Clinic, and Communications and Technology Law Clinic.

In the Winter 2017 edition of ''The National Jurist,'' Georgetown Law's Moot Court Program was ranked #4 in the country for 2015–16 and #5 among U.S. law schools that have had the best moot courts this past decade.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/nationaljurist_2017winter/#/14|title=The National Jurist – Winter 2017|website=www.nxtbook.com|language=en-US|access-date=May 11, 2018}}</ref>

===Appellate Litigation Clinic===
Directed by Professor Erica Hashimoto (following 36 years of leadership by Professor Steven H. Goldblatt), the Appellate Litigation Clinic operates akin to a small appellate litigation firm. It has had four cases reach the United States Supreme Court on grants of [[Certiorari|writs of certiorari]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/academic-programs/clinical-programs/our-clinics/appellate-litigation/ |title=Appellate Litigation Clinic — Georgetown Law |publisher=Law.georgetown.edu |date=October 14, 2014 |access-date=December 3, 2015}}</ref> One such case was ''Wright v. West'', 505 U.S. 277 (1992), considered in [[habeas corpus]] the question whether the de novo review standard for mixed questions of law and fact established in 1953 (the ''[[Brown v. Allen]]'' standard) should be overruled. Another was ''Smith v. Barry'', 502 U.S. 244 (1992), which reversed a [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit|Fourth Circuit]] determination that the court did not have jurisdiction over an appeal because the defendant's pro se brief could not serve as a timely notice of appeal.

===Center for Applied Legal Studies===
CALS represents [[Right of Asylum|refugees]] seeking political asylum in the United States because of threatened persecution in their home countries. Students in CALS assume primary responsibility for the representation of these refugees, whose requests for asylum have already been rejected by the U.S. government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/academic-programs/clinical-programs/our-clinics/CALS/index.cfm |title=Center for Applied Legal Studies — Georgetown Law |publisher=Law.georgetown.edu |date=October 14, 2014 |access-date=December 3, 2015}}</ref> The Center for Applied Legal Studies was founded in the 1980s by Philip Schrag.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.georgetown.edu/news/fall-faculty-convocation-2014.html |title=Faculty Receive Prestigious Medals as Presidential Fellows at Convocation &#124; Georgetown University |publisher=Georgetown.edu |date=October 15, 2014 |access-date=December 3, 2015}}</ref> Until 1995, the Clinic heard cases in the field of consumer protection. Under the direction of Schrag and Andrew Schoenholtz, the Clinic began specializing in asylum claims, for both detained and non-detained applicants.<ref>{{cite web|last=Prof |first=Immigration |url=http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2014/11/georgetown-universitys-center-for-applied-legal-studies-fellowship-opportunity.html |title=ImmigrationProf Blog |publisher=Lawprofessors.typepad.com |access-date=December 3, 2015}}</ref> In conjunction with their work for the Clinic, Schrag and Schoenholtz have written books about America's political asylum system, with the help of Clinic fellows and graduate students. The duo's most recent book, ''Lives in the Balance'', was published in 2014 and provides an empirical analysis of how Homeland Security decided asylum cases over a recent fourteen-year period.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nyupress.org/books/9780814708767/ |title=Lives in the Balance &#124; Asylum Adjudication by the Department of Homeland Security &#124; Books |publisher=NYU Press |access-date=December 3, 2015}}</ref> The group's work in human rights law has met praise from international organizations like the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Scholarship at Georgetown| url=http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1548&context=facpubs| title=Refugee Protection in the United States Post-September 11 | publisher=Georgetown University Law Center | date=2005 | author=Schoenholtz, Andrew I.}}</ref> Under the direction of Schrag and Schoenholtz, the clinic has also focused on more prolonged displacement situations for political refugees.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wong |first=Edward |url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-3743409451/the-new-refugees-and-the-old-treaty-persecutors-and |title="The New Refugees and the Old Treaty: Persecutors and Persecuted in the Twenty-First Century" by Schoenholtz, Andrew I. – Chicago Journal of International Law, Vol. 16, Issue 1, Summer 2015 |publisher= |access-date= |archive-date=September 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927194308/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-3743409451/the-new-refugees-and-the-old-treaty-persecutors-and |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Civil Rights Clinic ===
CRC operates as a public interest law firm, representing individual clients and other public interest organizations, primarily in the areas of discrimination and constitutional rights, workplace fairness, and open government.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Georgetown University Law Center|title=Civil Rights Clinic|url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/experiential-learning/clinics/civil-rights-clinic/}}</ref> The Clinic is directed by Professor Aderson Francois, who joined in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Georgetown University Law Center|title=Fellowships|url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/experiential-learning/clinics/civil-rights-clinic/fellowships/}}</ref>  Students work with CRC staff attorneys to litigate [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] claims, [[wage theft]] suits, and retaliation claims on behalf of employees terminated for asserting their rights under [[Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938|FLSA]] and DC Wage and Hour law.

===Criminal Defense and Prisoner Advocacy Clinic===
Students in CDPAC represent defendants facing misdemeanor charges in [[D.C. Superior Court]], facing [[parole]] or supervised release revocation from the [[United States Parole Commission]] working with the [[Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia]], and they also work on prisoner advocacy projects.<ref name="cdpac">{{cite web|title=Criminal Defense & Prisoner Advocacy Clinic (CDPAC)|url=http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/academic-programs/clinical-programs/our-clinics/criminal-defense-prisoner-advocacy/|website=law.georgetown.edu}}</ref> [[Abbe Smith]] is the director of CDPAC.<ref name="profile">{{cite web|title=Profile Abbe Smith|url=http://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/smith-abbe.cfm|website=law.georgetown.edu}}</ref> Former Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia lawyer [[Vida Johnson]] works with Smith in CDPAC and the Prettyman fellowship program.<ref>{{cite web|title=CDPAC Staff|url=http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/academic-programs/clinical-programs/our-clinics/criminal-defense-prisoner-advocacy/staff-contact-us.cfm|website=georgetown.law.edu}}</ref>

===DC Street Law Program===
The DC Street Law Program, Directed by Professor Charisma X. Howell, provides legal education to the DC population through two projects: the Street Law High Schools Clinic and the Street Law Community Clinic. Professor Richard Roe directed the Street Law High Schools Clinic since 1983. Professor Howell became the director in 2018. In the program, students introduce local high school students to the basic structure of the legal system, including the relationship among legislatures, courts, and agencies, and how citizens, especially in their world, relate to the lawmaking processes of each branch of government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/academic-programs/clinical-programs/our-clinics/DC-Street-Law-Program/about-our-clinic.cfm |title=About Our Clinic — Georgetown Law |publisher=Law.georgetown.edu |date=October 14, 2014 |access-date=December 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/48468640#48468640 |title=Street law schools in life skills – Video on |publisher=Nbcnews.com |date=August 3, 2012 |access-date=December 3, 2015}}</ref>

===Harrison Institute for Public Law===
The [https://www.law.georgetown.edu/experiential-learning/clinics/the-policy-clinic-climate-health-food-human-rights-and-trade-harrison-institute/ Harrison Institute] is one of the longest running public law clinics in the country, having begun as the Project for Community Legal Assistance in 1972. In 1980 it was renamed in honor of Anne Blaine Harrison, a philanthropist and early supporter of the institute.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Anne Blaine Harrison Institute |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/05/05/the-anne-blaine-harrison-institute/62b03039-afe7-4ea4-ae8a-c8750b08ffd0/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1978-05-05 |access-date=2019-10-09}}</ref> Over its history, the institute has been home to several clinical programs, including focuses on state and local legislation, administrative advocacy, housing and community development, and policy. In 2019, under the directorship of Robert Stumberg, the institute consists of four policy teams: Climate, Health, Human Rights, and Trade.<ref>{{cite web |title=Harrison Institute for Public Law |url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/experiential-learning/clinics/the-policy-clinic-climate-health-food-human-rights-and-trade-harrison-institute/ |website=law.georgetown.edu}}</ref> Each of these teams involves students working to shape policy to achieve client goals.

== Rankings ==
Georgetown Law is part of the [[Law school rankings in the United States|T14]], a classification of American law schools that frequently claim the Top 14 spots in the annual ''U.S. News & World Report'' rankings. Recent rankings include: 

;Law school rankings
* #14 (tie) - ''U.S. News & World Report'' (2025)<ref>{{Cite web |title=US News Law School Rankings 2025 |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings?_sort=my_rankings-asc |website=US News Law School Rankings 2025}}</ref>
* #8 (US) and #9 (Global) - ''The Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Academic Ranking of World Universities: Law 2024 |url=https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/gras/2024/RS0503 |archive-url= |website=Academic Ranking of World Universities: Law 2024}}</ref>
* #8 (US) and #17 (Global) - ''Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings'' (2025)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Times Higher Education World University Rankings: Law (2024) |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2025/subject-ranking/law |website=Times Higher Education World University Rankings: Law (2025)}}</ref>
* #9 (US) and #26 (Global) - ''QS World University Rankings'' (2025)<ref>{{Cite web |title=QS World Rankings Law & Legal Studies (2025) |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/law-legal-studies |website=QS World Rankings Law & Legal Studies (2025)}}</ref>
* #11 (tie) - ''The'' ''New York Times: Law School Rankings'' (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Above the Law - The New York Times Law School Rankings 2024 |url=https://abovethelaw.com/2024/05/new-york-times-law-school-ranking/ |website=Above the Law - The New York Times Law School Rankings 2024}}</ref>

;US News & World Report specialty rankings 2025<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=US News World Report Law Speciality Rankings 2025 |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/georgetown-university-03032 |website=US News World Report Law Specialty Rankings 2025}}</ref>

* #1 Clinical Training
* #3 Tax Law
* #3 International Law 
* #6 Healthcare Law
* #9 (tie) Criminal Law
* #9 Intellectual Property Law
* #11 Constitutional Law 
* #11 (tie) Contracts/Commercial Law 
* #12 (tie) Business/Corporate Law

;Other rankings

* #8 Law School for the Most Graduates at Big Law Firms - ''U.S. News & World Report'' (2025)'''''<ref name=":0" />'''''
* #10 for number of J.D. graduates who took Associate positions at the 100 Largest Law Firms in U.S. - ''The National Law Journal'' (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Go-to Law Schools: Big Law 2024 |url=https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2024/03/2024-law-school-rankings-by-graduates-in-biglaw-jobs.html |website=Go-to Law Schools: Big Law 2024}}</ref>

==Publications==
[[File:GULC library.jpg|thumb|Edward Bennett Williams [[Law Library]], viewed from the campus north quad.]]
Georgetown University Law Center publishes fourteen student-run law journals, two peer-reviewed law journals, and a weekly student-run newspaper, the [[Georgetown Law Weekly]]. The journals are:

* ''[[American Criminal Law Review]]''
* ''Food and Drug Law Journal''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/law-journals/fdlj/index.cfm|title=Food and Drug Law Journal}}</ref>
* ''[[Georgetown Environmental Law Review]]''
* ''Georgetown Immigration Law Journal''
* ''Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law''
* ''[[Georgetown Journal of International Law]]''
* ''Georgetown Journal of Law and Modern Critical Race Perspectives''
* ''Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy''
* ''Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics''
* ''Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy''
* ''Journal of National Security Law and Policy''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jnslp.com/|title=Journal of National Security Law & Policy|work=jnslp.com}}</ref>
* ''Georgetown Law Technology Review'' (online only)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.georgetownlawtechreview.org/|title=Georgetown Law Technology Review|work=georgetownlawtechreview.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Privacy Policy |url=https://georgetownlawtechreview.org/privacy/ |website=[[Georgetown Law Technology Review]] |access-date=18 July 2022 |language=en-us |date=17 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Georgetown Law Tech Review: Symposium 2022 |url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/event/georgetown-law-tech-review-symposium-2022/ |website=Georgetown University Law Center |access-date=18 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Georgetown Law Technology Review |url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/tech-institute/academics/georgetown-law-technology-review/ |website=Georgetown University Law Center |access-date=18 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Georgetown Law Technology Review Student Writing Competition |url=https://www.law.uga.edu/index.php/node/77273 |website=[[University of Georgia School of Law]] |publisher=[[University of Georgia]] |access-date=18 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://georgetownlawtechreview.org/about-us/ |website=Georgetown Law Technology Review |access-date=18 July 2022 |language=en-us |date=9 September 2016}}</ref>
* ''[[Georgetown Law Journal]]''

== List of deans ==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ {{sronly|Deans and vice presidents}}
|-
! scope="col" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Years
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Refh}}
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" |Vice Presidents of the Law Department<ref>{{Cite web |title=Georgetown Law Timeline |url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/150/timeline/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826033557/https://www.law.georgetown.edu/150/timeline/ |archive-date=August 26, 2022 |access-date=October 6, 2022 |website=Georgetown University Law Center}}</ref>
|-
| align="center" | -
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Charles P.|James}}
| align="center" |1870–1873
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-1-367">{{Harvnb|Curran|2010a|p=367|last1=|year=|loc=Appendix D: Presidents, Prefects, and Deans in Georgetown's First Century}}</ref>
|-
| align="center" | -
! scope="row" |{{sortname|George W.|Paschal|nolink=1}}
| align="center" |1873–1875
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-1-367" />
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" |Deans of Georgetown Law School
|-
| align="center" |1
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Charles W.|Hoffman}}
| align="center" |1876–1890
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-1-367" />
|-
| align="center" |2
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Martin Ferdinand|Morris}}
| align="center" |1889–1890
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-2-401">{{Harvnb|Curran|2010b|p=401|loc=Appendix F: Deans of the Law School, 1889–1969}}</ref>
|-
| align="center" |3
! scope="row" |{{sortname|George E.|Hamilton|nolink=1}}
| align="center" |1900–1903
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-2-401" />
|-
| align="center" |4
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Harry M.|Clabaugh}}
| align="center" |1903–1914
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-2-401" />
|-
| align="center" |5
! scope="row" |{{sortname|George E.|Hamilton|nolink=1}}
| align="center" |1914–1941
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-2-401" />
|-
| align="center" |6
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Hugh J.|Fegan|nolink=1}}
| align="center" |1941–1953
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-2-401" />
|-
! colspan="4" |Deans of Georgetown University Law Center
|-
| align="center" |-
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Hugh J.|Fegan|nolink=1}}
| align="center" |1953–1955
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-2-401" />
|-
| align="center" |7
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Paul R.|Dean|nolink=1}}
| align="center" |1955–1969
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-2-401" />
|-
| align="center" |8
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Adrian S.|Fisher}}
| align="center" |1969–1976
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-3-294">{{Harvnb|Curran|2010c|p=294|loc=Appendix F: Deans of the Law School/Executive Vice Presidents for Law Center Affairs, 1955–2010}}</ref>
|-
| align="center" |9
! scope="row" |{{sortname|David J.|McCarthy Jr.}}
| align="center" |1976–1983
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-3-294" />
|-
| align="center" |10
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Robert|Pitofsky}}
| align="center" |1983–1989
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-3-294" />
|-
| align="center" |11
! scope="row" |{{sortname|Judith|Areen|nolink=1}}
| align="center" |1989–2004
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-3-294" />
|-
| align="center" |12
! scope="row" |{{sortname|T. Alexander|Aleinikoff}}
| align="center" |2004–2010
| align="center" |<ref name="curran-3-294" />
|-
| align="center" |13
! scope="row" |{{sortname|William|Treanor}}
| align="center" |2010–{{sort|{{currentyear}}|present}}
| align="center" |<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 15, 2020 |title=William M. Treanor is Reappointed as Dean of Georgetown Law |url=https://www.law.georgetown.edu/news/william-m-treanor-is-reappointed-as-dean-of-georgetown-law/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704085526/https://www.law.georgetown.edu/news/william-m-treanor-is-reappointed-as-dean-of-georgetown-law/ |archive-date=July 4, 2022 |access-date=October 6, 2022 |website=Georgetown University Law Center}}</ref>
|}

==Faculty==
[[File:Gewirz Student Center.jpg|thumb|Gewirz Student Center provides student housing for mostly first-year law students.]]
Notable current faculty include:

* [[Charles F. Abernathy]], Professor of civil rights and comparative law
* [[Lama Abu-Odeh]], [[Palestinian-American]] scholar of [[Islamic law]], [[family law]], and feminism
* [[Randy Barnett]], Libertarian constitutional law scholar, author of [[The Structure of Liberty]] and [[Restoring the Lost Constitution]], 2008 [[Guggenheim Fellow]]
* [[M. Gregg Bloche]], professor of public health policy
* [[Rosa Brooks]], Professor of national security, military, and international law, columnist for [[Foreign Policy (magazine)|Foreign Policy]]
* [[Paul Butler (professor)|Paul Butler]], Professor of criminal law and civil rights, expert on [[jury nullification]]
* [[Sheryll D. Cashin]], Professor of civil rights and housing law
* [[Paul Clement]], former [[Solicitor General of the United States]]
* [[Julie E. Cohen]], Professor of copyright, intellectual property, and privacy law
* [[David D. Cole]], Professor of first amendment and criminal procedure law
* [[Peter Edelman]], former Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services
* [[Doug Emhoff]], Distinguished Visitor from Practice, Distinguished Fellow of Georgetown Law's Institute for Technology Law and Policy, [[Second Gentleman of the United States]], Entertainment Lawyer
* [[Heidi Li Feldman]], Professor of law
* [[Lawrence O. Gostin]], Professor of [[public health law]]
* [[Shon Hopwood]], Associate Professor, convicted bank robber turned jailhouse lawyer who represented matters before the Supreme Court
* [[Neal Katyal]], Former Acting [[Solicitor General of the United States]], Professor of national security law
* [[Marty Lederman]], Associate Professor, Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel
* [[Naomi Mezey]], Professor of law and culture
* [[Eleanor Holmes Norton]], [[Delegate (United States Congress)|Delegate]] representing Washington, DC in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]]
* [[Victoria F. Nourse]], Chief Counsel to [[Joe Biden|Vice President Joe Biden]] and principal author of the [[Violence Against Women Act]]
* [[Ladislas Orsy]], canonical theologian
* [[Gary Peller]], Prominent member of [[critical legal studies]] and [[critical race theory]] movements
* [[Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz]], former attorney-advisor at the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice
* [[Louis Michael Seidman]], Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Constitutional Law, significant proponent of the [[critical legal studies]] movement
* [[Howard Shelanski]], Former Administrator of the [[Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs]]
* [[Abbe Smith]], Criminal Defense Attorney and Director of the Criminal Defense & Prisoner Advocacy Clinic
* [[Daniel K. Tarullo]], Member of the [[Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System]]
* [[William M. Treanor]], Dean of Georgetown University Law Center, former dean of Fordham University School of Law, noted constitutional law expert
* [[Rebecca Tushnet]], Professor of copyright, trademark, intellectual property, and first amendment law, noted for her scholarship on [[fanfiction]]
* [[David Vladeck]], Former Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the [[Federal Trade Commission]]
* [[Edith Brown Weiss]], Professor of international law and former president of the [[American Society of International Law]] 
* [[Robin West]], Frederick J. Haas Professor of Law and Philosophy, proponent of feminist legal theory and the [[law and literature]] movement
* [[Can Yeğinsu]], Barrister, Deputy Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom

==Notable alumni==
{{Main|List of Georgetown University Law Center alumni}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Sources ===
* {{Cite book |last=Curran |first=Robert Emmett |title=A History of Georgetown University, From Academy to University, 1789—1889 |publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]] |year=2010a |isbn=978-1-58901-689-7 |volume=1 |location=Washington, D.C.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Curran |first=Robert Emmett |title=A History of Georgetown University: The Quest for Excellence, 1889–1964 |publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]] |year=2010b |isbn=978-1-58901-689-7 |volume=2 |location=Washington, D.C. |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Curran |first=Robert Emmett |title=A History of Georgetown University: The Rise to Prominence, 1964—1989 |publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]] |year=2010c |isbn=978-1-58901-691-0 |volume=3 |location=Washington, D.C. |language=en}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Georgetown University Law Center}}
* {{Official website|http://www.law.georgetown.edu}}

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