About the Law School

Our Mission

We strive to maintain and enhance a supportive community and a rich intellectual environment that benefits students, the profession, and society through teaching, scholarship, practice, and public service; that fosters innovation and new ideas; that promotes community, collegiality, and belonging; and that educates, supports and challenges our students in developing the knowledge, analytical and practical skills, and the professional identity necessary to excel in a diverse and dynamic world.

Our Values

Student-centered:

• We put students at the heart of what we do and respect their individual talents, accomplishments, and passions.

• We view legal education as a collaboration among all stakeholders within our school and our community.

• We enlist students to share responsibility with us in governing our institution.

Collegial and Supportive:

• We seek to attract faculty, students, and staff who are committed to the continued excellence of the law school and desire to be engaged in the life of the institution.

Open and Inclusive:

• We create and sustain a learning environment enhanced by interaction among faculty, students, and staff of diverse backgrounds, thoughts, identities, and cultural traditions. We believe that such a learning environment is necessary to provide our students with the skills and values they will need to practice law.

• We provide a rich educational environment that exposes students to new ideas and ways of thinking. We foster intellectual curiosity and fair, open debate.

Intellectually Rigorous and Practical:

• We champion excellence and innovation in the classroom and in scholarship.
• We contribute to legal knowledge and discourse by producing scholarship that enriches teaching and advances the understanding of the role of law in the pursuit of human welfare and justice.

• We believe that the development of practical skills is essential to the future success of our graduates, and we support a broad array of experiential education opportunities.

Innovative and Entrepreneurial:

• We advance our national and international leadership in multiple areas of law and practice, including in our specialty programs.

• We draw strength from Portland’s boundless spirit of experimentation and Oregon’s unique beauty.

• We value an innovative spirit throughout the law school community and embrace new endeavors related to our mission.

• We value our origin as an evening school and our commitment to providing high-quality legal education to differently situated members of our community.

Justice and Public Service:

• We serve and honor the legal profession with pro bono legal service, continuing legal education, scholarship, and meaningful participation in the legal profession and our local, regional, and international communities.

• We recognize that it is through our graduates that we most directly influence the legal profession and society and provide access to justice.
• We provide opportunities for students to engage in public interest work and contribute to ensuring a more just society.

Our Educational Objectives

Students graduating from Lewis & Clark Law School will learn doctrine, theory, values, professionalism, and practice skills that equip them to participate effectively and constructively in a dynamic legal profession.

To meet this objective, students have the opportunity to

• Achieve competency in a broad spectrum of doctrinal areas;
• Participate in the development of their individual interests and passions;
• Achieve proficiency in legal analysis and communication, including modern research skills and tools;

• Practice lawyering skills through clinics, skills-focused courses, and externships and other field placements; and

• Develop a professional identity and independent professional judgment, including an ethical and moral character.

Our Learning Outcomes

1. Graduating students understand and can apply foundational doctrinal and procedural law.
2. Graduating students are proficient in the following competencies:
   • Problem-solving skills, including critical thinking, analytical thinking, and evaluating legal rules and policies in our society;
   • Legal research, including using modern research tools and technology; and
   • Effective communication of analysis and ideas to a variety of audiences, both orally and in writing.
3. Graduating students have begun cultivating their professional identities and employing reflective practices.
4. Graduating students have begun developing cross-cultural competence and understanding their role in promoting a fair and equitable legal system.
5. Graduating students are able to render independent and informed judgments, understanding the professional and ethical responsibilities lawyers have to all stakeholders of the legal system.

Our Programs

We offer top specialty programs in several areas with the JD degree, through both part-time and full-time course loads. Certificates are available in the following areas:

• Animal law
• Business and commercial law
• Criminal law
• Environmental and natural resources law
• Energy, innovation, and sustainability law
• Federal taxation law
• International law
• Intellectual property law
• Litigation & Advocacy Skills
• Public interest law

We also offer graduate and joint degree programs:

• Joint JD/MBA degree with Portland State University
• Joint JD/LLM degree in Environmental Law
• LLM degree in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law - Online and On Campus
• Master of Studies (MSL) degree in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law - Online and On Campus
• LLM degree in Animal Law - Online and On Campus
• Master of studies in Animal Law (MSL) - Online and On Campus

Nondiscrimination Hiring Policy:

The Law School values diversity at all levels. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply for faculty and staff positions. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, religion or religious creed, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, physical or mental disability, marital status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, local law, ordinance, or regulation.