Artist's rendering of the Seattle University School of Law Annex.

Growing law school starts expansion to better serve students

An expansion at Seattle University School of Law will provide a new home for the law school’s thriving clinical and externship programs and needed classrooms and offices. The Law School Annex, at 1215 E. Columbia St., also will have a multipurpose room for law school events and a larger space for student publications.

The space, which is less than a block from Sullivan Hall, has been used as a facilities warehouse. It will be transformed into a state-of-the-art academic building in the coming months. Construction began Sept. 1, and is scheduled for completion in May.

“This university is all about transformation,” Interim Dean Annette Clark said. “We are transforming this space, our students’ lives and legal education. This is a commitment to educating our students in the complex art and ethos of the law."

With new programs and additional faculty, the School of Law has outgrown Sullivan Hall, which opened 10 years ago and has already been remodeled. The $10 million annex remodel will add more than 20,300 square feet to the law school.

The Ronald A. Peterson Law Clinic provides students the opportunity to work on real cases through a variety of clinics, including Youth Advocacy Clinic, Immigration Clinic, International Human Rights and Domestic Violence Clinic. The Externship Program allows students to work in judicial chambers or other practice settings to gain invaluable work experience before graduation.

The annex will have four new classrooms and workspace for the Seattle University Law Review and the Seattle Journal for Social Justice.

“This is a sign of the way legal education is changing and being delivered in a new way,” University President Steve Sundborg, S.J., said. “It’s a sign of the growing status and reputation of this law school.”

Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects designed the building, and Sellen Construction is the contractor.

Check out photos of the work being done and construction updates.