International and employment law programs, along with facilities, rated highly by preLaw Magazine
Seattle University School of Law has been named a top school for international law and for employment law by The National Jurist’s preLaw Magazine in its just-published Winter 2024 issue. Sullivan Hall, the law school’s home for nearly 25 years, was also included in the issue’s cover feature on “Best Law School Buildings.”
“This is welcome recognition and further validation that our law school provides exceptional legal education in a wide range of legal disciplines,” said Dean Anthony E. Varona. “With outstanding faculty, innovative curricula, and first-rate facilities we equip our students with the education, knowledge, and skills necessary to become leaders in employment law, in international law, and many other areas.”
The publication gave the international law program an A grade, in part due to the emphasis the law school has placed recently on this area. This focus helped the law school welcome the largest number of international students ever to campus this past fall, with 19 students enrolled in the LLM program from 11 different countries, including Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, China, Gambia, Germany, India, Kenya, Mexico, Ukraine, and Venezuela. Upon completion of the program, these students will become eligible to sit for licensing exams in many U.S. states.
Seattle U Law has forged partnerships with several higher education institutions in India – including O.P. Jindal Global University – to establish LLM program pathways, exchange programs, guaranteed scholarships for students, joint degree programs, and more.
The law school also offers an International Human Rights Clinic, where students work on a variety of important cases around the world, and a Germany Exchange Program, where students can study international and business law at Hamburg’s Bucerius Law School for a semester. Additionally, students have ample opportunities to complete externships and internships overseas.
Recently, the law school launched a new, highly competitive Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degree, designed for students who have already earned JD degrees and who wish to pursue a research-focused, Ph.D.-level scholarly degree.
“Located in the heart of a global city, Seattle University School of Law’s international law program draws lawyers, judges, and professors from around the world,” said Professor Sital Kalantry, associate dean of Graduate and International Programs. “Our recognition by National Jurist reflects our strong faculty as well as the numerous exchange and externship opportunities.”
The law school’s employment law program received a grade of A-. In addition to many employment law courses, Seattle U Law offers a nationally renowned Workers’ Rights Clinic, where clinic students partner with community organizations and government enforcement agencies to provide access to justice for workers and vulnerable businesses and critical technical expertise to policymakers. Students leverage their understanding of workplace law developed in the classroom to solve real-world problems carefully and thoughtfully for clients.
“I am so proud of the work that we are doing here to amplify the importance of work law, including regulation governing the individual relationship between workers and employers and the law of collective rights in the workplace,” said Assistant Professor Elizabeth Ford, who leads the Workers’ Rights Clinic. “Laws such as the $15 minimum wage, minimum pay requirements for rideshare drivers, and government-facilitated sectoral bargaining between domestic workers and hiring entities make Seattle a national center for the future of work law.”
Sullivan Hall, the law school’s home for nearly 25 years, received an overall grade of A-, with the aesthetics receiving a score of 4.25 on a scale of 1 to 5. It was included in a list of prestigious institutions such as Notre Dame Law School and Georgetown Law School.
“This is confirmation that the home of our law school remains a beautiful, highly functional, flexible, and world-class legal education facility that will continue to serve the law school community well for many years to come,” Varona said.