Willamette University College of Law - History

History

In July 1866, Willamette University's trustees formed a committee to explore the possibility of a legal department. At that time, legal education was traditionally taught as an apprenticeship in which those wishing to be lawyers would study under an existing attorney for several years before being allowed to pass the bar. Although the school did not begin a legal department in 1866, Willamette did confer a Doctor of Laws degree on Matthew P. Deady, who would later help establish the University of Oregon School of Law, Oregon’s second law school.

The College of Law was founded in 1883, and is the oldest law school in the Pacific Northwest. In April 1884, the Board of Trustees officially approved the new legal department; tuition for the two-year course was $50 per year. William Marion Ramsey served as the school's first dean. He was dean from 1883 until 1888, and led a faculty of three. The three professors were George H. Burnett, who taught contracts, commercial law, and torts; J. T. Gregg, who taught evidence and common law; and William H. Holmes, who was the instructor for admiralty and criminal law.

The school's first entering class had three students; with Charles A. Packenham as the first graduate in 1886. In addition to being the oldest law school in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, Willamette College of Law was the 75th law school founded in the United States, and is the second oldest in the Western U.S., behind Hastings College of Law in California. From its founding until 1923, the law school was located in Waller Hall.

During the early years of the law school, enrollment fluctuated from as many as 17 graduates in 1898 to as few as zero graduates in 1903 and 1905. Dean Ramsey resigned in 1888 and was replaced by George G. Bingham, who served until 1891 when replaced by his pupil Samuel T. Richardson. Women were allowed to enroll beginning in 1892; in 1898, the first women, Olive S. England and Gabrielle Clark, graduated. The third female graduate, in 1899, was Anna Carson, who was part of the Carson legal family of Salem that includes Wallace P. Carson (1923 graduate) a state legislator and Wallace P. Carson, Jr. (1962 graduate) a state legislator and longtime chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court.

In 1902, Dean Richardson left the school and was replaced by John W. Reynolds who served until 1907. In 1908, Charles L. McNary was appointed dean, serving until 1913, when Willamette selected future Oregon Attorney General Isaac Homer Van Winkle. Van Winkle was an alumnus of both Willamette and the law school, serving as dean until 1927.

From 1923 until 1938, the school was located in Eaton Hall. Roy R. Hewitt was dean from 1927 to 1932, followed by Roy Lockenour, who served until 1939. Willamette University College of Law was first accredited by the American Bar Association in 1938, and in 1946 it became a member of the Association of American Law Schools. In 1938 the school moved to Gatke Hall, a former United States Post Office. The law school was housed there until 1967.

During this time deans of the law school included George M. McLeod (1940–1942), Ray L. Smith (1942–1946), and Seward P. Reese (1946–1968). During World War II, enrollment declined to only five graduates between 1943 to 1945, and classes were moved to the undergraduate library as the United States Navy used the Gatke Hall. In 1946, enrollment rebounded with a total of 92 students, the largest student body of the law school up to that date.

After 1952, Willamette’s law school received a large Lady Justice statue when the Marion County Courthouse was demolished to make way for a new one. In 1959, the school started a law review, while enrollment increased to 185 by the mid-1960s. Because of the increased enrollment, the College of Law Foundation was created by the university's trustees in 1959 to explore the construction of a new facility. Willamette switched to the awarding of the Juris Doctor from the bachelor of laws, phased in beginning in 1965.

In 1967, a new $1.1 million facility, the Truman Wesley Collins Legal Center, opened in September. The College of Law moved across campus to the Collins Legal Center along with Lady Justice, a 12-foot (3.7 m)-tall, 300-pound (140 kg) statue, which was formerly located on the roof of the Marion County Courthouse. In 1968, Arthur B. Custy became dean and served until 1971, during which time the admissions standards changed at Willamette to require a bachelor's degree and taking the Law School Admission Test. Later deans of the school include Larry K. Harvey (1971–1977) and Leroy Tornquist (1979–1987).

In 1984 the law school established the Center for Dispute Resolution, an alternative dispute resolution program. In 1992, the Collins Legal Center went through an award-winning renovation and expansion that ended with a dedication ceremony with a speech by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. In her dedication speech, O'Connor advocated for civility among those in the legal profession and for avoiding personal attacks among lawyers. In December 2005, the school's moot courtroom was used for a real civil trial after the Marion County Courthouse was damaged the previous month.

Deans of the school in recent years include David R. Kenagy (1994–1996 interim), Robert M. Ackerman (1996–1999), and Symeon Symeonides (1999 to 2011). In 2008, the school opened the Oregon Civic Justice Center to house programs including the Oregon Law Commission, the Center for Dispute Resolution, the Clinical Law Program, Center for Law and Government, and the Willamette Law Review. The dedication ceremony featured U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and was part of the school's celebration of their 125th anniversary. Willamette admitted part-time students for the first time for Fall 2012, and added a joint degree program with Oregon State University.