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The Law School at Lewis and Clark College was started in 1884 as a night school that didn’t require a bachelor’s degree for admission.  Forty-Five years ago it merged with Lewis and Clark College.

The Law School offers specialty programs in several areas with the JD degree, through both part-time and full-time course loads. Certificates are available in:

  • 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
  • Public interest law.

The school also offers the option of a combined MBA/JD degree, an LLM in Environmental Law, and a master’s degree for non-lawyers.  Additionally, it has the largest Animal Law program in the world.  The International Environmental Law Project at Lewis and Clark Law School is the only one of its kind and represented the interests of island nations at the Paris Climate Accord.

Students participate in various “externships” where they gain practical experience by providing pro bono legal work for those who can’t afford to hire an attorney.  Last year, 150 law students provided 10,000 hours of assistance in nine legal clinics, including a Small Business Legal Clinic that served some 300 clients.  The school also hosts a Low-income Taxpayer Clinic that served 80 clients last year.

Dean Johnson noted that there are too many law schools in the U.S.  She commented that “students who attend Lewis and Clark Law School want to stay in Portland.”  As a result, there are nearly 30 attorneys for every 100 people in Oregon.

Jennifer Johnson received her undergraduate degree from Mill College and her JD from Yale Law School.  She clerked for Judge Alfred Goodwin of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.  She has taught classes in business associations, property law and securities regulation.   Prior to joining the faculty in 1980, she worked with a private Portland law firm, specializing in real estate finance and land use.