Uncommonly Good

What makes our students and graduates uncommonly good?

Top credentials.

Our students’ credentials rank us in the top quartile of all ABA accredited law schools in the country; the 2010 entering class median GPA was 3.48; the median LSAT score was 162.  Many of our students have advanced degrees, including those in engineering, science and the social sciences.  The school has achieved national recognition for our first-in-the-country, consistently top-ranked Environmental and Natural Resources Program (winner of the 2001 ABA Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law & Policy Award), our highly ranked legal research and writing program, and our Small and Emerging Business Law Program, the only one of its kind in the country.

Racial, ethnic, and geographic diversity.

The 700-plus students attending Lewis & Clark Law School represent a wide spectrum of experiences, ages, lifestyles, cultures and races; 24% are minorities.  Over 70% of our students come from outside the state; 41 states and 149 undergraduate colleges are represented.  Nearly 26% of our students are enrolled in the evening program.  The school is increasingly enrolling international students, and in the past few years has welcomed students from England, France, Russia, Canada, Korea, Japan, China, India, Pakistan, Peru, and elsewhere.

Leading employers hire from Lewis & Clark.

Our students and alumni annually compete with those from other top law schools for jobs in major law firms, corporations, government agencies, and public interest groups.  Recent hires include:

Government: Honors Attorney Programs: US EPA, US DOJ, SEC, IRS.

Law Firms & Private Corporations: Orrick, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Jones Day, Hunton & Williams, Hale & Dorr, Vinson & Elkins, Troutman Sanders, Stoel Rives, Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt, Davis Wright Tremaine, Miller Nash, Tonkon Torp, Perkins Coie, Klarquist Sparkman, Lane Powell, K&L Gates, Caterpillar, Intel, SEH America, Geron Corp., Tektronix.

Public Interest: Legal Services Corporation Offices nationwide, Center for International Environmental Law, Southern Environmental Law Center, Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, Humane Society of the United States, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife.

Judicial Clerks: Lewis & Clark consistently produces a high percentage of judicial clerks from its graduating classes; 12.4% of the class of 2010 entered judicial clerkships.

An active, engaged student body.

From the Law School’s earliest days, student participation and initiative has been encouraged shaping the curriculum, activities, and services of our school.  Student groups raise funds for summer public interest stipends, educate students on issues and areas of law, perform community service, oversee pro bono projects, and provide students with the skills to be tomorrow’s leaders.

The law school hosts a diverse collection of active student groups.

Academics, practical skills, and law journals.

With programs focusing on Environmental and Natural Resources, Business, Intellectual Property, Tax, Criminal, Indian, Public Interest, International, and Animal law, our students and alumni receive a unique breadth and depth of academic opportunity.  Beyond the classroom, students learn the skills of practicing law through Clinics and Practical Skills courses, and our Law Reviews give students the chance to explore legal writing and scholarship.

How we grade our students.

First, there is no grade inflation at Lewis & Clark Law School, despite the fact that the credentials of our entering students (LSAT scores and GPA) place them in the top quartile of all entering law school classes in the country.  The maximum grade average is 3.0 for all first year classes and for all upper division classes with enrollment exceeding 20 students.  Students are graded on a scale as follows:

Excellent:

• A + = 4.3
• A   =  4.0
• A - =  3.7

Good:

• B + =  3.3
• B    =  3.0
• B - =  2.7

Satisfactory:

• C + =  2.3
• C   =  2.0
• C - =  1.7

Unsatisfactory:

• D + = 1.3
• D   =  1.0
• D - =  0.7

Failing:

• F   =  0.5 unless otherwise designated by professor.

Honors: 

The granting of honors will be done on the basis of final cumulative grade point average at the time of graduation.  The grade point averages necessary to receive honors are as follows:

• 3.85 and above:  Summa Cum Laude
• 3.65 to 3.84:   Magna Cum Laude
• 3.30 to 3.64:  Cum Laude

Class Rank:

Spring 2004, student ranking at Lewis & Clark Law School was redefined.  Both day and evening students are in the same class based on the level of completion of the JD program.  The levels are 1L, students who started the JD program effective fall of the academic year; 2L, students who are not 1L or 3L, and 3L students who will be graduating during the current academic year and are completing their degrees.  For the purpose of class level identification, the academic year begins fall semester each year.

All students are ranked each semester in the class level that applies to them, except for first year students who are not ranked in fall semester their first year.  The class ranking is done approximately 20 days after the semester grades have been finalized.

Students in the top 25% of each class level will be individually ranked based on the cumulative g.p.a.

Each semester a data sheet is published showing what g.p.a. qualifies a student to be in the top 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 33-1/3 %, and 50% of class level.  The data sheet shows these levels for both the cumulative g.p.a. and the yearly g.p.a.

Class rank does not appear on student transcripts, but is maintained by the Registrar and is provided to the student or to third parties only at the written request of the student.

For the current data sheet, please see Class Rank Information on the Law School Registrar’s webpage.

Scholar List: 

Upper division students whose cumulative GPA is 3.20 or greater on at least 9 graded credit hours qualify for the Scholar List.

Ungraded Courses: 

The Law School also uses grades that have no grade points assigned.  These grades are not used when figuring the semester, yearly or cumulative average of each student:

• CR = Credit earned.
• NC = No credit earned
• YL = First half of year-long course.  The credit & grade will appear on the transcript for the final semester of the course and will apply to the total number of hours for which the course is offered.
• XT = Extended grading.  Indicates a student is registered for and working on a course in one semester but is not required to complete the course and have a grade entered until a subsequent semester.  (i.e., externships and graduate environmental theses)
• INC = Course work not completed.