Lewis & Clark Law School Welcomes 2020 1L Class

Lewis & Clark Law School welcomed a strong and diverse 1L class to campus this fall, in the socially distant outdoor seating within our amphitheater.

“We worked very hard to bring our first-year students to an in-person fall orientation so they could make connections with their peers that will help them throughout their law school journey,” said Dean Jennifer Johnson. The entering students were divided into five pods to accommodate health and safety precautions during the pandemic. Each pod had its own 90 minute in-person orientation on August 14^th, with additional information sessions held virtually throughout the week. The orientation was also recorded and available online for those students who were unable to attend their pod’s in-person session.

Of the 188 incoming students, 26 are part-time students and 162 are full-time. This is the most diverse class the law school has had in the past five years with 27.4% of the students self-identifying as a student of color and 59% of the class identifying as female.

The incoming class is also geographically diverse. Students are attending from 31 different states and provinces with 49% of the class coming from outside Oregon. Several students were born or grew up in countries outside the United States including: China, Colombia, Latvia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Taiwan, Netherlands, and Thailand.

The students attended 103 different colleges and universities and have over 50 unique majors including: International Business, Film Production, Nursing, Electrical Engineering, and Biochemistry. Three students have served in the military and 23 students have advanced degrees, including two students who have PhDs. The class also has strong second language skills. They speak Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Latvian, Farsi, Punjabi, Japanese, French, Urdu, and German.

Our 1L students started their first law school class, Legal Methods, on Monday, August 17^th. Classes for upper division students begin on August 31^st, with both in-person and online classes available.