Stanford
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Stanford Law School
History:
Stanford began offering a curriculum in legal studies in 1893, when the university engaged its first two law professors. One was Benjamin Harrison, former President of the United States, who delivered a landmark series of lectures on the Constitution. The other was Nathan Abbott, who served as head of the nascent law program. Abbott assembled a small faculty to which he imparted a standard of rigor and excellence that endures to this day. In his honor, the student with the highest academic standing in each year's graduating class is designated the Nathan Abbott Scholar.
Stanford's law program was officially transformed into a professional school in 1916. The Department moved from its office in Encina Hall, the men's dormitory, to the Inner Quad, and for the first time offered a three-year professional law course. The curriculum and the library were rapidly expanding, and the law faculty began extending its presence in the university by giving a series of lectures on medical jurisprudence at the request of the medical faculty. The law department also graduated its first minority student (Walter Fong, 1896, the first Chinese - American student graduate of Stanford, who minored in law and became a member of a San Francisco law firm) and one of its first women, (Di Margaret Gardiner, a 1908 graduate of the department, who became a deputy city prosecutor in Los Angeles).
World War I and the Great Depression seriously disrupted the work of the law school, as did World War II. Enrollment dropped sharply, and at the end of 1943, only 30 students were in attendance. The law school nonetheless adhered to its high academic standards, recognizing as early as 1940 that academic content would need to grow to reflect national developments. As it became clear that government would play a greater role in the regulation of private affairs, administrative law, taxation, trade regulation, labor law, and related subjects became part of the curriculum.
Many things have changed at the law school since its founding in 1893. Originally, students were drawn mainly from California; today they come from every region of the United States and several foreign countries. Admission was not competitive in 1893; in 2005, more than 4500 students applied for the 170 places in the entering class. In 1893, only a handful of courses were offered; today, students can choose from among more than 175 courses in the law school alone, with many others available in other parts of the university. Despite these differences, Stanford Law School's basic mission has not changed since Nathan Abbott's day: dedication to the highest standards of excellence in legal scholarship and to the training of lawyers equipped diligently, imaginatively, and honorably to serve their clients and the public; to lead our profession; and to help solve the problems of our nation and our world.
Stanford began offering a curriculum in legal studies in 1893, when the university engaged its first two law professors. One was Benjamin Harrison, former President of the United States, who delivered a landmark series of lectures on the Constitution. The other was Nathan Abbott, who served as head of the nascent law program. Abbott assembled a small faculty to which he imparted a standard of rigor and excellence that endures to this day. In his honor, the student with the highest academic standing in each year's graduating class is designated the Nathan Abbott Scholar.
Stanford's law program was officially transformed into a professional school in 1916. The Department moved from its office in Encina Hall, the men's dormitory, to the Inner Quad, and for the first time offered a three-year professional law course. The curriculum and the library were rapidly expanding, and the law faculty began extending its presence in the university by giving a series of lectures on medical jurisprudence at the request of the medical faculty. The law department also graduated its first minority student (Walter Fong, 1896, the first Chinese - American student graduate of Stanford, who minored in law and became a member of a San Francisco law firm) and one of its first women, (Di Margaret Gardiner, a 1908 graduate of the department, who became a deputy city prosecutor in Los Angeles).
World War I and the Great Depression seriously disrupted the work of the law school, as did World War II. Enrollment dropped sharply, and at the end of 1943, only 30 students were in attendance. The law school nonetheless adhered to its high academic standards, recognizing as early as 1940 that academic content would need to grow to reflect national developments. As it became clear that government would play a greater role in the regulation of private affairs, administrative law, taxation, trade regulation, labor law, and related subjects became part of the curriculum.
Many things have changed at the law school since its founding in 1893. Originally, students were drawn mainly from California; today they come from every region of the United States and several foreign countries. Admission was not competitive in 1893; in 2005, more than 4500 students applied for the 170 places in the entering class. In 1893, only a handful of courses were offered; today, students can choose from among more than 175 courses in the law school alone, with many others available in other parts of the university. Despite these differences, Stanford Law School's basic mission has not changed since Nathan Abbott's day: dedication to the highest standards of excellence in legal scholarship and to the training of lawyers equipped diligently, imaginatively, and honorably to serve their clients and the public; to lead our profession; and to help solve the problems of our nation and our world.