Your 2L Year

As a result of our third-year curricular reform, each year of study now has a distinct and defined purpose at W&L Law. Just as the first year lays the foundation upon which the remainder of your legal education will build, the second year at Washington and Lee requires students to engage in an even more advanced and challenging course of legal study and identify and pursue their own interests in particular areas of the law through the scheduling of electives. Washington and Lee is very much a "liberal arts" approach to legal education and at no point during your three years at the law school will you be expected to pick a track, specialization or commit to the intensive study of only one area of the law.

The Next Step

There are just two courses you must complete during your second year of study at W&L Law: Constitutional Law and Evidence. The remainder of the second year is comprised of electives, at least one that requires research and writing and many of which set the foundation for the third year. Washington and Lee School of Law offers a vast array of electives, and this wide selection gives you considerable freedom in structuring your program of study for the second year. The range of courses and special research seminars open to second-year students is regarded as remarkable for a law school the size of W&L's. Click here to read more about our upper-level elective offerings.

Get Involved

While most of our students do not work during the school year, they are extremely busy. During your second year, you may choose to join one of our four journals, participate in one of five internal Moot Court competitions open to second- and third-year students, or even hold a leadership position in one of our over forty student organizations.

Many other students choose to get involved with the administration of Washington and Lee's nearly 150-year-old Honor System as Honor Advocates or Executive Committee members. The Honor System is student-run and Honor Advocates play an integral part in the adjudication process. Specifically, they assist students accused of an honor or conduct violation in preparing and presenting their cases to the Executive Committee, Student-Faculty Hearing Board or the Student Judicial Council. They also provide information to accused individuals about additional on-campus resources available to accused students.

At W&L, involvement is the expectation not the exception. You will know most if not all of your classmates and they will know you. Both inside and outside the classroom, you will have a multitude of opportunities to cultivate the interpersonal skills essential for the effective practice of law. You will be invested in the academic and extracurricular life of the law school, and you will help shape and inform its distinctive culture. If you are looking to make an impact, Washington and Lee is a school where you can certainly do so.

Continue to your 3L year at W&L Law...