RWU Law
#Changemakers Welcome
Juris Doctor (JD)
Few degrees are more versatile than the Juris Doctor, whatever your professional interest: private practice, public interest, government, litigation, corporate, marine, educational or elsewhere.
Master of Studies in Law (MSL)
Designed especially for students who want to bring deep legal skill and know-how to their existing career focus, but not actually practice law.
Why RWU Law?
Social Justice
At RWU Law, we believe that lawyers should use their legal skills to serve their communities – and that pro bono service in law school can set the stage for a lifetime of invaluable social contributions.
Guaranteed Clinical Experience
RWU Law guarantees that every qualified student will be afforded a substantial, hands-on clinical experience. You tell us: where do you want to go? The possibilities are virtually limitless.
Affordable Tuition
Our affordable tuition makes us the best-priced ABA-accredited private law school in the Northeast. Lower tuition. Higher value. That's RWU Law.
The Only Law School In RI
As the state's one and only law school, RWU Law is able to offer you a level of access, connection and experience that few institutions can rival – helping you have an impact today, and make a difference now ...
Facts at a Glance
- #1Faculty Accessibility
Data from the Princeton Review places RWU Law among the best student reviewed faculties in the United States.
- Innovation Leader
RWU Law is one of just a handful of law schools to add a 3-credit required course on race in its curriculum, and is leading other schools in integrating diversity into classroom teaching with co-authorship of a book on the subject with a webinar series
- 2Campuses
Our Bristol seaside campus provides the backdrop for your legal education. Our Providence experiential campus gives you the experience you seek in your third year.
- AFFORDABILITY
We're the most affordable private, ABA law school in the entire Northeast region.
- 60,100Hours of Community Service
Our 2022 graduates provided a combined total of 60,100 hours of community service equivalent to an estimated value of $1.8M
- #Changemaker Stories
With extensive pro bono clinic experiences, RWU Law students start being changemakers in school. Our alumni go out into the world armed with the education and experience to contribute meaningful changes within their spheres of influence.
Bringing Election Law to Students
Maureen Wagner Vinson, RWU Law Class of 2010 Juris DoctorAwareness of voting and election laws has increased with the rise of election-related litigation over the last few years, but RWU Law alum Maureen Wagner Vinson L'10, has been directly involved with these issues since much earlier in her career. She credits the school with upholding its commitment to diversity of opinion and civil discourse, stating that many faculty members “were always happy to debate or serve on a panel with Federalist Society speakers.”
Read full storyFeatured News
The Powerful Combination of Representation and Advocacy
Filiaggi didn't have any clue that a legal career was in his future while he was studying Marine Affairs as an undergraduate at the University of Rhode Island. His experience included an impactful semester away with the Williams-Mystic Coastal and Ocean Studies Program. Weighing his future options during the pandemic, Filiaggi realized he could still dedicate his career to protecting the natural environment by pivoting to become a lawyer.
Supporting Rhode Island's Aquaculture
Aquaculture is crucial for the state, but when it comes to navigating legal matters, many in the sector are left without help. At RWU Law, the Marine Affairs Institute has made it part of its mission to change this.
Transforming Adversity into Advocacy
Growing up in a neighborhood in Denver marked by socioeconomic disparities and systemic injustices, 3L Samantha Lobato witnessed the legal system's profound power on the country’s most vulnerable communities. It was this experience that drove Lobato to pursue a legal career, one that she plans on dedicating to serving low-income and marginalized communities.
No Outsiders in RWU Law Professor’s Classroom
As a law professor, Varyani realized that a lack of representation in legal textbooks reflects disparities in who has access to the courts, particularly the appellate courts that make the written decisions that appear in law books. With a new book on systemic racism in property law, Varyani tackles the problem and helps other professors do the same.
Mandell-Boisclair Justice Camp Prepares Young Scholars to Become Future Lawyers, Social Justice Advocates
RWU Law’s inaugural law camp brought middle school students to our Providence campus to dive deep into the American judicial and legal system.
Upcoming Events
- ThuNov14
Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Newsmaker Reception
- Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick | 801 Greenwich Ave | Warwick, Rhode Island - FriNov15
- MonNov18
Unraveling Equity: The Effects of Anti-DEI Legislation on Academic Law Library Workers
- RWU Law | Zoom Webinar Program
Institutes and Programs
Feinstein Center for Pro Bono and Experiential Education
This center connects students and faculty with community organizations to provide pro bono legal services to those in need and to help students to gain valuable practical legal experience.
Marine Affairs Institute
The Marine Affairs Institute prepares law students to enter the exciting field of ocean and coastal law and policy by providing them with strong academic credentials and practical experiences that help them be practice-ready upon graduation.
Institute for Race and the Law
The innovative Institute for Race and the Law aims to transform the landscape of legal education, drive justice reform through legal scholarship, and address root causes of systemic inequality.