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Women and the Law Program

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Teaching Gender and Law

The Washington College of Law’s students come first at the Women and the Law Program. Behind the scenes, we work with the Office of Academic Affairs and the LLM programs to create the most vibrant and extensive gender and law curriculum offered anywhere.  Most schools boast one or two specialized classes in gender and law.  We offer between twelve to fifteen classes each year, geared toward preparing students to take on the most pressing legal barriers to gender equality.  Students in our JD program can take gender-related courses as electives, while LLM students can choose to specialize in Gender and Law or take electives to round out another area of interest. 

The Women and the Law Program helps to identify adjunct and full-time instructors, develops a comprehensive and balanced curriculum, and constantly adjusts what we teach to meet the needs of our students and legal employers.  In most years, the Washington College of Law offers courses covering domestic violence, comparative family law, human trafficking, women’s human rights, sexuality and the law, sexual and gender-based crimes committed in conflict, special victims, and comparative approaches to women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights around the world.  We also support a Women and the Law clinic, focused on serving the legal needs of low-income women in our DC community.

At the Women and the Law Program, important learning also takes place outside the classroom.  We bring in guest speakers to spark interest in current events related to gender and law, such as important cases in front of the Supreme Court or an international tribunal.  We host career events, such as networking or resume reviews, to support students looking for careers in gender and law.  We mentor students individually, hosting office hours and advising sessions to plot career paths.  Finally, we involve our students in projects and activities that take us outside of the walls of our campus and out into the world, learning through experience. 

At the same time, we support the integration of gender into legal curriculums worldwide.  From India to Latin America, we have developed casebooks, created model syllabi, and brainstormed with law teachers on the best way to transform their own systems of legal education to meet the needs of their communities.