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College of Law Alumni

Since its founding in 1883, Willamette University College of Law has educated more than 6,000 individuals who have gone on to do great work in their professions and in their communities.

Among our distinguished alumni are several federal judges and state Supreme Court justices, U.S. Senators and Representatives, state governors, and heads of Fortune 500 companies. We also count among our alumni countless directors of nonprofits, members of the clergy, teachers, social workers, small business owners and restaurateurs.

But perhaps more importantly, Willamette has produced some of the finest attorneys who work in the field each day — individuals who help members of their communities navigate difficult divorces, set up estate plans, or get new business ventures off the ground; as well as attorneys who prosecute crimes and represent the accused — all to ensure justice is served.

We are proud of our graduates and all they have accomplished in their time since they walked the halls of Willamette University College of Law.

Bar Admissions Information

If you are planning to take the bar exam, learn more about the bar association, bar reciprocity and more.

  • 1913

    First Representative

    Promoted to private secretary for Oregon Gov. Oswald West, Fern Hobbs was the first woman in the state to receive such an appointment. She stood for women’s equality and had a passion for helping others.

  • 1898

    First Law Graduate

    When law schools mostly admitted men, Olive England was Willamette’s first female law graduate and among the first in the nation to hold that honor. She was a suffragette and fought alongside Abigail Duniway who wrote and signed the equal suffrage proclamation in Oregon.

  • 2001

    First Latino Oregon Supreme Court Justice

    Honorable Paul J. De Muniz JD '75 was the first Latino Supreme Court justice in the state of Oregon. He was unanimously elected to serve as the Chief Justice of the court by his fellow justices.

  • 1976

    Female political pioneer

    Trailblazer Norma Paulus advanced women's rights, education and environmental protection. In 1976, she became Oregon's first female secretary of state.

  • 2001

    A more inclusive court

    In 2017, Steven Powers JD ’01 became the first Filipino American on the Oregon Court of Appeals, one of the nation’s busiest intermediate courts.

Willamette University

Alumni Engagement

Address
College of Law
245 Winter Street SE
Salem Oregon 97301 U.S.A.
Phone
(503) 370-6992