Programs & Initiatives

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
The School of Law celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of activities to highlight his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.

Diversity Symposium Dinner 
This annual event brings together Rhode Island attorneys and judges with high school, college, and law students to discuss issues of interest to members of populations traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession and the justice system.

Street Law Program
Street Law is practical, participatory education about law, democracy, and human rights where Roger Williams Law students teach in local inner-city high schools.

Thurgood Marshall Lecture Series
The Thurgood Marshall Lecture Series is held biennially and is sponsored by the School of Law, a local law firm and the Marshall family.

Pre-Orientation Program for BIPOC and First-Generation Students
In August 2022, RWU Law will host a pre-orientation program designed to acclimate first generation and BIPOC students to our law school community.  More details to follow in spring 2022.

Latino Policy Institute
Housed at Roger Williams, the Latino Policy Institute is an independent research organization committed to generating and communicating non-partisan data of Latinos in Rhode Island. The LPI stimulates public policy discourse and enhances the public’s understanding of the Rhode Island Latino experience. With this information, Latinos’ social, economic and civic contributions to the state can be better documented and understood.

Immigration Clinic
This clinical program provides students with hands-on opportunities to represent immigrant clients.  Students enrolled in the immigration clinic represent noncitizens in their applications for relief from removal before the Immigration Court in Boston. 

Visit DiscoverLaw.org to Learn More 

 

Close Course Type Descriptions

Course Types

We have classified RWU Law classes under the following headers. One of the following course types will be attached to each course which will allow students to narrow down their search while looking for classes.

Core Course

Students in the first and second year are required to take classes covering the following aspects of the law—contracts, torts, property, criminal law, civil procedure, and constitutional law, evidence, and professional responsibility.  Along with these aspects, the core curriculum will develop legal reasoning skills.

Elective

After finishing the core curriculum the remaining coursework toward the degree is completed through upper level elective courses.  Students can choose courses that peak their interests or courses that go along with the track they are following.

Seminar

Seminars are classes where teachers and small groups of students focus on a specific topic and the students complete a substantial research paper.

Clinics/Externships

Inhouse Clinics and Clinical Externships legal education is law school training in which students participate in client representation under the supervision of a practicing attorney or law professor.  RWU Law's Clinical Programs offer unique and effective learning opportunities and the opportunity for practical experience while still in law school.