| Date |
Event |
| 1848 |
Law Department authorized in University charter |
| 1868 |
Law Department opens with the admission of 15 students for a one year course of study (12 graduated) Classes held in State Capitol |
| 1875 |
First African-American student, William Noland, enrolled |
| 1885 |
First female graduate, Belle Case La Follette |
| 1889 |
Law Department becomes the College of Law and a second year added to the curriculum |
| 1892 |
First African-American graduate, William Green |
| 1893 |
First Law Building opens on Bascom Hill |
| 1895 |
Third year added to curriculum |
| 1896 |
Entrance requirements increased to coincide with those for undergraduates |
| 1900 |
Law School becomes a Charter Member of the Association of American Law Schools |
| 1903 |
Dean Harry S. Richards becomes Dean |
| 1904 |
First Native American student, T. L. St. Germain, enrolled |
| 1905 |
Entrance requirements increased to require completion of at least one year of college |
| 1907 |
Prof. Eugene Gilmore drafts the Public Utilities Bill for the Wisconsin Legislature. School requires two years of college for entrance |
| 1908 |
Order of Coif chapter established |
| 1909 |
College of Law becomes the Law School |
| 1911 |
Prof. Oliver Rundell undertakes a study of the administration of criminal justice, one of the first "law in action" studies |
| 1920 |
Wisconsin Law Review established. First Native American graduate: E. Ward Winton |
| 1920s |
Six months practice experience required for graduation |
| 1922 |
Prof. William Rice offers one of the first labor law courses in the country |
| 1928 |
Prof. Ray Brown completes a groundbreaking study of the problems of Native Americans |
| 1929 |
Three years of college now required for admission to Law School. |
| 1930s |
"Law and Society" courses appear, evidence of the School's interpretation of the Wisconsin Idea |
| 1930s |
Law faculty and economics faculty cooperate to create the first workers’ compensation system in the nation |
| 1930s |
Prof. J. Willard Hurst begins research and teaching in Legal History |
| 1930 |
Law School takes over the Legal Aid Society from the Dane County Bar Association |
| 1932 |
Dean Lloyd Garrison arrives, grandson of William Lloyd Garrison, the abolitionist |
| 1933 |
Wisconsin Law Alumni Association formed |
| 1939 |
"Old" Library wing added to the original Law building |
| 1942 |
John Steuart Curry, UW Artist-in-Residence, paints the mural "Freeing of the Slaves," now located in the Quarles & Brady Reading Room |
| 1950 |
Prof. Charles Bunn is principal draftsperson of the Uniform Commercial Code, eventually adopted by all states |
| 1950s |
Continuing Legal Education in Wisconsin established to provide continued instruction to the practicing bar |
| 1960s |
Prof. Jacob Beuscher conducts his groundbreaking research and legislative drafting in the area of water law and land-use in small Wisconsin communities |
| 1962 |
Gargoyle survives demolition of original law building and is elevated to icon status by Dean George Young |
| 1963 |
Second law building completed on Bascom Hill |
| 1967 |
Legal Education Opportunities Program (LEO) is established to enhance diversity in the legal profession |
| 1968 |
Prof. Stuart Gullickson arrives to direct the General Practice Course, successor to the Summer Problems Course. Course becomes a principal method of teaching students the practical skills necessary for careers in law |
| 1969 |
Law faculty serves on the "Committee of 30," serving as fact-finders during the student unrest of the period |
| 1970s |
William H. Hastie Fellowship program established to encourage minority lawyers to earn advanced degrees to become law professors |
| 1970s |
Clinical legal education blossoms: clinics evolve from ad hoc arrangements to formal programs, often connected to specific academic courses, with full-time supervising lawyers |
| 1978 |
Modest addition to the Law Library |
| 1980s |
Institute for Legal Studies (research) and East Asian Legal Studies Center (international law) come to fruition |
| 1994 |
Construction begins on $16.5 million addition and remodeling project. Completed in the fall of 1996, wins award for design from the American Institute of Architects, Wisconsin Chapter |
| 1997 |
Dean Kenneth B. Davis, Jr. becomes the 12th Dean of the Law School |
| 2000 |
First Hispanic female professor, Pilar Ossorio |
| 2011 |
Dean Margaret Raymond becomes the 13th Dean of the Law School and the first female to hold the position |
| 2020 |
Dean Daniel Tokaji becomes the 14th Dean of the Law School |
