School of Law

The updated Law Café in Anheuser-Busch Hall has opened for business. The renovated space, operated by Bon Appétit, is the only dining area on campus to feature Salad By Design and one of only two locations with a carvery. The Law Café also features pizza, soups, grab-and-go items, pastries and Kaldi’s coffee and espresso drinks.

Steven Legomsky staunchly defends the legality of DACA and of the similar initiatives that the President Barack Obama is reportedly considering.

As the St. Louis community grapples with recent events in the nearby suburb of Ferguson, Mo., a number of Washington University in St. Louis faculty members are offering their expertise, commentary and insight in hopes of promoting constructive dialogue on a number of challenging issues.​​

At recent Board of Trustees meetings, several faculty members were appointed with tenure, promoted with tenure or reinstated with tenure.

The United States has the highest corporate income tax rate in the developed world. As a result, many U.S. companies are turning to tax inversions — reincorporating overseas by getting acquired by a smaller company in a country where the corporate tax rate is lower. Adam Rosenzweig, JD, professor of law and expert on international tax, examines why inversions are becoming so popular.

A bill introduced July 28 in the U.S. House of Representatives would amend the controlled substances act – the federal law that criminalizes marijuana – to exempt plants with an extremely low level of THC, the part of marijuana that makes users high. Following closely on the heels of a call by the New York Times editorial board for the federal government to legalize marijuana, this could mark a turning point of sorts in the campaign for legalization. Gregory P. Magarian, professor of law, sees two reasons for leaving states with some power over the criminal law of marijuana.

The Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, in partnership with 2U Inc., has announced the launch of a new, fully online Master of Legal Studies (MLS) degree. The new degree is designed for non-lawyers seeking to expand their career opportunities by gaining an in-depth understanding of the U.S. legal system. The MLS curriculum will provide students with a solid foundation in legal analysis and the practical applications of the law, furthering their ability to think and communicate critically across a range of industries and professions.

​​Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case is the corporate equivalent of the road to Damascus, says Elizabeth Sepper, JD, associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “Many more corporations will find religion to opt out of regulation that affects their bottom line,” Sepper says. “Before Hobby Lobby, businesses lost claims to fire pregnant women, refuse to promote non-Christians, discriminate against gays, and pay below the minimum wage. “After Hobby Lobby, they seem likely to succeed.”​

The Brown School’s Michael Sherraden and the School of Law’s Marion G. Crain, co-authors of the new book “Working and Living in the Shadow of Economic Fragility,” were in Washington, D.C., May 28 at the New America Foundation for a webcast presentation that Crain called “a chance for scholars to talk to the world.” U.S. economic policies have failed to restore full employment and in some ways have made labor market conditions worse for many Americans, they said.

Alumnae Jessica Mayo and Nicole Cortes founded the Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project, a nonprofit that provides legal ­services and community education for ­low-income immigrants in the St. Louis region.