Tradition of Excellence

The School of Law at Saint Louis University was founded on the ideals of honor, integrity, service, loyalty, scholarship and community. These intrinsic values have firmly grounded our School for the past 157 years. From founder Judge Richard Aylett Buckner to our Dean Jeffrey E. Lewis, the School of Law was and is committed to creating exceptional lawyers who serve our legal system. Steeped in the rich tradition and heritage of intellectual excellence, the School of Law continues to educate lawyers who make significant, prominent advancements in a changing world.

Founded in 1843, the School of Law is the 18th oldest legal education institution in the nation and the first founded west of the Mississippi River. Since its inception, the School of Law has adhered to the Jesuit spirit of “Men and Women for Others” and that creed is incorporated in all facets of our community.

Originally named the Institute of Law, the School was the first in the midwest to admit African-Americans and admitted women from inception. The School drew its first faculty members from the ranks of active practitioners to stress the practical application of the law. Classes were held in a building on Washington Avenue until the law school closed upon the death of Judge Buckner in 1847.

The Institute of Law was re-established in 1908. Judge O’Neill Ryan was appointed the first dean of the Institute, which was housed on the southeast corner of Leffingwell and Locust, in the same neighborhood where T.S. Eliot once lived. 1908 was also the first year the Institute saw women walk through the front doors. That year, five women joined the student body of the Class of 1908.

It was at about this same time that two law students, without any realization on their part, created an enormous part of the University’s image and future. Charles McNamara, a law student, drew a picture of a billiken, an image from the St. Louis World’s Fair. The drawing was meant as a good luck charm. Soon, students noticed that the billiken’s face was very similar to the cheerful, round face of another law student, John Bender, who also happened to be the football coach. As the association between the image and Bender’s face was made, the team came to be known as “Bender’s Billikens.” Eventually, the Bender name was dropped, but the Billiken’s name and image has remained as the University’s college sports symbol to this day.

By 1911 the Institute of Law had outgrown its original facilities, and a large house at 3642 Lindell was purchased. This building, with numerous subsequent alterations, was the home of the School for nearly 70 years.

By 1922, the Institute had its first full-time dean, Alphonse G. Eberle, who had attended not only the Institute, but also Saint Louis University and Saint Louis University High School. In 1924, the Institute formally became the School of Law. Eberle is credited for the School’s full accreditation through the Executive Committee of the American Association of Law Schools. In 1925, the School hired the first full-time librarian, alumna Jean Gass Voelkerding. In 1928, believing in a full-time commitment to the study of law, Eberle phased out the Institute’s part-time evening program.

By 1943, wartime forced the School to close. Reopening in 1946, the evening program was reinstated at the request of the Missouri Supreme Court. Also, in that year, the School began to admit African-Americans. Judge Theodore McMillian, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, was one of the first African-Americans to graduate from the School of Law and also graduated first in his class.

In 1953, J. Norman McDonough was appointed dean. Under McDonough’s guidance, the School of Law’s recognition and prestige flourished. But, the need for a new law library building became apparent as early as 1955. By 1963, the School was burgeoning within its boundaries. The library was overflowing with over 60,000 volumes due in large part to the efforts of Professor Emeritus Eileen H. Searls who became librarian in 1952. The task of overseeing a library building plan fell to Professor Emeritus, Vincent C. Immel, who became dean in 1962. In 1971, Richard J. Childress became dean and continued a building campaign that culminated in the dedication of the law library building in 1973.

John F.T. Murray became dean in 1976. One of his first actions was to organize the Development Council to raise funds for building projects. Ultimately, alumni of the School of Law raised $1.4 million of the needed $3.3 million for the building program. During construction, Dean Rudolph C. Hasl took over as dean in 1979. Morrissey Hall was dedicated in 1980 and named in honor of the parents of Joseph Morrissey, an alumnus of the class of 1954, for his substantial contribution toward financing the building.

The 1980s were a period of academic development. The Center for Health Law Studies was founded in 1982 and the William C. Wefel Center for Employment Law in 1987. The School also formed cooperative agreements with several foreign universities. And, in 1989, the American Bar Association approved the Master of Laws degree in Health Law and the Master of Laws for Foreign Lawyers.
Dean Hasl left in 1991 and Provost Sandra H. Johnson served as interim dean until the hiring of John B. Attanasio in the 1991-1992 academic year. That was also the year in which the Center for International and Comparative Law was formed.
By 1996, the School of Law again had space constraints. An expansion and renovation plan was launched and included the Vincent C. Immel Atrium and restoration of Queen’s Daughters Hall. Today, the atrium serves as the main entrance to our school and functions as an open student lounge. Queen’s Daughters Hall was linked to Morrissey Hall with a new connector building. The expansion was dedicated in 1998.

Today, students, faculty and staff thrive in an atmosphere of academic challenge, unabridged support and empowering wisdom at the School of Law. Our institutional founders taught the lessons of integrity and humanity and those hallmark traditions have endured for over 100 years and continue to flourish today

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