Essential alumni news

All alumni news

Grads shine brightly on WA Super Lawyers, Rising Stars lists

Seattle University School of Law graduates are well-represented on recently-published lists of Super Lawyers and Rising Stars in Washington state, as 671 total alumni made the cut. With 1,067 alumni included in these lists over the years, Seattle U Law has the most alumni, coming in ahead of the next best law school by more than 200 lawyers.

August 28, 2024 | Announcements


The Good Fight

With courage and determination, attorney Vonda M. Sargent ’94 has become one of the state’s foremost civil rights litigators by taking tough cases that expose racism in the judicial system. 

June 5, 2024


Two Seattle U Law grads earn Equal Justice Works Fellowships

Two Seattle University School of Law graduates, Mary Bent ’23 and Katherine (Katy) Daley ’24, have earned prestigious Equal Justice Works (EJW) Fellowships to pursue a social justice-oriented project of their choosing over the course of the next two years.

June 3, 2024 | Announcements


12 Years in Pursuit of Vindication

The International Human Rights Clinic scored a victory for a Tacoma man who was wrongfully imprisoned abroad.

May 30, 2024


Bree Black Horse ’13 named 2024 Woman of the Year

Bree Black Horse '13, the first Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, was named Seattle U Law's 2024 Woman of the Year.

March 22, 2024 | Events


Law school event explores hate crime stats, characteristics, reporting

A Sullivan Hall event featuring speakers from the U.S. Department of Justice and the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office provided a deep-dive into hate crimes, including proper identification, most commonly reported types in King County, reasons for underreporting, and much more.

December 4, 2023 | Events


Brooke D. Coleman celebrated as Fredric C. Tausend Professor of Law

Seattle University School of Law celebrated the installation of Brooke D. Coleman as the Fredric C. Tausend Professor of Law. The title, named for a former Seattle U Law dean and professor, honors a Seattle U Law faculty member for their scholarly pursuits, teaching ability, and service work.

November 30, 2023 | Events


Law student earns prestigious post-graduation fellowship

Charla Boley, who graduates this month from Seattle University School of Law, was awarded a prestigious Equal Justice Works (EJW) fellowship to continue her advocacy for economic justice and the legal rights of people with disabilities.

May 10, 2023


Move fast and build things

Seattle U Law prepares lawyers for opportunities, challenges in technology sector. (From the spring 2023 issue of Lawyer magazine.)

May 9, 2023


Professor, multiple alumni earn recognition at Pierce Co. awards banquet

Seattle University School of Law alumni and a longtime professor earned nearly every honor at the 115th Annual Lincoln Day Awards Banquet, held by the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association at the Tacoma Convention Center earlier this month.

February 22, 2023


Seattle U Law suspends participation in U.S. News law school rankings

Seattle University School of Law remains committed to providing prospective students with the information necessary to make an informed decision about where to undertake their law studies.

January 24, 2023


Tarra Simmons ’17 receives 2022 Woman of the Year Award

In accepting the 2022 Woman of the Year award, Tarra Simmons ’17 thanked the many women in the legal profession who helped her along the way and encouraged those who will come after her.

March 31, 2022 | Announcements


Seattle University selects new dean to lead law school

Former Miami Law dean Anthony E. Varona brings strong legal background, leadership experience to position

February 17, 2022 | Announcements


Incubator Program welcomes seven new attorneys for 2022

Participants build solo and small law practices with mentorship and other support for one year.

February 10, 2022 | Announcements


Pro Bono Day clinic helps area residents stay housed

For the second straight year, law students and alumni teamed up to hold a one-day Housing Justice Clinic, helping residents at risk of losing their homes. Twenty clients received valuable legal counseling on issues such as the eviction moratorium, disputes with their landlords, confusing legal notices, and questions about their leases or federal housing vouchers.

November 15, 2021


Dean Annette Clark receives Passing the Torch Award

Washington Women Lawyers (WWL) selected Dean Annette Clark '89 as the 2021 recipient of the Justice Mary Fairhurst Passing the Torch Award, which recognizes an individual who has gone above and beyond in mentoring women lawyers and making a difference in the legal community.

October 8, 2021


New scholarship helps formerly incarcerated students come full circle

Thanks to Amanda DuBois's advocacy and generosity, Seattle University School of Law launched the Full Circle Scholarship, which provides $5,000 each year for a student whose life has been directly impacted by the criminal justice system, with a preference for students who have been incarcerated themselves.

October 6, 2021


Recent grad earns fellowship to help essential workers

As the Essential Worker Fellow, Rodriguez will work directly with food service workers who have been denied unemployment benefits or asked to repay benefits. Her role will include community outreach and direct representation of workers in hearings. The fellowship will focus on low-income communities of color who have been impacted most by the COVID-19 shutdowns.

August 5, 2021


New attorneys join Incubator Program

Seattle U Law's innovative Incubator Program, which supports alumni as they build solo or small law practices, entered its eighth year with a new group of entrepreneurial attorneys.

March 18, 2021


New course explores what's next for restorative justice

Seattle University School of Law has added a new one-week course during the winter intersession that will help students imagine a restorative, rather than punitive, justice system.

December 3, 2020


Alum earns fellowship to help victims of elder abuse

Archie Roundtree, Jr. '18 has earned a spot in a new national program, launched by Equal Justice Works, to help victims of elder abuse and exploitation.

September 4, 2020


July Update for Alumni

Dean Clark: Help us spread the word about our new hybrid-online program for students with jobs and families to get a law degree.

July 14, 2020


June Update for Alumni

Updates on where the law school stands as we look forward to beginning a new academic year this fall despite the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

June 9, 2020


Two 2020 grads receive Equal Justice Works fellowships

Vallen Solomon and Javiera Wood are two of 78 public interest lawyers across the country chosen to receive the 2020 fellowship, which allows them to pursue a project of their own design for two years following graduation.

May 21, 2020


Law students help protect domestic violence victims during pandemic

Liu and almost a dozen other Seattle University School of Law students have signed up for a new project launched by Professor Deirdre Bowen - a "pop-up clinic" of sorts that addresses the increased need for domestic violence protection orders during the pandemic. Student volunteers, all of whom studied family law with Bowen, will be on call to help victims fill out the required legal forms to obtain a protection order. And all of it will happen online.

April 20, 2020


A letter from Dean Annette Clark

In formulating the law school's response to this evolving COVID-19 public health crisis, we've been focusing on two core principles: (1) a commitment to our law students' physical and mental health and general well-being; and (2) our dedication to continuing to provide, even under these difficult circumstances, a high-quality legal education that is informed by the Jesuit mission of educating the whole person and professional formation.

April 7, 2020


Be your own boss: Incubator program welcomes seven new attorneys

Seattle University School of Law announced the participants in the 2020 Incubator Program this month. The program provides training, guidance, and resources to help alumni manage a solo or small firm practice that offers reduced-fee, high-quality legal services.

January 24, 2020