Message from the Dean

Greetings and welcome to Mizzou Law!

As dean of the University of Missouri School of Law, I am honored and humbled to lead a school which has been training incredible lawyers and leaders for more than 150 years.

At Mizzou Law we offer an intellectually rigorous, yet collegial environment which attracts a brilliant student body with experiences and views that range the full spectrum of our society. Our school fosters a diverse faculty of nationally recognized scholars and teachers and who are outstanding lawyers.

This confluence of bright, curious students and accomplished faculty eager to share knowledge has created rich classroom environment in the classrooms, study rooms and offices of Hulston Hall.

Our Community

While many schools can boast amazing students and excellent faculty, what makes Mizzou Law stand out is the sense of community our students, faculty and staff share within our school. Ours is a culture that values people over all else. Students often describe the academic atmosphere at Mizzou Law as challenging, but with an emphasis on learning rather than competition. Courses offer students a broad and balanced perspective on the law and legal institutions to prepare them for a wide range of career options in law, as well as alternative careers anywhere in the country. Our students and faculty hail from across the United States, bringing with them beliefs, views and values from across the political spectrum. Despite our differences, we pride ourselves on our ability to collaborate constructively and civilly to protect our most important value: the freedom to live and learn. Our students go on to become lifelong friends, all the while leading Missouri and beyond.

Our Place

Located in the culturally and economically vibrant city of Columbia, Mizzou Law sits in the heart of the University of Missouri campus just a few minutes’ walk from dozens of restaurants, coffee shops, music venues and more. Hulston Hall features our own student lounge and kitchen, law library, dozens of study rooms and hundreds of study carrels serving to make our home your home away from home. What makes Columbia a great place to live is a matter of individual taste, but I love our extensive network of trails, designation as a hub for arts and culture, home of Southeastern Conference sports and variety of film, book and music festivals.

Our Programs

Mizzou Law is the perfect place to discover what you’re most passionate about and refine the skills you’ll carry into the job market after graduation. With four clinics, nine dual degree and certificate programs and countless elective courses, we offer plenty of options. I’m especially proud of our alternative dispute program, which ranks #4 in the nation. No matter where you are headed in your law journey, I am confident that you’ll find your home here at Mizzou Law.

A law degree from Mizzou Law grants students access to our large and loyal network of nearly 8,000 alumni. Our graduates practice in law firms of all sizes; act as corporate counsel, chief executive officers; and serve at all levels of state and federal governments. In fact, six of the seven Missouri Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Mary Russell, are members of the Mizzou Law alumni network.

I encourage you to explore our website to learn more about our programs and all the ways you can connect with Mizzou Law. We look forward to seeing you in Columbia or online soon. Welcome to our community.

Paul Litton
Dean and R. B. Price Professor of Law

The University of Missouri School of Law aspires to be the school of choice for outstanding students, both from Missouri and other states. As a national leader in the field of dispute resolution, we seek to complement a strong traditional curriculum with an orientation toward lawyering as a problem-solving endeavor. We strive to foster a diverse faculty of nationally recognized scholars who are committed to effective teaching and to attract a student body with diverse experiences and views. We also strive to offer an intellectually rigorous and collegial environment for the study of law. Furthermore, we seek to graduate well-rounded lawyers who are sensitive to ethical issues, prepared to serve clients, and ready to be leaders in promoting justice.

At the University of Missouri, four values serve as the foundation of our community: Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, and Excellence. Though we are diverse, these common values bind us together and hold us to a higher standard.

Respect

Respect for one’s self and for others is the foundation of honor and the basis of integrity. A hallmark of our community is respect — for the process by which we seek truths and for those who engage in that process. Such respect is essential for nurturing the free and open discourse, exploration and creative expression that characterize a university. Respect results in dedication to individual as well as collective expressions of truth and honesty. Respect is demonstrated by a commitment to act ethically, to welcome difference and to engage in open exchange about both ideas and decisions.

Responsibility

A sense of responsibility requires careful reflection on one’s moral obligations. Being responsible imposes the duty on us and our university to make decisions by acknowledging the context and considering consequences, both intended and unintended, of any course of action. Being responsible requires us to be thoughtful stewards of resources — accountable to ourselves, each other and the public we serve.

Discovery

Learning requires trust in the process of discovery. Discovery often fractures existing world views and requires acceptance of uncertainty and ambiguity. Therefore, the university must support all its members in this lifelong process that is both challenging and rewarding. As we seek greater understanding and wisdom, we also recognize that knowledge itself has boundaries. What we know is not all that is.

Excellence

We aspire to an excellence that is approached through diligent effort, both individual and collective. Pursuing excellence means being satisfied with no less than the highest goals we can envision. Pursuing excellence involves being informed by regional, national and global standards, as well as our personal expectations. We recognize and accept the sacrifices, risks and responsibilities involved in pursuing excellence, and so we celebrate each other’s successes. We commit ourselves to this process in an ethical and moral manner.

These statements are mere words until we integrate them as values in our individual lives and reflect them in our institutional policies and practices. We pledge ourselves to make them effective in the very fabric of our lives, our community and all our relationships with others, thereby enhancing the development of individuals and the well-being of society.