Law MLIS Program

The Law MLIS program is designed to prepare lawyers to serve as law librarians in courts, federal and state units of government, law schools, corporations, and firms.  Attorneys enrolled in the program will earn the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree with a Special Certificate in Law Librarianship after successful completion of 44 quarter credit hours.
The Law MLIS program delivers its curriculum in a traditional classroom setting and therefore is not available for students in distance format. Likewise, the Law MLIS degree requirements (core curriculum, law librarianship courses, portfolio, and directed fieldwork) differ from the residential and distance MLIS programs. The program is a sequential 12 months, beginning in Autumn Quarter and ending the following Summer quarter. Although certain courses may be taken during the immediately preceding Summer quarter, the sequential nature of the Law MLIS program requires students to remain throughout the full 12-month period. The Law MLIS program follows the UW Academic Calendar. The academic calendar includes registration periods, dates of instruction, final examination schedules, and other important dates.
 

Degree Requirements

The average course load in the Law Librarianship Program is 12 credits per quarter.  Ten credits per quarter is the minimum for students who need to meet certain financial aid requirements.
 
The Law Librarianship coursework consists of the core MLIS Curriculum, Law Librarianship courses, and Directed Fieldwork, as outlined below:

1. Core Curriculum (23 credits)
  • LIS500 The Information Life Cycle (2 credits)
  • LIS510 Information Behavior (4 credits)
  • LIS520 Information Resources, Services, and Collections (4 credits)
  • LIS530 Organization of Information and Resources (4 credits)
  • LIS540 Information Systems, Architectures, and Retrieval (5 credits)
  • LIS550 Information in Social Context (4 credits)
2. Law Librarianship courses (17 credits)
  • LIS591 Legal Research I (3 credits)
  • LIS592 Legal Research II (3 credits)
  • LIS593 Selection and Processing of Law Library Materials (3 credits)
  • LIS594 Law Library Administration (4 credits)
  • LIS595 Current Issues in Law Librarianship (4 credits)
3. LIS 590 Directed Fieldwork (4 credits)
 
4. In addition to the coursework specified above, students are required to assemble a portfolio. Note that for Law MLIS students the portfolio is due early in the summer quarter.
 

Law Library Intern Program


A unique experience offered by the Law MLIS Program is the Internship Rotation. This program provides students with the opportunity to gain valuable paid job experience during the school year while working in Reference Services, Access Services, and Technical Services Departments of Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library, King County Law Library in downtown Seattle, or Seattle University Law Library. Although each internship varies, Law Library interns at Gallagher typically work ten hours per week. A typical work schedule is five hours per week at the Reference Desk for the entire academic year and five hours per week for five months in Access Services and five hours per week for five months in Technical Services.

The Intern Program gives Law MLIS students a first-hand look at professional practice as a law librarian. The Intern Program also encourages students to develop important mentoring relationships with members of the library staff, which may endure throughout their careers. Although the Intern Program is not required for graduation, students are strongly urged to take advantage of this invaluable practical opportunity.
 

Law Librarianship Without the Law Degree


Not all law librarians are lawyers. In fact, less than 30% of all law librarians possess both the Juris Doctor (JD) degree and a Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree. In addition, currently, less than 20% of all law librarian jobs being filled require both degrees.

While the Law MLIS Program is designed to prepare lawyers to serve as law librarians, all of the courses in law librarianship (with the exception of LIS 595) are open to any student enrolled in the Residential MLIS program. In particular, we recommend taking Legal Research I, Legal Research II, Selection and Processing of Law Library Materials, and the Law Library Administration classes taught in the autumn, winter, spring and summer quarters respectively. In addition, fieldwork placement in a law library, especially if you have already taken the legal research classes, is highly recommended.

Because the Law MLIS courses are taught sequentially and can only be started in Autumn Quarter, interested residential MLIS students are urged to enroll in the Law MLIS course sequence beginning in the Autumn quarter of their first or second year of enrollment at the Information School.

Simply follow the normal instructions and deadlines associated with the Residential MLIS program and note in your personal statement that you wish to take Law MLIS electives and your future goals in working in the field of Law Librarianship.

FAQs and Contact Information


For more information on the Law MLIS Program, read our Frequently Asked Questions.

For more information on the history of law librarianship, and job and scholarship opportunities, see the American Association of Law Libraries’ Education for a Career in Law Librarianship and Law Librarianship at the University of Washington.

For further information, contact Penny Hazelton, Director of the Law MLIS Program, by phone at 206-543-4089 or by e-mail at pennyh@washington.edu. Professor Hazelton serves as faculty advisor to all Law MLIS students.