About Us

UW Student Legal Services has two complementary objectives:

1. To provide quality legal assistance (advice, education, and representation) to undergraduate and graduate students.

2. To provide an opportunity for UW law students to gain practical experience by counseling clients, managing a caseload, and handling typical legal problems, including negotiations and court appearances as necessary.

University of Washington Student Legal Services came into existence around 1969 due to the efforts of UW law students and Charles Z. Smith (then a professor at the law school; retired from the Washington Supreme Court in 2002). It was known as the UW Legal Aid Society for many years and was always located in the Brooklyn Building (formerly known as the Patterson Building and formerly, apparently, a women's dormitory) until moving to the HUB in Summer 2003.

UW Student Legal Services has a complex identity. SLS exists as a unit of the UW Student Activities and Union Facilities (SAUF). SLS is often identified or associated with the UW Law School, but it is not a part of the law school and receives no funding from the law school. SLS is not organized as a law school student group although it employs third year law students as legal interns or externs. However, SLS and the law school faculty (especially the clinical law faculty) enjoy a collegial relationship and consult informally on legal issues.