Law School’s Sparkling Addition Officially Dedicated

Two days of activities, including tours, technology demonstrations and guest speakers, are planned for April 25-26 to dedicate the $16.1 million addition and renovation to the University of Wisconsin Law School.

The Law School Dedication Weekend begins at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 25, and concludes with a dedication ceremony and main celebration the evening of Saturday, April 26.

If you've only seen the Law School's high-tech mock courtrooms and library from Bascom Hill, here's your chance for an inside peek: The Law School will officially dedicate its addition with a weekend of activities April 25-26, including tours. (Enlarged image)

Construction on the Law School project began in 1994 and was completed last fall. The Law School now houses several new and renovated classrooms, two mock courtrooms, remodeled office and administrative space, and a four-story glass atrium, which links two older Law School buildings. It is also home to an expanded law library.

“For the first time, we have a building as good as our students, our faculty and our graduates,” says Edward J. Reisner, assistant dean of the Law School.

The need for an updated and enlarged Law School has been apparent for years. The main Law School building was the product of additions and modifications made in 1939, 1961, 1964 and 1978, and was designed for roughly 650 students. The Law School’s student body, in comparison, has averaged about 900 students since the early 1970s. Many law programs were housed in other buildings on campus.

With the new building, the Law School now totals approximately 138,000 square feet, up from 93,000 square feet, including 21,000 square feet of existing space that was remodeled. During construction, classes were held in various locations on campus, with many held in Ingraham Hall (formerly Commerce). The current student body numbers 894, with 485 men and 409 women.

“For the first time in anybody’s memory, all the functions of the Law School are back in one building,” Reisner says. “And we desperately needed the library space and the technology upgrades.”

The library, arguably the most important area in any law school, was too small to accommodate the students, faculty and visitors using the facility. The expanded library space – about half of the new and remodeled space in the building – helps meet those needs, and the natural lighting and enlarged space creates a very user-friendly environment, Reisner says.

The technology upgrades will eventually allow students to use computers in class and give faculty the opportunity to use state-of-the art audio/visual equipment in four classrooms as part of their teaching. Mechanical improvements, meanwhile, have addressed issues such as building maintenance, health and safety concerns, energy conservation and access for persons with disabilities, says Reisner.

Law School Dean Daniel O. Bernstine, UW–Madison Chancellor David Ward, Wisconsin Gov. Tommy G. Thompson and Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson are among the dignitaries who will speak during the dedication ceremony from 7:30-8 p.m. on April 26 in the Law School’s Main Atrium.

Also speaking will be David S. Ruder, a member of the Law School’s Class of 1957 and national chairman of the fundraising campaign for the new building; and Jack Kaiser, a 1976 Law School graduate who is president of the Wisconsin Law Alumni Association, which is sponsoring and underwriting the ceremony.

Ruder and Kaiser were instrumental in raising $6 million in private funds for the building and $500,000 for new equipment and furniture at the Law School. The state contributed $10.1 million for the new building.

Ruder will be presented a Distinguished Service Award during the weekend. He is a former dean and an emeritus professor of law at Northwestern University Law School, a former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a partner in Baker and McKenzie, the world’s largest law firm.

The Law School’s history dates back to the founding of the University of Wisconsin, which was organized in 1848. The original university charter included plans for a law department, with it opening in 1868. The university established a two-year law course and the law department became the College of Law in 1889.

In 1893 classes were held in the first law building, and in 1909 the College of Law was renamed the Law School. By 1920 the original Law School building was deemed inadequate by the late Harry S. Richards, dean of the Law School from 1903 to 1929. In 1959 the American Bar Association evaluated the building and said it was “shockingly inadequate, antiquated and confining.”

In 1962 the UW Board of Regents approved plans for a new building, which was completed in 1964 at a cost of $1.5 million.