School of Law

Here is the text of graduate student Wei Zhu’s message to 2017 graduates. Zhu earned a law degree.

With a master’s degree in statistics, a PhD in chemical engineering, an MBA and, soon, a JD from Washington University School of Law, Wei Zhu is clearly brilliant. But also, perhaps, a little crazy? “Oh yes,” Zhu said with a laugh. “I am definitely crazy.” She will serve as the graduate student speaker at Commencement on May 19.

Three students arrived at Washington University in the fall of 2013 with a desire to do something to help the environment. This month, sustainability champions Nick Annin, Elise Fabbro and Nicola Salzman graduate and are poised to fight the globe’s most pressing problem with a powerful tool: the free market.

President Trump has revealed his proposed tax plan, which involves, among other things, cutting the corporate tax rate and reducing tax brackets to three, down from seven. What do the proposed changes mean? Adam Rosenzweig, professor of law and tax law expert, explains.

Leila Sadat, an internationally renowned human rights expert, and David C. Van Essen, an authority on brain structure, function and development, will receive the university’s 2017 faculty achievement awards, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton announced. Eric Leuthardt, MD, will be honored for innovation and entrepreneurship.

While courts around the United States have found President Trump’s travel ban on Muslim-majority nations unconstitutional, the courts may have overlooked an important point, says an expert on law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis.

Scott Baker has been installed as the inaugural William F. and Jessica L. Kirsch Professor at Washington University in St. Louis. A lecture and reception to mark the occasion were held in Anheuser-Busch Hall.

Andrew McCabe, JD ’93, was always interested in criminal law but an internship he had while a law student at WashU convinced him to become an FBI agent. After a long career that’s including busting up crime rings and fighting terrorists, he’s been named deputy director of one of the nation’s top security organizations.

Brian Schlitt, a first-year student at the School of Law, died Wednesday, April 12, 2017, following a brief illness. He was 38.

Although one can fault the Obama administration for its tepid policy towards Syria, President Donald Trump’s April 6 air strikes against a Syrian military base take the U.S. policy towards Syria to a new low, said an expert on international war crimes at Washington University in St. Louis.