Navigating the Law School

The Law School has two principal sections, Walter L. Brown Hall and Slaughter Hall. Brown has been the home of the Law School since 1974, when it moved to North Grounds from its former home, Clark Hall, on Central Grounds. Slaughter is the former home of the Darden School of Business, which moved to its new complex just west of the Law School in 1996. In 1997, the Law School completed a $35 million renovation, financed completely with private funds, that linked the two buildings, with Clay Hall uniting the front and Hunton Andrews Kurth Hall bridging the rear. In 2002, the Law School completed the HMZ | Class of 1975 Student-Faculty Center, which connects to Hunton Andrews Kurth Hall as well. 

Map

Clay Hall

This is the building you enter when you go through the main (south) entrance of the Law School. Engraved over the front doors is an inscription often remembered by alumni: “That those alone may be servants of the law who labor with learning, courage, and devotion to preserve liberty and promote justice.” Law professor Leslie Buckler wrote the phrase in 1932 to be emblazoned above the doors of Clark Hall. When Clay Hall was built, his words were carved again.

Directly in front of the main entrance to Clay Hall is Caplin Pavilion, the Law School's main ceremonial room, which is used for speeches, receptions, dinners and other special events. The large landscape painting of the Blue Ridge on the rear wall is a scene in northwestern Albemarle County. A baby grand piano is available for use by anyone in the Law School community whenever the Pavilion is open and unoccupied.

Visitor parking permits may be obtained from the Admissions Office, to the left of the entrance (in the Karsh Student Services Center).

Law Alumnae Lobby

The Law Alumnae Lobby is located to the right of the main entrance to the Law School in Clay Hall. The lobby was designated and funded in 1995, when female students and graduates led a tribute to the women who came before them, as well as those who would follow. Women first matriculated to the Law School in 1920, the same year American women obtained the right to vote. Elizabeth N. Tompkins of Albemarle County, Virginia, was the first to graduate in 1923. After graduating, Tompkins clerked for two years in Charlottesville before relocating to Richmond for a 54-year legal career.  
 

 

Walter Brown Hall

This building to the right of the main entrance houses the Arthur J. Morris Law Library on the first through third floors.

Lower Level

If you take a right in front of the Library entrance and then the next left, you can go down a corridor that leads to Caplin Auditorium on the lower level. This is where large Law School gatherings are held, including guest lectures and the dean's orientation address to first-year students. The annual Libel Show, a student tradition that lampoons Law School life, is performed here.

First Floor

The main public entrance to the library is on the first floor, just at the end of Clay Hall. This floor also houses classrooms, faculty offices, student lounges, lockers and vending machines.

Second Floor

The library is housed here. There is no public access on the second floor.

Third Floor

If you take a right at the Library entrance and take the elevator or stairs to your right to the third floor, you will find faculty offices to your left off the elevator; and to the right, the Dean’s Office, the Business Office, Information Technology, the mail room (for staff and faculty mailboxes), the faculty lounge and a few faculty offices.

Slaughter Hall

The building to the left of the Clay Hall main entrance houses mostly classrooms, administrative offices and offices for student organizations.

First Floor

As you walk down the corridor from Clay Hall, you will find the Karsh Student Services Center directly ahead. On the first floor of Karsh, you'll find Admissions and Graduate Studies. Down the hall to the right of the Karsh Center is Student Affairs, Student Records, Community Engagement and Equity, the Purcell Reading Room, Courts and Commerce bookstore and the Copy Center. If you turn left down the broad corridor (which to the right opens onto Spies Garden, the Law School's outdoor room) after the Purcell Reading Room and take the narrow corridor to your right (just before the exit) you will find offices of student journals and organizations.

Second Floor

Career Services, the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center, Judicial Clerkships, Clinics and Financial Aid (starting in fall 2024) are here, as well as a diverse set of classrooms. This floor also houses the moot courtrooms where students hone their trial techniques.

Third Floor

This floor primarily houses Law School Communications, the Alumni Association, and the Law School Foundation, which is responsible for development and donor relations.

Hunton Andrews Kurth Hall 

This hall forms the back of the Law School quad and connects to the HMZ | Class of 1975 Student-Faculty Center. The hall maintains activity tables for student organizations and lockers for students. The main atrium of the Student-Faculty Center is Scott Commons, a glass-roofed central lounge. The SFC also houses a lunch cafeteria, a Greenberry’s coffee bar, dining rooms, and more study and lounge space.