History of the T.C. Williams School of Law
Chartered in 1840, Richmond College was only 30 years old when it added a Law Department. The initial years were very successful for the new Law Department but during the difficult financial times that followed the Civil War, legal education was intermittent at Richmond College until 1890. In that year, the family of the late T.C. Williams, Sr., endowed a Professorship of Law, thus assuring the continuous teaching of law at Richmond College.
In 1914, Richmond College, including its Law Department, moved from its location downtown to the present campus. Unfortunately, returning service men from World War I created space problems for the College and the Law Department had to be relocated in the old Columbia Building at Grace and Lombardy streets. In 1920, the Law Department was reorganized as a separate School of Law within what was now the University of Richmond and was named after its generous benefactor, T.C. Williams, Sr.
The Law School was granted membership in the Association of American Law Schools in 1930 and Dean M. Ray Doubles, realizing a need to expand the Law School facilities, initiated a campaign for a new building. However, it was not until 1954, under the leadership of Dean William T. Muse, that the new building was completed on the University campus, re-establishing the Law School as an integral part of the University of Richmond.
The original Law School building was constructed in the collegiate gothic architectural style in which almost all the University buildings are constructed and, after two subsequent renovations, one in 1971 and one in 1980, contained 61,000 square feet of space. Today, after the completion of the recent renovations, the building contains 108,000 square feet of space and the library, which in 1981 was named in memory of the much revered Dean Muse, has grown from 36,000 to 49,000 square feet.
The current Law School, whose newest additions were completed in January 1992, stands as a tribute to the vision of all the Deans and University Presidents in its long history who continually sought to provide the very best for their students and to the generosity of those donors who helped make the vision a reality. It is a place of great beauty and high academic achievement and it will continue to be a source of alumni pride.