April 2025
Dear Friends,
Spring is underway, and I hope you are all enjoying the first few days of sunshine and good weather. At the law school, we are nearing the end of what has been a full and energizing academic year. Our students are looking forward to commencement, summer jobs, and preparing for the bar exam.
We are excited to have our first graduates who have been fully licensed through Oregon’s new Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination (SPPE) process. As of last month, twelve individuals had received full licensure through this new pathway; of those twelve, four are Willamette Law graduates! We also had our first-ever double Bearcat, a 3+3 student, licensed through the SPPE. These new members of the Oregon Bar have spent several months proving their skills to the Oregon Board of Bar Examiners and have been able to work and serve clients throughout these months.
We look forward to more graduates completing this program; many other Willamette Law graduates are in the earlier stages of the process of completing SPPE licensure. The faculty are also having conversations with those individuals who are graduating this spring and interested in pursuing the SPPE. Many of these individuals are working on securing post-graduate employment that will include supervising attorneys for the SPPE. We are thrilled that many of our supervising attorneys are Willamette Law alumni. The support of our law school has been instrumental as we all figure out how best to support students interested in the SPPE.
This spring semester, we rebooted our Paulus Lecture series with a lecture from Yale Law School’s former dean and professor, Harold Koh. He presented his lecture to a packed crowd of Willamette undergraduate and law school students and discussed how structural changes over recent decades have led to executive authority over national security issues that is much broader than has traditionally been true.
Since it was established in 1985, the Paulus Lecture has honored the legacy of Professor John C. Paulus, a renowned Willamette Law faculty member from 1949 to 1985. Professor Paulus was an expert in property law and trusts estates, along with being the first-ever advisor to the Willamette Law Review - which is still going strong 66 years after its founding. Many of you may remember his “Paulus Bar Review,” which prepared thousands of law school graduates for the bar exam here in Oregon. I speak for the entire law school when sharing my enthusiasm for future lectures in the Paulus Lecture series. We aim to bring in leading experts from across the country to speak on timely and relevant topics.
Speaking of things to look forward to, we are nearing the end of the academic year and commencement. As you know, this is an exciting time for our law school community. Many of our students are preparing for their post-graduate employment plans. As always, we appreciate the mentorship and guidance that so many of our alumni provide to our students to help prepare them for practice. It doesn’t go unnoticed how many of our students go on to be employed by Willamette Law alums. This community is unparalleled in its support of the future generations of lawyers.
Finally, I want to extend my appreciation for your support as I complete my year as interim dean here at Willamette Law. From attending events, to volunteering as mentors, or sharing your wisdom and advice, I have felt supported every step of the way by our alumni community. I look forward to hearing more from you all about how we can continue our work together to support the law school. Thank you for all of your efforts in helping us to educate the next generation of problem-solving lawyers and leaders.
Sincerely,
Jeff Dobbins,
Interim Dean & Professor of Law
