Overview and History
The Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College dates back to 1884, when the University of Oregon established a Department of Law in Portland offering evening instruction to Oregon residents. In 1915, the University of Oregon established a law school in Eugene and the Portland facility became an independent operation known as the Northwestern College of Law. A half century later, in 1965, the College of Law merged with Lewis & Clark College, and changed its name to the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College. Following the merger, the Law Library and its 10,000 volumes moved from Portland's Geisey Building to temporary quarters in Lewis & Clark College's Aubrey R. Watzek Library. In 1967, the Library moved to its present location and was named in honor of the late Paul L. Boley, Esq., a Harvard-trained Portland attorney and long time trustee of the College known for his special interest in the field of legal education, his scholarship in law, and his leadership in the Oregon Bar. From its 69,000 volumes in 1973 when Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College gained full accreditation from the American Bar Association and American Association of Law Schools, the Library has grown to over 505,000 volumes, the largest law library in Oregon.
There have been three Law Librarians in Northwestern's history. Jacquelyn Jurkins, currently Director of the Multnomah County Law Library, served as Law Librarian from 1967 to 1972. Walter Brown held this position from 1972 to 1977. Professor Peter S. Nycum, the present Director of the Law Library, was appointed in 1978.
During the 2001-2002 Academic year construction of additional library space and a remodel of the existing Boley Library was completed. The remodel and addition of Wood Hall increased library space from 27,939 square feet to 45,139 square feet. The most noticeable result of the construction has been the increase in seating and the variety of study venues for students.
