Location: Wilmington, Delaware
Founded: 1971
Joined AALS: 1987
Dean: Todd J. Clark
Widener University Delaware Law School is a private institution that offers a legal education rooted in real-world experience, supported by its location in Wilmington, the corporate capital of America. As the first ABA-accredited law school in the state, it is known for its corporate law curriculum and its pioneering leadership in dignity rights. Delaware Law offers its students extensive hands-on training through clinics, externships, and unique opportunities with Delaware’s influential courts and legal institutions. With a diverse community, flexible program options, and a strong alumni network, Delaware Law prepares graduates to lead with integrity and make an impact across a wide range of legal careers.
The Dignity Law Institute is the only law school program in the country dedicated to the legal right to live with dignity. Dignity rights refer to the universal, inherent, and inalienable rights every person holds simply by being human, grounding our sense of self and shaping how we experience justice. They emphasize that protecting each person’s dignity is essential to creating fair laws, equitable systems, and a society where everyone’s humanity is respected. The Dignity Law Institute offers students opportunities for experiential learning and practical application in partnership with legal, academic, non-profit, and community-based organizations worldwide, all to advance the human right to dignity! The Institute houses the Dignity Rights Clinic, sponsors research opportunities and an annual summit, and develops working partnerships.
“The Dignity Rights Institute challenges our students to imagine a world where every individual is treated with respect, fairness, and humanity—and then equips them with the tools to help build it,” said Todd Clark, dean of Widener University Delaware Law School. “This work inspires our students to become lawyers who lead with heart as well as skill, and who understand that dignity is the foundation of true justice.”
