Photograph: Barn in field.

Agricultural Law

Agricultural Law relates to agribusiness, which is conducted worldwide in rural communities and large metropolitan areas. It is a specialized area that is often treated in unique ways by the legal and tax systems in the United States.

Faculty

Recognizing the importance of preparing our students to effectively represent the farming and ranching communities, and the agribusiness enterprises that support agriculture, Washburn Law has assembled an impressive group of professors to serve its students, alumni, and the lawyers and tax specialists who deal with agricultural law and taxation issues on a daily basis.

  • Professor Roger McEowen (teaches Estate and Business Planning for Farmers and Ranchers; Farm and Ranch Taxation; Commercial Transactions and Bankruptcy in Agriculture; Water, Environmental, and Regulatory Law Impacting Agriculture; he is also editor of the Washburn Agricultural Law & Tax Report (WALTR));
  • Professor Burke Griggs (teaches Agricultural Law; Public Land Law);
  • Professor Leland Rolfs (teaches Water Law);
  • Professor Timothy O'Sullivan (teaches Estate Planning); and

Serving Kansas Communities

Washburn Law is dedicated to ensuring the availability of effective legal representation in rural Kansas, which led to the partnership with Kansas State University on the "Rural Legal Practice Initiative." The ultimate goal of the initiative is to assist students, and potential students, in considering career opportunities for a law-trained graduate working in rural communities.

A generous grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation provides students with opportunities to experience life and law practice in a rural community, as well as to interest them in pursuing careers in rural Kansas, as part of Washburn Law's Rural Externship Program.

Learn more about the Rural Legal Practice Initiative and the Hansen Foundation Grant in our Rural Law section.

Short URL for this page:
http://washburnlaw.edu/agriculture

Agricultural Law Society
Photograph: Agricultural Law Society members at their annual BBQ with faculty, legislators, and other agriculture professionals.

The Agricultural Law Society sponsors lunchtime and other programs to educate the next generation of leaders and promote the understanding of agriculture practices and laws. A highlight is the Society's annual BBQ which brings together students, legislators, professors, and agriculture professionals for networking and an exchange of ideas.

Rural Law
Photograph: Students in Dodge City, Kansas.

Washburn Law recognizes the importance of preparing students to practice the unique art of rural law in farming and ranching communities. We are dedicated to ensuring the availability of effective legal representation in rural communities. Learn more about rural law at Washburn Law.

Washburn Law recognizes that there are many different paths into and out of law school. To provide its graduates with the maximum flexibility for career options, Washburn Law has carefully designed its first-year and upper-level curriculum, including its requirements and electives, to ensure that graduates from its juris doctor program achieve and exceed the ABA mandated learning outcomes. Our curriculum evolves with the practice of law; consequently, it is subject to change.