It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of northwest Washington, D.C.

Begun in 1896, WCL was the first law school founded by women, the first with a female dean, and the first to graduate an all-female class.

Continually growing, WCL moved in 1924 to the former home of Oscar Underwood and former residence of Archibald Butt.

Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) graduated from WCL after ten years of night-study classes, the first time a sitting member of Congress had begun and completed a law degree while serving.

Dean Milstein pushed for a new building, and in 1996 WCL moved less than a mile to The John Sherman Myers and Alvina Reckman Myers Law Center on Massachusetts Avenue in the American University Park section of Northwest Washington, D.C.

Construction began in the summer of 2013, with the relocation of the law school to the new campus completed in early 2016.

[10] The Washington College of Law is located on American University's Tenley Campus at 4300 Nebraska Avenue NW.

The Pence Law Library is 54,000 square feet (5,000 m2), with more than 600,000 volumes, access to multiple databases, 14 group-study rooms and seating for over 600.

WCL's Equal Justice Foundation (EJF) provides scholarships to students who obtain unpaid summer internships with public interest organizations.

[25] The clinic serves various clients, including immigrants and refugees, victims/survivors of domestic violence, juveniles, criminal defendants, low-income taxpayers, individuals seeking help with family law, consumer, disability, and intellectual property issues, community groups, and nonprofit organizations.

WCL also offers summer abroad programs in London, Paris, Brussels, Geneva, and The Hague.

WCL offers an online Master of Legal Studies (MLS) created for professionals who have law-related responsibilities.

[28] The MLS program provides professionals in a variety of industries with an understanding of the U.S. legal system, but it is not meant for students who want to become a practicing attorney.

The program offers the following concentration tracks: General MLS, Business, Health Care Compliance, and Technology.

Each concentration features fundamental legal training and industry-specific knowledge to improve students' ability to make informed decisions and legitimize their credibility with clients, co-workers, and partners.