Dear Dean Spencer,

We, the undersigned, include students, workers, community members, and organizations within the William & Mary Law School Community. We are not only student employees but students who believe our classmates should be able to pay their rent from the money they earn working for the law school. The current pay scale does not reflect respect or appreciation for the vital work student employees do for the law school. During the State of the Law School Address, you indicated that raising student wages was not your top priority but was something you would reconsider in the fall. We ask you to reconsider raising student wages. We represent students affected by student employment wages, and we strongly urge William & Mary Law School to increase wages for student employees to $20/hour.

1. Change pay for student employees within the law school to $20/ hour

We urge W&M Law School to increase the pay rate for law student workers to $20/ hour. Student employees make the Virginia minimum wage, which increased this past year and will continue to increase incrementally until it reaches $15/hour in 2026. The minimum wage does not reflect respect for the quality of work students do for the school. We urge the school to increase wages for all student employment positions in the law school. This includes, but is not limited to, Research Assistants, Election Law Fellows, Administrative Assistants, Legal Research and Writing Fellows, Fellows for the Center for Racial and Social Justice, and Library Aids. We recognize that Legal Research and Writing Fellows receive a stipend, which should be adjusted proportionately with hourly wages, which is $3,600 per semester. Many students rely on what little income they receive from part-time jobs to pay for law school. Working minimum wage for a maximum of 16 hours is insufficient to pay for living expenses in Williamsburg.

2. $12/hour for 16 hours/ week does not cover rent

        Under the current pay scale, W&M pays student employees the state minimum wage. $12/hour does not reflect the value of the work student employees do for the school. Additionally, $12/hour is substantially lower than other law schools and less than many jobs outside the law school in the service industry. The University of Virginia Law School pays Research Assistants $20-25/hour, and we petition the school to pay our student workers the same. W&M campus dining workers have a starting wage of $18/hour. Paying students a living wage would allow them to avoid getting a second or third job to survive law school.

        W&M Law School does not pay student employees enough to cover the cost of rent. Law student employees are authorized to work a maximum of 16 hours per week. Multiply that number by the current pay rate, $12, which equals $192 per week. Note that $192 is the maximum amount before taxes a student will be paid if they work the maximum number of hours. Many students are not authorized to work 16 hours per week. A month’s work at these wages, $768 over four work weeks at the maximum of 16 hours, does not cover the average cost of a studio apartment in Williamsburg, which is $1,170. If students working 16 hours a week earn $20/hour, their income before taxes is approximately $1,280, which suffices to cover the cost of a studio apartment.

3. Minimum wage does not reflect respect for student employees’ work

        Student employees add substantial value to the legal field and the law school. Research assistants help faculty publish quality scholarship on important legal issues, increasing the profile of the university. Legal Research and Writing Fellows also add significant value to the law school. W&M Law School promotes the legal practice curriculum as a distinguishing feature of the education it provides, and fellows provide indispensable support in laying the foundation for legal writing and lawyering skills that students will build on throughout law school and in their careers, teaching bluebooking and grading legal citations in place of paid faculty. Legal fellows also spend many hours mentoring new students and helping to settle their restless expectations entering law school. In lieu of a living wage for all the hours expended in these efforts, fellows are paid a stipend of $2400 per semester. 

        The cost of higher education is higher now than it has ever been, and students are eating those costs. We know that you recognize that finishing law school is difficult for many reasons beyond its subject matter. Many students must supplement their student loans with part-time jobs to make ends meet and minimize their student loan balances. The law school should adequately compensate students by providing vital services rooted in their training and legal enthusiasm instead of expecting them to accept wages that do not reasonably support their cost of living.

        We urge you to hear our plea and give students struggling to pay their bills a leg up. Research Assistants in other schools at W&M pay their students salaries and provide them with health insurance. We are only asking for increased wages.

Sincerely,

William and Mary Law Students and Community Members