Caroline Wilshusen

Caroline Wilshusen is the Dean of Student Services and Director of Admissions at the University of Maine School of Law.  Dean Wilshusen was a non-traditional law student, graduating cum laude from Maine Law in 2007 at the age of 45 with 5-year-old twins.   During law school, she served on the Moot Court Board and as a legal writing teaching assistant.  She was named best oralist and prize arguer for the Class of 2007 and received the Warnick Prize for legal writing, the Independent Writing Award, and the Clinical Legal Education Award at graduation.

Before law school, Dean Wilshusen was a musical theatre performer in New York City and regionally.  She volunteered in New York City with at-risk children and trained at Columbia Law School in the mediation practicum.  She mediated in the New York City Court System in family matters and small claims.  These experiences led her to law school. 

As a licensed attorney, she continued her work with at-risk youth as a juvenile defender and guardian ad litem.  She also served on Maine’s Access to Justice Commission, as a mediator for the Maine Judicial Branch, and as Chair of the Juvenile Justice/Protective Custody Section of the Maine State Bar Association.  She was awarded the Volunteer Lawyer’s Project Director’s Award in 2006 and 2013.

Dean Wilshusen returned to Maine Law in 2014 as Director of Admissions. She continues in that role and oversees the efforts of the Student Services Team, a group of dedicated professionals supporting the success of Maine Law students.  She is the former co-chair of the DEI Committee and has served on that committee since she returned to Maine Law in 2014.  She developed accelerated law programs across the State of Maine, a mentoring program for Maine Law students, collaborates with local high schools on pipeline programs, and is committed to supporting first-generation law students on their path to law school.