California Western School of Law

Last updated
California Western School of Law
California Western School of Law Logo.jpg
Established1924 [1]
School type Private law school
Dean Sean Megan Scott [2]
Location San Diego, California, United States
32°43′21″N117°9′42″W / 32.72250°N 117.16167°W / 32.72250; -117.16167
Enrollment827 [3]
Faculty71 (25 tenured) [4]
USNWR ranking178th–196th (2024) [1]
Bar pass rate64.2% (First-time bar passage for Winter and Summer 2021) [1]
Website www.cwsl.edu
ABA profile California Western Profile

California Western School of Law is a private law school in San Diego, California. It is one of two successor organizations to California Western University, the other being Alliant International University. The school was founded in 1924, approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1962, [5] and became a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1967. [6]

Contents

History

California Western is San Diego's oldest law school and was originally chartered in 1924 [7] by Leland Ghent Stanford as a private graduate institution called Balboa Law College. [8] Balboa Law College expanded to include undergraduate and other graduate studies and changed its name to Balboa University. [8]

In 1952, Balboa University became affiliated with the Southern California Methodist Conference and changed its name to California Western University, and the law school was relocated to downtown San Diego. In 1960 California Western received approval from the American Bar Association. [7] In 1973, the law school relocated within downtown San Diego to its current downtown campus at 350 Cedar Street. [7] In 1975, the school ended its affiliation with Cal Western's successor school, US International University, and became an independent secular law school. [7] In 1980, the new trimester system was announced, allowing two entering classes per academic year, reducing individual class size and allowing students the opportunity to graduate in two years rather than the standard three. [7]

In January 2000, California Western opened a new law library building at 290 Cedar Street, dedicated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. [7]

Sean M. Scott [9] was named the school's new president and dean in August 2020. [2]

In 2022, California Western joined several other law schools in withdrawing from participation in the rankings of U.S. law school compiled by U.S. News & World Report . [10]

Academics

The law school teaches the J.D. curriculum plus a dual-degree option, a J.D./Master of Business Administration with San Diego State University. California Western also offers the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Trial Advocacy with a Specialization in Federal Criminal Law as well as an M.C.L./LL.M. for foreign law students.

For 2022, California Western accepted 49.3% of applicants, and with Median LSAT score for all program entrants of 153 and a median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants of 3.36. [1]

California Western is ranked number 68th for legal writing by USNWR. [11]

In 2008, California Western ranked first among the three ABA-approved law schools in the San Diego metropolitan area for both the February and July California bar examinations. Seventy-seven percent of California Western graduates taking the February 2008 California Bar Examination for the first time passed, placing the law school second among the 20 ABA-approved law schools in California. Eighty-five percent of California Western graduates taking the bar exam for the first time in July 2008 passed, placing the law school eighth in the state. [12]

Programs and research centers

Research centers include:

Faculty

The law school has 25 tenured faculty members, three faculty members on the tenure track and six legal skills professors. From 2010 to 2014, 28 tenured and tenure-track faculty members published 18 books, 15 book chapters, 55 law review articles and 75 other scholarly publications. Tenure-track or tenured faculty who were members of the faculty in the last seven years wrote 70 additional publications.[ citation needed ]

The law school created six endowed professorships to support faculty members in their research and scholarship. California Western has also been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the past five years. [16]

Student debt

According to U.S. News & World Report , annual tuition and fees: full-time $58,350 and part-time $43,550 [17]

Notable people

Alumni

Related Research Articles

The University of California, Davis School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of California, Davis. The school received ABA approval in 1968. It joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanford Law School</span> Law school of Stanford University, California, U.S

Stanford Law School (SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% in 2021, the second-lowest of any law school in the country. George Triantis currently serves as Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyola Law School</span> Law school of Loyola Marymount University

Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of San Diego School of Law</span> Private law school in San Diego, California

The University of San Diego School of Law is the law school of the University of San Diego, a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1954, the law school has held ABA approval since 1961. It joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1966.

The Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL) is a private law school in San Diego, California. It offers a Juris Doctor and two Master of Laws programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law</span> American law school in Memphis (1962-)

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school and is the only law school in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has been associated with the University of Memphis since the law school's formation in 1962. The school was named in honor of former University president Cecil C. Humphreys. It is also referred to as U of M Law, Memphis Law, or Memphis Law School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McGeorge School of Law</span> Private law school in Sacramento, California, US

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on the University's Sacramento campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliant International University</span> University in San Diego, California, U.S.

Alliant International University is a private for-profit university with its main campus in San Diego, five additional campuses in California and one campus in Phoenix, Arizona. Its enrollment is approximately 4,000 students, of whom 95% are graduate students.

Mississippi College School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school. MC Law is one of two law schools in the state of Mississippi, and is the only law school in the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi. The school is a professional school of Mississippi College, founded in 1826.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis & Clark Law School</span> Private law school in Portland, Oregon

The Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College, is an American Bar Association-approved private law school in Portland, Oregon.

Western State College of Law at Westcliff University is a private, for-profit law school in Irvine, California. It offers full and part-time programs and is approved by the American Bar Association. Western State pays a fee to receive services from the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Gould School of Law</span> Private law school in Los Angeles, California

The USC Gould School of Law located in Los Angeles, California, is the law school of the University of Southern California. The oldest law school in the Southwestern United States, USC Law traces its beginnings to 1896 and became affiliated with USC in 1900. It was named in honor of Judge James Gould in the mid-1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Law School</span> Private law school in San Francisco, California

San Francisco Law School is a private, for-profit law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest evening law school in the Western United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Gate University School of Law</span> Law school in San Francisco, California

Golden Gate University School of Law is the law school of Golden Gate University. Located in downtown San Francisco, California, Golden Gate Law is a California non-profit corporation and is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). On November 30, 2023, the law school announced that it will discontinue its J.D. program at the end of the current academic year, following years of financial hardship and non-compliance with the ABA's two-year bar pass rate requirement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma City University School of Law</span> Law school of Oklahoma City University

Oklahoma City University School of Law, also known as OCU Law, is the law school of Oklahoma City University. OCU Law is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was founded in 1907. OCU Law was located in the Sarkeys Law Center on the southwest side of the Oklahoma City University campus until spring 2015, when it moved to a new campus near downtown Oklahoma City.

The University of Dayton School of Law (UDSL) is a private law school located in Dayton, Ohio at Keller Hall. It is affiliated with the University of Dayton, which is a Catholic university of the Society of Mary. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

The University of La Verne College of Law is the law school of the University of La Verne, a private university in Ontario, California. It was founded in 1970 and is approved by the State Bar of California, but is not accredited by the ABA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake Forest University School of Law</span> Private law school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US

Wake Forest University School of Law is the law school of Wake Forest University, a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Established in 1894, Wake Forest University School of Law is an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). The current dean is Andrew R. Klein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Toledo College of Law</span> Public law school in Toledo, Ohio, US

The University of Toledo College of Law is the law school at the University of Toledo, and is located on the university's main campus in a residential neighborhood in western Toledo, Ohio. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

Cooley Law School (Cooley) is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan, and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by enrollment; as of the Spring of 2022, Cooley had approximately 500 students between its two campuses. In November 2020, Western Michigan University's board of trustees voted to end its affiliation with Cooley, which began in 2014, with disassociation effective November 5, 2023. As of 2024, Cooley has failed to reach the 75% two year bar passage required of ABA Standard 316 for continued accreditation. Multiple media outlets have labeled Cooley the "worst law school in America".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "California Western School of Law". usnews.com.
  2. 1 2 "Two African American Women Appointed to Dean Positions at Law Schools in the United States". 13 January 2020.
  3. "California Western School of Law Official ABA Data" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  4. "California Western School of Law Official ABA Data" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  5. "ABA-Approved Law Schools by Year". ABA website. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  6. "AALS Member Schools". Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "California Western Mission and History". California Western School of law. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Alliant International University's History". Alliant International University. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  9. "CWSoL: Dean Schaumann". Archived from the original on 2012-10-04. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  10. "With California Western Law's Announcement, Nearly 10% of Law Schools Have Bailed on US News Rankings". Law.com.
  11. "Best Legal Writing Programs". usnews.com.
  12. "California Western Achieves High Bar Passage Rates for February and July Bar Exams". Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2023-08-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. "California Innocence Project" . Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  14. "About CIP: What is the California Innocence Project?". California Innocence Project. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  15. "Our Staff: Meet the Team". California Innocence Project. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  16. "San Diego Source - News - San Diego - Law". San Diego Source. May 3, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  17. "California Western School of Law Graduate Programs". usnews.com.