Empire College School of Law

Last updated
Empire College School of Law
Parent school Empire College
Established1973
School type Private/For-Profit
Dean Brian J. Purtill [1]
Location Santa Rosa, California, US
38°28′03″N122°43′43″W / 38.4674°N 122.7286°W / 38.4674; -122.7286
Faculty56 (includes adjunct) [2]
Bar pass rate35% (July 2019 1st time takers) [3]
Website law.empcol.edu

The Empire College School of Law, part of Empire College and founded in 1973, is a four-year evening law school program approved by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California. [4] As an evening-only law school, the School of Law is not accredited by the American Bar Association. [5] As a result, graduates are generally only eligible to take the bar and practice law in California. Empire Law School's professors are practicing attorneys and judges from the North Bay area who teach in their specialty areas.

Empire graduates comprise approximately 25 percent of the Sonoma County Bar and include members of the judiciary in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Merced, Lassen, Lake, and Calaveras counties.[ citation needed ]

Following a year of construction, the college opened its new campus in January 2000 which includes, as tenants, two California superior courts for the County of Sonoma at which civil cases are conducted. Moot Court and Trial Practice classes are held in the courtrooms.[ citation needed ] In the 2000 Roger J. Traynor California Appellate Moot Court Competition, the Empire College Moot Court Team won first place in both The California Academy of Appellate Lawyers Award for Best Brief and The Bernard E. Witkin Award for Excellence In Appellate Advocacy. [6] In 2018, Empire's team won first place in oral argument at the competition, with both of their team members ranked among the top oralists. [7]

In July, 2022, Empire reached an agreement, approved by the State Bar of California Committee of Bar Examiners to become a branch of the Monterey College of Law, pursuant to which it would transition from a for-profit, approved law school, to a non-profit, approved branch of Monterey, while retaining the Empire name. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law school in the United States</span> School offering post-graduate education in law

A law school in the United States is an educational institution where students obtain a professional education in law after first obtaining an undergraduate degree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admission to the bar in the United States</span> Registration to practice law in a US jurisdiction

Admission to the bar in the United States is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in the jurisdiction. Each U.S. state and jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules and standards for bar admission. In most cases, a person is admitted or called to the bar of the highest court in the jurisdiction and is thereby authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction. Federal courts, although often overlapping in admission standards with states, set their own requirements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Bar Association</span> American association of lawyers

The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students; it is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation of model ethical codes related to the legal profession. As of fiscal year 2017, the ABA had 194,000 dues-paying members, constituting approximately 14.4% of American attorneys. In 1979, half of all lawyers in the U.S. were members of the ABA. In 2016, less than one third of the 1.3 million lawyers in the U.S. were included in the ABA membership of 400,000, with figures largely unchanged in 2024.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appalachian School of Law</span> Private law school in Grundy, Virginia

The Appalachian School of Law (ASL) is a private law school in Grundy, Virginia. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and offers a three-year Juris Doctor degree to approximately 128 full-time students. The school was founded in 1994 and admitted its first class of students in August 1997. ASL was started and brought to Buchanan County, Virginia as a tool of economic development for the region. ASL emphasizes professional responsibility and alternative dispute resolution in its curriculum.

<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.

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">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">University of West Los Angeles</span> For-profit law school in Los Angeles

The University of West Los Angeles (UWLA) is a private, for-profit law school and business school in Los Angeles, California. It maintains two campuses, one in Inglewood and one in Woodland Hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Colleges of Law</span> Private law school in California, United States

The Colleges of Law is a private law school in Santa Barbara and Ventura, California. It is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission and approved by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Law School</span> American law school

Trinity Law School is the law school of Trinity International University, which is an evangelical Christian university in Bannockburn, Illinois. Although Trinity Law School is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and approved by the State Bar of California, it is not accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). The school offers a Juris Doctor (J.D.) program on campus or online, an online Master of Legal Studies (MLS) program, and a joint B.A./J.D. degree program with California Baptist University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humphreys College Laurence Drivon School of Law</span> Californian nonprofit law school

The Humphreys University Laurence Drivon School of Law is an independent, nonprofit law school located in Stockton, California. The School of Law is approved by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges but neither has nor seeks accreditation by the American Bar Association.

The Monterey College of Law (MCL) is a private, non-profit law school founded in 1972 in Monterey, California. The school is approved by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California but is not accredited by the American Bar Association. As a result, while graduates of MCL can sit for the California Bar Exam, and upon passing, be licensed to practice law in California, they are generally not able to sit for the bar exam or practice in other states without passing the California bar exam first. MCL has part-time evening J.D., Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.), and LL.M. degree programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwestern California University School of Law</span> Online law school in California, USA

The Northwestern California University School of Law is an online-based law school in Sacramento, California, founded in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's University School of Law</span> Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, US

St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University.

Purdue Global Law School, is an online law school based in Los Angeles, California. It is one of several schools within Purdue University Global. Established in 1998, Purdue Global Law was the United States' first fully online law school. The school is approved by the State Bar of California, but it is not accredited by the American Bar Association, making graduates ineligible to take the bar exam in most states other than California.

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.

American Heritage University of Southern California (AHUSC) is an unaccredited for-profit college based in Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn State Law</span> Law school in University Park, Pennsylvania, US

Penn State Law, located in University Park, Pennsylvania, is one of two separately accredited law schools of the Pennsylvania State University. Penn State Law offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees. The school also offers a joint J.D./M.B.A. with the Smeal College of Business, a joint J.D./M.I.A. degree with the School of International Affairs, which is also located in the Lewis Katz Building, as well as joint degrees with other graduate programs at Penn State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belmont University College of Law</span> Law school in Nashville, Tennessee

Belmont University College of Law is a private law school in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2011, the College of Law was accredited by the American Bar Association in 2013.

References

  1. Empire College SOL Faculty and Staff
  2. Empire College SOL Faculty and Staff
  3. http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/0/documents/July2019-CBX-Statistics.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  4. Law Schools in California Accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE). California State Bar. April 10, 2010.
  5. "ABA-Approved Law Schools by Year". ABA website. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  6. http://www.witkin.com/pages/traynor_pages/Past%20Winners2012.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  7. "Roger J. Traynor Moot Court Competition Past Winners by Year". Witkin Legal Institute website. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  8. "Monterey College of Law to Open Empire College of Law Branch Campus". montereylaw.edu. July 25, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.