UCLA School of Law: A Comprehensive Overview
Founded in 1949, the UCLA School of Law stands as the third oldest of the five law schools within the University of California system, a testament to its enduring legacy in legal education. Its establishment, spearheaded by state assemblyman William H., marked the culmination of efforts that originated outside the UCLA community during the mid-1940s.
Origins and Early Years
The creation of the UCLA School of Law was not without its challenges. The search for the law school's first dean proved difficult, delaying its opening by a year. A point of contention arose between the law school planning committee, which prioritized merit, and the Regents of the University of California, who favored political beliefs. This challenge was further complicated by a simultaneous deanship vacancy at Berkeley Law.
Near the end of 1948, the Committee finally identified a sufficiently conservative candidate willing to take the job: L. Coffman. Coffman was able to recruit faculty to UCLA, including Roscoe Pound, Brainerd Currie, Rollin M. Perkins, and Harold Verrall. To build a law library, he hired Thomas S. Dabagh. However, Coffman's deanship did not end well, allegedly due to his vindictive and strongly prejudiced personality. Coffman drove out Dabagh in 1952 after they could not bridge their fundamental differences over how to run the law library, which was widely regarded around the UCLA community as contributing to Dabagh's early death in 1959. On September 21, 1955, the faculty revolted in the form of a memorandum to chancellor Raymond B. Allen. Coffman's successor was Richard C. Maxwell.
Growth and Expansion
By 1963, the law school had 600 students in a building designed for 550, and the law building's deficiencies had become all too evident, such as a complete lack of air conditioning. In October 1963, the law school administration announced a major remodeling and expansion project, which added air conditioning and a new wing to the building. Under Maxwell, the faculty size tripled, from 12 to 37 professors, and the school hired its first female and African-American faculty members.
Academic Programs and Specializations
UCLA Law offers a comprehensive range of academic programs to cater to diverse interests and career aspirations. The school has approximately 1,000 students in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) program and 200 students in its Master of Laws (LL.M.) program, which is popular among foreign students intending to take the California bar exam. It also offers a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) program for students who already have a J.D. and hope to become law professors, as well as a Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) program for those who do not seek a law degree, but find a legal education an important complement to their professional obligations.
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Students can elect to specialize in various fields, including criminal law and policy, business law and policy, entertainment law, environmental law, public interest law, critical race studies, and law and philosophy.
Experiential Learning and Clinical Programs
The school was a pioneer in clinical legal education and today offers a strong experiential education program. Through clinical courses and related offerings, the school allows students to directly represent clients in a variety of settings while under expert supervision. UCLA Law's clinics also provide service to many people who cannot afford to pay for their legal services, including veterans, the homeless, and indigent individuals appearing in criminal and immigration courts.
Admissions and Student Life
The roughly 300 students who begin law school at UCLA every year are divided into sections to encourage a sense of community. In 2023, 6,457 students applied to attend UCLA Law, and 315 were enrolled. The median LSAT score for members of the entering class in 2023 is 170.
Facilities and Infrastructure
UCLA School of Law's south entrance facing Charles E. Young Drive. The school proper is housed in a three-story brick building known simply as the Law Building, with the law library tower extending to five stories. The oldest parts of the Law Building's interior are notorious for a "high school atmosphere" and "dark, drafty classrooms". However, the Law Building has been extensively improved by the addition of the clinical wing in 1990 and the new law library in 2001.
Prominent Alumni
UCLA Law has produced numerous distinguished alumni who have made significant contributions to the legal profession and beyond, including Ann E. Richard L. Lynn M. Angela R. Ken Ziffren - entertainment attorney, L.A. Richard L. James L. Richard C. Melville B. Michael H.
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Rankings and Recognition
UCLA Law consistently receives high rankings from reputable publications, reflecting its academic excellence and scholarly impact. These rankings often consider factors such as faculty quality, student selectivity, and career placement rates.
Released in 2024, the triennial Sisk rankings place the entire UCLA Law faculty at No. 11 on the list of the law schools with the highest scholarly impact.
U.S. News & World Report Rankings
UCLA Law's approach to rankings, particularly those of U.S. News & World Report, reflects a commitment to its core values and a focus on encouraging positive change within legal education. Interim Dean Russell Korobkin articulated the school's perspective, noting that third-party rankings can be valuable if their methodology is transparent, if they prioritize educational quality, and if they incentivize schools to compete in ways that ultimately benefit the legal profession.
However, UCLA Law has expressed concerns that certain ranking methodologies may disincentivize schools from supporting public service careers for their graduates, building a diverse student population, and awarding need-based financial aid. The school believes that the factors U.S. News has decided to approach its rankings and what it chooses to incentivize do not align with our values or our commitment to public service; nor is it what leaders in the top law firms, nonprofit and government organizations, corporations, and others that hire our students value.
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