Southwestern Law School (formerly known as Southwestern University School of Law and Southwestern College of Law) is a private, non-profit, ABA-accredited law school in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California, with about 870 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an art deco National Register of Historic Places landmark built in 1929. Southwestern is an independent law school with no affiliation to any undergraduate university. It has been an American Bar Association approved law school since 1970.
History
Southwestern Law School was founded on November 25, 1911, as the Southwestern College of Law. John J. Schumacher, its founder, intended the nonprofit institution to be a law school that reached out to women and minorities. The school is one of the oldest law schools in the state of California and the second oldest law school in Los Angeles.
Southwestern received a university charter in 1913 after it expanded to include a number of other disciplines including a business school. Southwestern's first "home" was in the Union Oil Building in downtown Los Angeles, followed by a small campus on South Hill Street, where it existed for the ensuing decades.
The Great Depression and Second World War took a severe toll on the school's enrollment, and by the end of the 1930s the law school was the only school that remained. However, as veterans returned home the school experienced a surge of interest, and in 1974, the campus was moved to the school's current location on Westmoreland Avenue in the Wilshire Center area of Los Angeles.
It joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1974. It is a member of the North American Consortium on Legal Education.
In 1994, Southwestern acquired the adjacent Bullocks Wilshire building, a historic landmark which was subsequently renovated to house the school's law library, classrooms, faculty offices, and a high-tech, state-of-the-art court room and advocacy center.
Campus
The campus is in the Koreatown area of the Mid-Wilshire district near downtown Los Angeles. Currently the campus contains two buildings, the Westmoreland Building and the Bullocks Wilshire Building. Both house classrooms, administrative offices, and faculty offices; the Bullocks Wilshire Building also houses the Leigh Taylor Law Library (named for a former Dean of the law school), the Julian Dixon Courtroom and Advocacy Center, a fitness center, a dining area, and student lounges.
The Westmoreland Building is a building typical of college and university campuses, while the Bullocks Wilshire Building is a fully restored art deco landmark that pays tribute to its history in many ways. Every level of the building has been renovated (back to its original 1929 state) down to the smallest details such as the clocks on the walls and the "showcases" in the area now occupied by the library.
At over 83,000 square feet (7,700Â m2) and featuring over 470,000 volumes, the Leigh H. Taylor Law Library is the second largest academic law library facility in California.
As of fall semester 2013, Southwestern opened student housing known as The Residences at 7th. The Residences at 7th include 133 state of the art units ranging from studio to two bedrooms and can house 153 or more students.
Law school rankings and faculty reputation
Southwestern placed 121st in the 2011 U.S. News and World Report "Best Law Schools" rankings.
The part-time program was ranked 34th in the 2013 edition of U.S. News and World Report.
In 2008, Southwestern's moot court team was ranked 11th in the United States.
Southwestern's negotiation team finished first place in the 2008â€"09 regional negotiation competition sponsored by the American Bar Association, and placed second in the 2010 National Environmental Negotiation Competition.
Bar passage rates
Based on July, 2016 results, 38% of first-time Southwestern Law graduates passed the California State Bar, vs. a statewide average of 62%.
Post-graduation employment
According to Southwestern's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 38.3% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo-practitioners. Southwestern's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 26.7%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.
According to the law professor blog, The Faculty Lounge, based on 2012 ABA data, only 44.1% of graduates obtained full-time, long-term, positions requiring bar admission (i.e., jobs as lawyers), nine months after graduation, ranking 154th out of 197 law schools.
Costs
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Southwestern for the 2013-2014 academic year is $75,559. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $293,914.
Curriculum
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Full-time program (3 years)
Traditional program is three academic years of full-time study that allows students to pursue a broad-based legal education with opportunities to focus on a particular area of the law, such as: entertainment, criminal, international, business, family, or tax law, among others. In 2007, Southwestern introduced its new first-year curriculum based on doctrinal legal theory foundation with a focus on legal research, writing, interviewing and advocacy skills to bridge the gap from theory to practice. Curricular reforms led the school to be chosen as one of ten schools by the Carnegie Foundation to participate in a study on the future of legal education.
Part-time programs
Ranked 27th in the nation, the evening program is four academic years of part-time study designed for working professionals and other students who are unable to devote full-time to the study of law.
Part-time day
The "PLEAS" (Part-time Legal Education Alternative at Southwestern) program is a 4-year part-time day curriculum designed for students with child or elder care responsibilities.
SCALE Program (2 years)
Established in 1974, Southwestern founded the first two-year J.D. course of study offered at an American Bar Association-approved law school. SCALE (Southwestern's Conceptual Approach to Legal Education) is a unique, accelerated J.D. program with emphasis on interdisciplinary study, critical thinking and simulation training. SCALE's frequent deadlines, challenging curriculum, extensive writing assignments, intense schedule, and demanding workload prepare students for the rigors of practicing law. Low student-faculty ratio in the classroom promotes cooperative teaching and intellectual discussion among classmates. The program has a limited enrollment of select highly motivated and exceptional students, which requires applicants to interview with the Program Director as part of the application process.
J.D./M.B.A. Joint Degree Program
Southwestern has joined forces with the Drucker Graduate School of Management to create dual-degree programs that will expand students' educational and career options. Students at Southwestern and the Drucker School, part of Claremont Graduate University (CGU), will be able to earn a J.D. and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), a J.D. and Master of Arts in Management (M.A.M.), or a J.D. and Executive Master of Business Administration (E.M.B.A.). The combination of legal training and management skills is increasingly in demand; the collaboration reflects the two institutions' values and a desire to prepare graduates for fulfilling careers and a positive societal role.
B.A./J.D. Joint Degree Program
Southwestern Law School entered into a partnership agreement with California State University, Northridge in which students will be able to simultaneously earn their Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor in six years instead of seven years. Starting in fall 2014, the program will enroll up to 35 incoming CSUN freshmen. Students will spend three years completing their undergraduate course requirements and their first year of law school will also count as their fourth year of undergraduate education. Furthermore, students that are accepted into the program will also receive a $10,000 Wildman/Schumacher entering student scholarship. The scholarship can be renewed provided that a minimum 2.7 GPA is maintained. In order to qualify for the program incoming freshmen must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and have received either a minimum score of 25 on the ACT or 1140 on the SAT. In addition, students in the program must maintain a 3.40 GPA and receive a 156 or higher on the LSAT. According to Dean Austen Parrish, the program will help young, promising undergraduate students pursue a legal education.
Master of Laws (LL.M.)
General studies
Southwestern offers an individualized LL.M. program for students who have already earned a law degree and are interested in furthering their legal education. The program allows students to choose their own focus of study, from American Legal Systems to International Law to Technology Innovation and Commercialization, in line with their individual personal and professional goals.
Advocacy training
In 2006, Southwestern was awarded a federal grant to train Mexican lawyers and law faculty in advocacy skills as part of a USAID effort to assist Mexican legal reform.
Academic programs
Donald E. Biederman Entertainment and Media Law Institute
The Institute hosts guest speakers, conferences, and an annual symposium in the area of entertainment and media law, providing opportunities for students to interact with professionals in these fields. Its faculty boasts eminent entertainment scholars, publishes a semiannual law journal, and offers the nation’s first LL.M Degree in Entertainment and Media Law.
Moot Court Honors Program
Select students represent Southwestern in local, regional and national interscholastic competitions as oralists, brief writers or team coordinators. Southwestern's Moot Court Honors Program is recognized as one of the most active moot court programs in the country, sending teams to over a dozen major competitions annually. At the 2007 Intramural Moot Court Competition, Honorable Steven Levinson, Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of Hawaii, commented that Southwestern has "by far, the best First-Year Moot Court program in the nation". The moot court program was ranked 52nd in 2007, 11th in 2008, and is currently ranked 10th in the country (running tally).
Negotiation Honors Program
Southwestern’s newest honors program provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate core lawyering skills in the context of negotiating contracts. Members of the Negotiation Honors Program compete in competitions that allows them to apply the skills of legal research, writing, advocacy and client counseling through negotiation exercises. Professors Cristina Knolton and Nyree Gray serve as faculty advisors to the program. Although only recently created as an honors program, it enhances what was already in place when Southwestern regularly sent teams to ABA competitions. In 2008, a team from Southwestern won First Place at the ABA Negotiation Competition.
Trial Advocacy Honors Program
Teams participate in national and regional mock trial competitions, consisting of both criminal and civil trials, throughout the academic year. Advocates compete in some of the nation's most prestigious invitation-only competitions, judged by distinguished members of the bench and bar. Faculty include Joseph P. Esposito, Assistant District Attorney of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, overseeing all specialized prosecution units; Bill Seki, former LA County Prosecutor and founding partner at the litigation firm Seki, Nishimura & Watase, LLP; and Karen R. Smith, a former prosecutor for the California Attorney General's Office, former Senior Deputy Federal Public Defender for California and then for the Federal Public Defender's Office, current full-time professor. To help prepare for the competitions, the faculty invite alumni to serve as coaches for the mock trial teams. Over the years, Southwestern's mock trial teams have achieved notable results. In 2011, T.A.H.P. took first place in California Attorneys for Criminal Justice's (CACJ) National Criminal Trial Advocacy Competition in San Francisco. The team included J. B. Twomey, Ricky Rodriguez, Anet Badali and Ashley Smolic. Anet Badali also received the prestigious George Porter award as "Best Advocate" at the conclusion of the championship round. The alumni coaches for the CACJ team were Torsten Bassell, Doug Baek, and Kenneth Holdren. In 2011, T.A.H.P. also defeated Pepperdine Law School in the ABA Labor Law Mock Trial Competition defending their title from 2010. This team, composed of Elliot Jung, Andrea Friedman, Jessica Balady and Matthew Rudes finished 5th place in the national competition in Miami. In 2012 T.A.H.P. defeated the University of Arizona in the championship round in the Texas Young Lawyers Association's National Trial Competition. The team included Kunal Jain, Katherine Bruce and Bahareh Aghajani. They competed for a national title in Austin, Texas, on March 23, 2012.
Publications
Southwestern Law Review
Law Review is a student-edited quarterly journal that publishes scholarly articles and commentary on a variety of legal issues in California and federal law contributed by prominent jurists, practitioners, law professors, and student members of the Law Review staff. Annual Symposia and the Distinguished Lecture Series are sponsored by Law Review. These programs feature prominent members of the legal community lecturing on areas of legal expertise and participating in panel discussions on relevant emerging and contemporary legal issues.
Southwestern Journal of International Law
Formerly the Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas, the journal focuses on issues of international law and trade, publishing scholarly articles and notes exploring areas such as international insolvency, environmental law, international trade issues, NAFTA, international arbitration, privatization in Central and South American countries, immigration, human rights, and international crime. On October 3, 2008, the Southwestern Journal of International Law hosted one of the first U.S. conferences on Arctic sovereignty, featuring legal scholars from both the United States and Canada.
Journal of International Media & Entertainment Law
In association with the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law and Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries, the Journal of International Media & Entertainment Law explores the complex and unsettled legal issues surrounding the creation and distribution of media and entertainment products on a worldwide basis, which necessarily implicate the laws, customs, and practices of multiple jurisdictions. Additionally, it examines the impact of the Internet and other technologies, the often conflicting laws affecting those issues, and the legal ramifications of widely divergent cultural views of privacy, defamation, intellectual property, and government regulation.
Journal of Legal Education
In 2008-2009, the Journal of Legal Education was transitioned for a five-year term from Georgetown University Law Center to Southwestern. The Journal of Legal Education is a quarterly publication of the Association of American Law Schools that fosters an exploration of ideas and information about legal education and related matters and serves as a medium for communication within the law school world. The co-editors at Georgetown were Professors Carrie Menkel-Meadow and Mark Tushnet. The co-editors at Southwestern are Dean Bryant G. Garth and Professor Angela R. Riley, with Dr. Molly Selvin serving as associate editor.
Clinical programs
Immigration Appeals Practicum
Southwestern has aligned with the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson (MTO) to establish a new Immigration Appeals Practicum (IAP). Beginning in the fall 2010 semester, students selected for the IAP will work closely with MTO attorneys and represent pro bono clients in appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
Children's Rights Clinic
Provides representation to low-income children in the areas of school discipline, special education and other education-related issues. The clinic is staffed by law students who represent clients under the supervision of faculty. Students have the opportunity in a real-life context to hone their lawyering skills such as interviewing, negotiating, counseling, pre-trial litigation, and oral advocacy.
Immigration Law Clinic
Provides immigration relief to children and caretakers who have been abused, abandoned or neglected or who have been victims of crime. Students are taught to navigate complicated bureaucracies and to support indigent and otherwise underrepresented clients who are often confused and intimidated by the immigration process. The clinic offers valuable services to the Los Angeles community while giving students hands-on experience.
Street Law - Youth in Transition
Students enrolled in the Street Law Clinic teach law-related critical life skills to youth in Los Angeles, most of whom are involved in the dependency or delinquency system. Many of these young students also have learning disabilities, which qualifies them for special education services.
The law students participate in a weekly classroom component at Southwestern to prepare them to go into the community and teach a 90-minute lesson a week for 10 weeks. Through the class, the law students learn and practice the skills necessary to teach practical participatory education about the law. In addition, attorneys from public interest agencies visit as guest speakers to review the laws and answer questions in their areas of expertise that relate to this special population. During the semester, the law students also have the opportunity to visit Dependency and Delinquency courts to observe hearings, as well as speak with attorneys and judges to gain a deeper understanding of these court systems, as many of the students they are teaching are involved or at risk of entering this system.
Study abroad
- Universidad Torcuato di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina (summer and semester)
- London, England (summer)
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (summer)
- Guanajuato, Mexico (summer)
- University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada (semester)
Noted people
Alumni
Southwestern's 10,000 alumni include public officials as well as founders of law firms and general counsels of corporations.
Politics and government
- Tom Bradley â€" 38th Mayor of Los Angeles (1973â€"93)
- Marcia Clark â€" Lead prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder case (1995)
- Julian Dixon â€" California State Assembly (1973â€"78), U.S. House of Representatives (1979â€"2000)
- Denise Moreno Ducheny â€" California State Assembly (1994â€"2000), California State Senate (2003â€"present)
- Matt Fong â€" California State Treasurer (1995â€"99)
- Jim Gibbons â€" 28th Governor of Nevada (2007â€"11), U.S. House of Representatives (1997â€"2006)
- Bill Paparian â€" Pasadena City Council (1987â€"99) including serving as 52nd Mayor of Pasadena, California (1995â€"97), Green Party nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives (2006)
- Robert Philibosian â€" 38th Los Angeles County District Attorney (1981â€"84)
- Norris Poulson â€" California State Assembly (1939â€"43), 36th Mayor of Los Angeles (1954â€"61)
- Ira Reiner â€" 39th Los Angeles County District Attorney (1984â€"92)
- Edward R. Roybal â€" Los Angeles City Council (1949â€"62), U.S. House of Representatives (1963â€"93),
- Gordon Smith â€" U.S. Senate (1997â€"2009)
- Tom Umberg â€" California State Assembly (1991â€"95, 2005â€"07); Deputy Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy (1997â€"2000).
- Sam Yorty â€" California State Assembly (1937â€"41, 1949â€"50), U.S. House of Representatives (1951â€"55), 37th Mayor of Los Angeles (1961â€"73)
Judiciary
- Stanley Mosk â€" former Justice of the California Supreme Court
- Ronald S. W. Lew â€" United States District Court for the Central District of California
- Paul Peek â€" former Justice of the California Supreme Court
- Vaino Spencer â€" first African-American woman judge in California
- Otis D. Wright II â€" United States District Court for the Central District of California
Entertainment industry
- Jean Casarez â€" Court TV correspondent
- Kevin A. Ross â€" host and producer on America's Court with Judge Ross
Sports industry
- Chris Bahr â€" Olympian, NFL kicker
- Jeff Borris â€" Sports agent
- Donald Sterling â€" Former owner of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers
Legal practice
- William John Cox â€" public interest attorney (Holocaust denial case and publication of Dead Sea Scrolls), author and political activist
- Daniel Horowitz â€" high-profile defense attorney and legal analyst
- Daniel M. Petrocelli â€" Partner, O’Melveny & Myers. Notable clients include Fred Goldman and Jeffrey Skilling
- Stefani Schaeffer â€" defense attorney and winner of Donald Trump's The Apprentice 6
- Marvin Mitchelson â€" high-profile - divorce attorney - celebrity lawyer who pioneered the concept of palimony
- Vicki Roberts - attorney, on-air legal commentator, television and film personality
Authors
- Richard T. Williamson â€" non-fiction author of books on asset protection, estate planning, and capital gains tax planning
- Kenneth G. Eade â€" fiction author of legal thriller, and spy fiction.
Religion
- Howard W. Hunter â€" 14th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Faculty
Dean
Susan Westerberg Prager, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and former dean of UCLA School of Law, is the Dean and Chief Executive Officer. Her five-year term began in fall 2013.
Prior to Dean Prager's appointment, Austen L. Parrish served as Interim Dean from 2012 to 2013. He has been a member of the faculty since 2002 and was previously Vice Dean for Academic Affairs.
Dean Emeritus Bryant G. Garth served in the position from 2005 to 2012. Prior to joining Southwestern, Garth was the Director of the American Bar Foundation (ABF), and Dean of the Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington from 1986 to 1990. He was recently named on the 25 most influential people in legal education by the National Jurist. He succeeded Dean Emeritus Leigh H. Taylor, who served as the law school's dean for 26 years.
Former faculty
- Christopher Darden â€" prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder case
- James Rogan â€" former judge and member of the House of Representatives who was a House Manager in the Senate impeachment trial of Bill Clinton
- Beverly Rubens Gordon â€" went on to establish two other Southern California law schools that are now part of Pepperdine University and Whittier College
- Lawrence Sullivan (1991â€"2007) â€" scholar and expert in antitrust law
- Paul E. Treusch (1974â€"2004) â€" expert in tax law
References
External links
- Southwestern Law School
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