California Western School of Law

California Western School of Law
Motto	What law school ought to be
Established	1924
School type	Private
Dean	Steven R. Smith
Location	San Diego, California, US 32°43′21″N 117°9′42″W
Enrollment	835
Faculty	71
USNWR ranking	Rank not published
Bar pass rate	78% (ABA profile)
Annual tuition	$40,680
Website	www.CaliforniaWestern.edu
ABA profile	California Western Profile

California Western School of Law, founded in 1924, is a private, non-profit law school located in San Diego, California. It is popularly known as California Western or Cal Western and formerly California Western University. The school was approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1962 and became a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1967. It is the oldest law school in San Diego. California Western is home to the Southern California "Innocence Project." Its International Law Journal is among the oldest in the nation.

History

California Western was originally chartered in 1924 by Leland Ghent Stanford as a private graduate institution called Balboa Law College, the first law school in San Diego. His brother, Dwight Stanford, served as one of the first deans. (Leland Ghent Stanford is not related to the founder of Stanford University, Leland Stanford, although he did attend Stanford, where he earned undergraduate and law degrees, and also M.A. and Ph.D degrees in Government Administration.) Balboa Law College expanded to include undergraduate and other graduate studies and changed its name to Balboa University. The law school at Balboa University was closed in 1946.

In 1952, Balboa University became affiliated with the Southern California Methodist Conference, changed its name to California Western University, and relocated to Point Loma. The law school was reopened in downtown. In 1960, the law school had 6 full-time faculty and 23 students. In that year, it re-located to Rohr Hall at Point Loma. It received approval from the American Bar Association in 1962.

In 1968, California Western University changed its name to United States International University (USIU). The law school retained the name California Western. USIU moved to Scripps Ranch. Point Loma Nazarene University currently occupies the Point Loma site. In 2001, USIU merged with California School of Professional Psychology to become Alliant International University.

In 1973, the law school relocated from its Point Loma location to the current downtown campus at 350 Cedar Street. In 1975, California Western ended its affiliation with USIU and became an independent secular law school. In 1980, the new trimester system was announced, allowing two entering classes in one academic year, reducing individual class size and allowing students to graduate in two years rather than the standard three.

In 1993, the law school opened a new administrative and campus center at 225 Cedar Street, housing faculty and administration offices, including student affairs and financial aid.

The current Dean, Steven R. Smith, joined the law school in 1996. In January 2000, California Western opened a new Law Library building at 290 Cedar Street, which was dedicated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Academics

The law school teaches the J.D. curriculum plus dual-degree programs, specifically:

• J.D./Master of Business Administration (with San Diego State University)
• J.D./Master of Social Work (with San Diego State University)
• J.D./Ph.D. in political science or history (with University of California, San Diego)

California Western and University of California, San Diego offer a joint Master's of Advanced Studies degree in Health Law.

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.

Its research centers include:

• William J. McGill Center for Creative Problem Solving
• Institute for Criminal Defense Advocacy
• National Center for Preventive Law
• California Innocence Project - The California Innocence Project, part of the national network of Innocence Projects, is a non-profit clinical program based at California Western in which law professors and students work to free wrongly convicted prisoners in California. The law students assist in the investigation of cases where there is strong evidence of innocence, write briefs in those cases, and advocate in all appropriate forums for the release of the project's clients. Founded in 1999, the California Innocence Project reviews more than 1,000 claims of innocence from California inmates each year and has earned the release of five wrongfully convicted clients. The Project is directed by Professor Justin Brooks and Professor Jan Stiglitz.

Its clinical internship program routinely places students in the U.S. Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court and U.S. Attorney's Offices, as well as numerous law firms in various sizes.

Faculty

In 2007 California Western School of Law Professor, Justin Brooks, was named one of California's Top 100 Attorneys by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Brooks was one of only four law professors in California selected and one of only six lawyers – and the only criminal lawyer – from San Diego on the list.^{[citation needed]}

Bar passage rates

According to the ABA, the bar pass rate is 84.15% for California takers.

Post-graduation employment

According to the ABA, 82.2% of California Western Law graduates were employed 9 months after graduation.

56.6% of the Class of 2009 were known to be working for law firms in the private sector nine months after graduation. 17.7% of the Class of 2009 were either unemployed or had an unknown employment status nine months after graduation. These employment statistics are self-reported and not audited by an independent third party.

Average Student Loan Debt

The average Class of 2009 graduate had $145,621 of student loan debt.

Areas of concentration

California Western's areas of concentration provides education in the following areas:

• Child, Family and Elder Law
• Creative Problem Solving
• Criminal Justice Program
• Health law and Policy
• Intellectual property, telecommunications, and technology regulation
• International law
• Labor and employment law
• Entertainment law
• Business law

Publications

Cal Western has two major publications, the California Western Law Review and the California Western International Law Journal, one of the oldest international law journals in the country.

Notable alumni

• Anthony J. Battaglia (born 1949), U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of California
• Scott C. Black (born 1952), former Judge Advocate General of the United States Army
• Shana Dale (born 1964), former Deputy Administrator of NASA
• David Francis, former member of the United States Cycling Team
• James B. Gibson (born 1949), former mayor of Henderson, Nevada
• M. James Lorenz (born 1935), United States federal judge
• Bruce E. MacDonald (born 1955), former U.S. Navy vice admiral and Judge Advocate General of the Navy
• Afa Ripley, Jr., Attorney General of American Samoa
• Margaret Catharine Rodgers (born 1964), United States federal judge
• David Roger (born 1961), District Attorney of Clark County, Nevada
• Kevin Sandkuhler (born 1953), retired Brigadier General in the United States Marine Corps

External links

• California Western School of Law Official website
• California Western Innocence Project