UCLA School of Law

File:Uclaschooloflawlibrarytower.jpg

The Hugh and Hazel Darling Law Library, UCLA School of Law

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), School of Law is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. It is generally regarded as the top law school in Los Angeles, as well as the entire Southern California region, and is also one of the most prestigious law schools in the United States.

History

Founded in 1949, UCLA School of Law is by far the youngest of the top-ranked law schools. UCLA School of Law is one of four law schools within the University Of California system. The others are Boalt Hall at UC Berkeley, King Hall at UC Davis, and Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

The UCLA Law Review, the law school's flagship scholarly journal, was first published in 1953.

Degrees and areas of specialization

The school offers the standard Juris Doctor degree as well as several programs of specialization within the degree (which are indicated by notations on a student's diploma). Students can specialize in: Business Law, Entertainment Law, Public Interest Law, and Critical Race Studies.

The school also offers an LL.M. international law program, in which foreign lawyers take one year of courses along regular J.D. students, and then take the California bar exam.

Faculty and students

UCLA School of Law is highly regarded for the quality of its faculty and students. The school has over 100 faculty members with expertise in all major disciplines of law. The faculty is known for its prolific scholarly output; since 2002, faculty members have published 48 new books, 45 chapters, and over 150 journal articles.

The 2004-2005 first-year student admission rate was 13.5% — among the lowest in the country. 99.6% of 2004 UCLA School of Law graduates seeking employment secured professional employment within nine months of graduation. The median starting salary for 2004 graduates was $110,000. Among 2004 graduates employed in the private sector, the median salary was $125,000.

Students, faculty and staff of the law school take great pride in its congeniality and non-competitive atmosphere, both anomalous, considering the school's role as the highest ranked law school in Southern California, one of the nation's most populous and fastest growing metropolitan areas, as well as the nation's second largest legal market.

Location

UCLA School of Law is located on the northeastern edge of the UCLA campus in the Westwood area of Los Angeles. The school is approximately five miles from the Pacific Ocean.

The school proper is housed in an aging (but still beautiful) five-story brick building known simply as the Law Building. A few offices, like the Office of Career Services, are housed in an adjacent building, Dodd Hall.

The campus sits on the sloping foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, between the communities of Brentwood to the west and Holmby Hills to the east. Just beyond Holmby Hills is Beverly Hills.

UCLA School of Law Journals and Reviews

• UCLA Law Review
• UCLA Asian/Pacific American Law Journal
• UCLA Chicano/Latino Law Review
• UCLA Entertainment Law Review
• UCLA Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law Culture & Resistance
• UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy
• UCLA Journal of International Law & Foreign Affairs
• UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law
• UCLA Journal of International Law & Foreign Affairs
• UCLA Journal of Law & Technology
• UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal
• UCLA Women’s Law Journal
• National Black Law Journal

Notable UCLA School of Law Alumni

• Janice Rogers Brown — Judge, Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (2005-); former Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court (1996-2005)
• Vincent Bugliosi — attorney and writer of non-fiction works as Helter Skelter and The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President.
• Alex Kozinski — Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1985-); former clerk to then-Ninth Circuit Judge Anthony Kennedy; former clerk to Chief Justice Warren Burger of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Dorothy Wright Nelson — Senior Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1979-); former Dean of the University of Southern California School of Law (1969-1980)
• Kelly Perdew — Winner of Season 2 of The Apprentice
• Susan Westerberg Prager — Former Dean of the School of Law (1982-1998); one of the first female law school deans; former Provost of Dartmouth College; Professor at the UCLA School of Law (1972-)
• Linda T. Sanchez — Congresswoman from California's 39th Congressional District (2002-)
• Eugene Volokh — Professor at the School of Law (1994-); former clerk to Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; former clerk to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the U.S. Supreme Court; author of textbooks on First Amendment law and academic legal writing; author of over 45 law review articles; founder of the Volokh Conspiracy Web log, http://volokh.com/
• Kim McLane Wardlaw — Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (1998-)
• Henry A. Waxman — Congressman from California's 30th Congressional District (1975-)

Notable UCLA School of Law Faculty Members

• Michael H. Schill - Dean of the School of Law (2004-), noted expert on real estate and housing policy, deregulation, finance and discrimination; author of over 40 articles and books
• Norman Abrams - Author of leading casebooks on Federal Criminal Law, Anti-Terrorism Law and Evidence; member of the faculty since 1959; former UCLA Vice Chancellor of Academic Personnel
• David A. Binder - Pioneer in the field of clinical legal education; author of several books on clinical legal education
• Kenneth L. Karst - Eminent constitutional law expert; member of the faculty since 1965
• Jonathan D. Varat - Former Dean of the School of Law (1998 – 2003); author of major constitutional law casebook

External links

UCLA School of Law official Web site