School of Law (Berkeley Law)

School of Law (Berkeley Law)
Name	School of Law (Berkeley Law)
Established	1894
Type	Private
Parent	University of California, Berkeley
City	Berkeley, California
Country	United States
Dean	Erwin Chemerinsky
Students	1,000+
Website	Official website

Contents

School of Law (Berkeley Law) is a leading American law school located on the campus of University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1894, the school is noted for its programs in constitutional law, environmental law, technology law, and public interest training, and it has produced graduates influential at institutions such as the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and major law firms including Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and Latham & Watkins. The law school maintains connections with federal bodies like the United States Department of Justice and regional organizations such as the California Supreme Court and Federal Communications Commission.

History

The law school began as the law department of University of California in the 19th century and expanded through the Progressive Era into a distinct institution associated with figures such as William Howard Taft, Earl Warren, and Roscoe Pound. During the New Deal and postwar periods alumni entered roles at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, and academic posts at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. In the 1960s and 1970s the school engaged with movements around the Civil Rights Movement, the Free Speech Movement, and litigation before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. More recent decades have seen curricular developments in response to the rise of Silicon Valley, the Environmental Protection Agency, and international institutions like the International Court of Justice.

The law school's facilities are situated near campus landmarks such as Sather Tower and the Hearst Memorial Mining Building. Primary facilities include classrooms, a law library, and clinics adjacent to research units like the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and the Energy and Resources Group. The law library houses collections supporting advocacy at venues including the California Court of Appeal, the Federal Trade Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board. Clinical spaces host partnerships with organizations such as ACLU affiliates, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and local legal aid providers.

Berkeley Law offers the Juris Doctor and graduate degrees linked to programs with institutions like Stanford Law School and Columbia Law School through exchanges and joint offerings. Major emphases include coursework and seminars on subjects tied to the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Clean Air Act, and Patent Act. Specialized programs connect to professional arenas including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and World Trade Organization–related practice. Clinics and externships place students in settings such as the United States Attorney's Office and nonprofit advocates like Earthjustice and Human Rights Watch.

Admissions historically attract applicants from universities such as Harvard University, Princeton University, Stanford University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Selectivity metrics situate the school among top-ranked institutions alongside Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and Columbia Law School in publications that evaluate ties to the U.S. News & World Report, the Princeton Review, and specialty rankings referencing The National Law Journal. Employment outcomes often lead graduates into clerkships for judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, appointments to the California Supreme Court, and positions at firms like Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and DLA Piper.

Research centers affiliated with the law school include the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, and the Environmental Law Clinic, which collaborate with entities such as the Environmental Protection Agency, United Nations Environment Programme, and the California Energy Commission. The school hosts institutes directing scholarship on intellectual property, privacy, and antitrust matters that engage with the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Commerce, and international bodies like the World Intellectual Property Organization. Faculty-led projects have produced litigation and policy work involving the Supreme Court of the United States, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and legislative processes in the California State Legislature.

Student organizations encompass chapters of national groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Federalist Society, and the National Lawyers Guild, alongside topical groups devoted to the First Amendment, International Human Rights, and the Environmental Law Society. Journals and reviews such as the California Law Review, the Berkeley Technology Law Journal, and the Ecology Law Quarterly provide editorial experience correlated with placements at courts like the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission. Moot court teams compete in competitions associated with the International Criminal Court, the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, and the American Bar Association.

Faculty and alumni have included deans and scholars who moved between institutions such as Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, and Stanford Law School, justices and judges who served on the United States Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as well as public servants appointed to the United States Department of Justice and diplomatic posts in the United States Department of State. Alumni have led organizations including American Civil Liberties Union, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and major firms like Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Latham & Watkins, and have been authors of works cited before the Supreme Court of the United States and in scholarship at Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.