UCLA School of Law

UCLA School of Law
Name	UCLA School of Law
Established	1949
Type	Public
City	Los Angeles
State	California
Country	United States
Campus	Westwood

UCLA School of Law is a public law school located in Westwood, Los Angeles, affiliated with the University of California. Founded in 1949, it participates in litigation, scholarship, and policy engagement across California, the United States, and internationally. The school is known for programs in constitutional law, entertainment law, environmental law, and public interest law, and maintains partnerships with courts, law firms, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies.

History

The school's founding in 1949 followed expansion of the University of California system and post‑World War II growth in higher education, situating it alongside institutions such as UC Berkeley School of Law, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, and Columbia Law School. Early deans and faculty included scholars who had clerked for the United States Supreme Court and taught at places like Stanford Law School and New York University School of Law. The school has been involved in landmark litigation and scholarship connected to cases argued before the California Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and its alumni have served in roles at the United States Department of Justice, Federal Communications Commission, California Legislature, and international bodies such as the International Court of Justice. Over decades the school expanded clinics, centers, and interdisciplinary ties with the UCLA School of Medicine, UCLA Anderson School of Management, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Campus and Facilities

The law school is located near landmarks such as Royce Hall, Powell Library, Frank Gehry’s projects in Los Angeles, and the Hammer Museum. Facilities include moot courtrooms used for competitions like the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and the National Moot Court Competition, as well as libraries housing collections comparable to those at the Library of Congress and archives used by scholars referencing holdings related to the Warren Court and Brown v. Board of Education. The campus hosts centers named for donors who have worked with organizations such as The Aspen Institute and foundations associated with the Ford Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Academics and Programs

Degree offerings include the Juris Doctor, LL.M., and joint degrees with the UCLA School of Law’s university partners and external schools like School of Public Health, Pepperdine University (collaboration examples), and institutions that engage with entities such as the United Nations and World Bank. Curriculum emphasizes courses tied to precedent from the United States Constitution, decisions by the Supreme Court of California, and statutes like landmark federal acts enacted by the United States Congress. Specialized programs include international law tracks that connect students with internships at the International Criminal Court, entertainment law symposia engaging with studios such as Walt Disney Studios and Netflix, Inc., and environmental law initiatives that have collaborated with the Environmental Protection Agency and NGOs like the Sierra Club.

Admissions and Rankings

Admissions are competitive, drawing applicants from undergraduate institutions including Harvard College, Yale University, Stanford University, Princeton University, and liberal arts colleges like Amherst College and Williams College. Graduates have clerked for judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court; they have joined firms such as Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and regional boutiques, as well as public offices like the Los Angeles County Superior Court and the California Attorney General’s Office. Ranking organizations and publications comparable to U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review regularly place the school among top-tier law programs, and specialty rankings highlight strengths in areas that intersect with institutions like the American Bar Association.

Clinical and Public Interest Programs

Clinical offerings place students in supervised representation through clinics that have partnered with organizations such as Public Counsel, ACLU, Human Rights Watch, and immigrant advocacy networks connected to rulings from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Clinics address issues litigated before bodies like the United States District Court for the Central District of California and administrative agencies including the Department of Homeland Security. Public interest fellowships and externships align graduates with employers including the Legal Aid Society, municipal public defenders in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, and policy centers modeled after think tanks such as the Brennan Center for Justice.

Notable Faculty and Alumni

Faculty and visiting scholars have included academics who previously taught at Harvard Law School, litigators who argued before the United States Supreme Court, and scholars with connections to the American Law Institute and the International Association of Law Schools. Alumni have served as judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, members of the United States Congress, state governors, and executives at companies such as Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Entertainment. Graduates hold leadership positions at nonprofit organizations including ACLU chapters, leadership roles at foundations like the Rockefeller Foundation, and academic appointments at universities like Georgetown University Law Center and University of Chicago Law School.

Student Life and Organizations

Student organizations cover interests spanning trial advocacy groups that compete in events like the American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition, journals that publish scholarship comparable to the Harvard Law Review and Yale Law Journal, and affinity groups tied to professional networks such as the National Lawyers Guild and bar associations like the California Bar Association. Extracurriculars coordinate clinics, pro bono projects with entities such as Bet Tzedek Legal Services and community legal clinics in neighborhoods like Koreatown and West Los Angeles, and student-run conferences that attract speakers linked to institutions like the United States Supreme Court and the Brookings Institution.

Category:Law schools in California