California is one of the most compelling destinations for international law students. The state is well-known throughout the world for its beautiful beaches, Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and pulsating metropolitan areas. Who wouldn’t want to study law in such an environment?
People are attracted to law schools in California due to so much importance placed on their legal expertise to advise, counsel, and represent people and companies. These schools are well accredited by the American Bar Association and offer world-class LL.M. programs.
In this article, we have highlighted the best law schools in California including public and online law schools. You can choose the one that suits your career goals.
What is Law School?
A law school is an Established organization dedicated to educating and training of students in legal education. It usually Encompasses different kinds of training that prepare and equips a student to become a lawyer.
Intending lawyers have a series of step-by-step procedures to follow so as to enhance their practice of law as well as some minimum requirements such as completion of their undergraduate degree for admission into the law school. It is very important to note that the practice of law is only by a law school degree.
About Law Schools In California
Although California as a state has a reputation of excellence, with lots of Standard And accredited law schools, it however also hosts a number of affordable law schools. There are about 20 law schools in California. These law schools are known for producing efficient and intelligent lawyers.
In Most California law school programs, a four-year bachelor’s degree is required. Though lots of students offer courses in English, government, history, philosophy, or economics, no specific major is Needed. The American Bar Association (ABA) Is of the opinion that a broad range of difficult courses from demanding instructors is excellent preparation for legal education.
Students who learn pre-law advising programs gain a better insight into what a career in law entails. The advisor can also be of help in choosing the right classes and courses in undergrad and also help with your law school Entry application processes.
What are the Law School Requirements in California?
The need to be legally informed in this age and time can prompt the necessity to study law and also acquire a certificate in law.
Application into law schools in California is mainly by taking the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). The test is done to evaluate the students’ reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and analytical reasoning. To succeed in law school, you must possess very strong problem-solving, analytical, and creative thinking are basic skills.
Complete a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree
Once admitted into the law school of choice, a three-year Law program Begins (Though some schools offer a part-time program In law wish is of the duration of four years), this is to complete a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.
Course Requirements
Students are expected to take some courses during their first year In law school, such courses are expected to be in torts, contracts, constitutional law, civil procedure, property, and a legal writing class.
The students in the second year or third year actually offer courses varying across institutions And countries, but will normally require writing credits, experiential electives, professional responsibility courses, and more. All these give the Privileged to explore Expertise areas and learn what Catches your fancy or amuses you the most, like tax, labor, or corporate law.
Some law schools such as Cornell Law School Advises their second-year Law students to take courses in administrative law, business organizations, evidence, and federal income taxation for a much wider range of topics. Students should take elective courses that cover their area of Interest in their third year Of the program including seminars and problem courses.
Licensing bar exam
After a successful three years duration course at a law school, students must sit for a licensing bar exam for the state Where they wish to practice.
According to the BLS, most states require that applicants graduate from an ABA-accredited law school, pass one or more written bar exams, and be found by an admitting board to have the character to represent and advise others.
How Long Does it take to complete a Law school in California?
The duration to study law Differs from one country to another while some countries have the same time frame for the study of law.
This time frame ranging between 3-6 years differs from country to country. For instance in Nigeria, a Prospective lawyer might study law for a period of 6 years (Including law school).
Tuition Fees For law schools in California
Various law schools in different countries have their own Speculated tuition fees, these tuition fees however could be very expensive due to their level of training Coupled with Their practical Expertise.
Thus, In California law schools, Tuition fees range between $20,000-$60,000 per year and $60,000-$180,000 for a 3 years duration. However, Students can take advantage of scholarship offers and grants in order to take care of their tuition fee Regardless of the cost. Below is the list of the 10 cheapest law schools in California.
List of Law schools in California
Here are the best law schools in California. We selected these schools based on their employability rates, rankings, and other academic reputations.
- Stanford University
- University of California Berkeley
- University of California Los Angeles
- Whittier Law School
- University of Southern California
- University of California Davis
- Pepperdine University
- University of California Hastings
- Loyola Law School
- University of San Diego
- Santa Clara University
- Chapman University
#1. Stanford University – $20,725 per year
Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is a law school affiliated with Stanford University, a private research university located near Palo Alto, California.
Since 1992, Stanford Law has been ranked as one of the top three law schools in the United States, along with Yale Law School and Harvard Law School.
Stanford Law School employs over 90 full-time and part-time faculty members and enrolls over 550 students pursuing a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.).
Stanford Law also awards four advanced legal degrees: a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Studies in Law (M.S.L.), a Master of the Science of Law (J.S.M.), and a Doctor of the Science of Law (D.S.L.) (J.S.D.). Stanford hosts a football game every fall.
- Ranking – 2
- Acceptance rate – 12%
- Employment rates – 88. 8%
- Address: Crown Quadrangle 559 Nathan Abbott Way Stanford, CA 94305 650-723-2465
#2. University of California Davis – $53,000 per year
UC Davis School of Law, also known as King Hall and UC Davis Law, is an American Bar Association-accredited law school. In 1968, the ABA-approved the school. In 1968, it became a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).
According to Brian Leiter’s Law School rankings, Davis is ranked 23rd in the country for scholarly impact as measured by total academic citations of tenure-track faculty.
According to the official 2019 ABA-required disclosures from King Hall, 85 percent of the Class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
- Ranking– 35
- Acceptance rate– 32%
- Address– 400 Mrak Hall Drive Davis, CA 95616 530-752-0243
#3. University of La Verne College of Law – $30,280 per year
The law school of the University of La Verne, a private university in Ontario, California, is known as the University of La Verne College of Law. It was established in 1970 and is recognized by the State Bar of California.
The Juris Doctor (JD) law degree is available at the school and can be completed full-time in three years or part-time in four years. In collaboration with the University of La Verne College of Business and Public Management, the school also offers two dual-degree programs: the Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (JD/MBA) and the Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration (JD/MPA).
- Ranking – N/A
- Acceptance rate – 65%
- Address: 320 East D Street Ontario, CA 91764 909-460-2000
#4. Western State University – $42,860 per year
Western State College of Law at Westcliff University is an Irvine, California-based private, for-profit law school. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and offers full-time and part-time programs. The Association of American Law Schools charges Western State a fee for its services (AALS).
Western State University provides both full-time and part-time programs. Through their Business Law Center and their Criminal Law Practice Center, the school offers two areas of focus aimed at preparing graduates for a career in business or criminal law through additional training, internships, and networking with lawyers. In addition, the law school offers certificates in Immigration Law, Family Law, and Real Estate.
- Ranking – 147
- Acceptance rate – 63%
- Address– 16715 Von Karman, #100 Irvine, CA 92606 714-738-1000
#5. University of San Francisco School of Law – $50,770 per year
University of San Francisco School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association. The school received ABA approval in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law Schools in 1937.
The University of South Florida supports a variety of institutes, centers, and special projects. In addition, USF sponsors study abroad programs in Prague, Dublin, and Budapest for its students. Instruction will take place at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, as part of the exchange programs. European Community Law, International Business Transactions, and European Constitutionalism are examples of relevant international coursework.
US News & World Report ranks the school 97th overall and 67th in Best Value in the National Category in 2020.
- Acceptance rate – 62%
- Address– 2130 Fulton Street San Francisco, CA 94117 415-422-6586
#6. Golden State University – $51,000 per year
The Golden state university is one of the professional graduate schools of Golden Gate University and has full accreditation by the American Bar Association.
Worthy of note are the students of golden state university Due to the fact that they usually pass their bar exams in the first trials depicting a very high level of professionalism and expertise.
- Ranking – 147
- Acceptance rate – 67%
- Address– 536 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94105 415-442-6600
#7. Thomas Jefferson – $51,000 per year
Thomas Jefferson School of Law is a private law school. It offers three Master of Laws programs, one of which is entirely online, as well as a combined J.D./M.B.A. with San Diego State University. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and also offers Law courses in master’s degrees.
- Ranking – Acceptance rate 83%
- Address- 701 B Street San Diego, CA 92101 619-297-9700
#8. Santa Clara University – $52,000 per year
This is perhaps the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California and the entire west coast of the United States. The law school offers the JD law degree. It also offers a Couple of dual degree programs in other areas of study also.
The US News and World Report ranked it10th in graduate programs. It has a very easy and high acceptance rate.
- Ranking – 126
- Acceptance rate – 61%
- Address: 500 El Camino Real Santa Clara, CA 95053 408-554-4800
#9. University of California Los Angeles – $54,052.30 Per year
Situated in the city Los Angeles, the University of California was established in the year 1919 and it is one of the oldest of the campuses in southern California.
University of California has a high acceptance rate, once you meet the basic requirements you’re good to go. However, the school’s admission rate varies due to certain legal restrictions.
- Ranking – 14
- Acceptance rate – 30%
- Address– 1242 Law Building 385 Charles E. Young Drive East Los Angeles, CA 90095 310-825-4841
#10. Chapman university – $54,540 per year
Chapman University currently offers 110 Courses of study ( 49 majors and 61 minors) and Comprises ten schools and colleges of which one includes Dale E Fowler school of law. It also offers the Juris Doctor (JD) and masters of law.
- Ranking – 125
- Acceptance rate – 48%
- Employment ranking – 37.2%
- Address: One University Drive Orange, CA 92866 888-242-1913 714-628-2500
Note that the employment rate is showing those of the 2017 full-time Law graduates at the very time of graduation and ten months after graduation And the ranking is by the US News Ranking.
Online Law Programs in California
There are also some institutions that offer online programs for law students who are interested in studying law at very cheap tuition.
These online programs give room for the students to Have their own schedules which Will be suitable for them. By this, they are able to meet up with assignments and classes from the comfort of their homes.
Therefore, some of the schools in California which run online law programs include;
- University of Southern California
- Pepperdine University
- Northwestern California University School of Law
Part time Law schools in California
There are also a number of part-time Law schools in California, this arrangement allows the student to have time for work or personal life while studying. An example of such an institution is Loyola Marymount University, whose tuition fee is $40,722 per year for part-time students.
Public law schools in California
Lots of people have some false information about public law schools, they are of the thought that Public law schools are the cheapest law schools in California.
But, ironically it is not true as our list of affordable law schools has proven, taking for instance the Stanford Law school. One of the best things about public schools is their easy access to funds and opportunities and prompt government recognition.
Nevertheless, this does not connote that they are in any way better and efficient than the private law schools, it is just an edge and some added advantage Which they can make use of whenever they wish.
List of law schools in Southern California
The list below contains the Law schools in southern California
- Loyola Law School Los Angeles
- University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law
- Southwestern Law School
- University of Southern California Gould School of Law
- Pepperdine University School of Law
- University of California Berkeley School of Law
- University of California Hastings College of the Law
- Harvard Law School
- University of San Diego School of Law
- Western State University College of Law
Conclusion
California is host to at least 20 different law institutes. ABA is responsible for the accreditation of some, the state Committee of Bar Examiners is responsible for a number of them also while others are unaccredited. The schools listed above are all accredited and approved by the ABA. Any Law School that is ABA-accredited always has a better reputation.
References
- lawschoolnumbers.com – california law schools.
- collegechoice.net – law most affordable online law schools.
- collegetuitioncompare.com – amp law-schools california
- testmaxprep.com/blog – lsat top law schools california amp
- ilrg.com – rankings law index
- calbar.ca.gov/Admissions – Law School Regulation/Law Schools
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