UCLA School of Law

Overview ²

Founded in 1949, UCLA School of Law has garnered a reputation for artful teaching, influential scholarship and enduring innovation. As the first public law school in Southern California and the youngest top-ranked law school in the United States, UCLA Law has consistently pushed new boundaries in the study and practice of law.

Beginning in the 1970s, our clinics were among the first to teach students systematically about the link between doctrinal mastery and practical skills. We remain committed to this integration of theory and practice with an extraordinary array of simulated transaction courses and live-client clinics that cover everything from mergers and acquisitions to workers’ rights and environmental law.

In the 1990s, UCLA Law created an Empirical Research Group (ERG) so that faculty could incorporate sophisticated data techniques into their research. During this time, the law school also established think tanks where policy and legal issues could be discussed free of partisan influence and ideological biases. These institutes have consistently promoted the highest standards of intellectual discourse. Through research and published articles, our centers offer invaluable information for legislators, the judiciary and the public while providing critical training for UCLA Law students and the legal community.

Over the decades, UCLA Law has developed a depth and breadth of academic offerings unsurpassed by any other law school in the nation. Our Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy is among the best anywhere. We are one of four among the top 20 law schools with a specialization in Business Law and Policy – and the only one to offer a specialization in Critical Race Studies.

UCLA Law’s faculty also has emerged as one of the most influential nationwide. Our professors are leading scholars in areas including bankruptcy, corporate law, constitutional law, critical race theory, entertainment law, environmental law, intellectual property and tax law.

Today, the UCLA Law alumni community is more than 15,000 strong and extends around the world. Alumni live and practice in virtually every state, the District of Columbia, multiple U.S. territories and more than 50 foreign nations. These graduates excel in their chosen fields, from private practice to business to government to public interest and beyond. We have a long tradition of distinction on the bench, with more than 320 alumni who are serving, or have served, on courts throughout the country. Six UCLA Law alumni are now judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit – the largest number of graduates from any one law school who are serving on the court.

We take pride in these achievements and recognize that the strength of UCLA Law is a direct result of the superlative work of our faculty and staff, the talents of our diverse and academically gifted student body, and the accomplishments and unstinting generosity of our alumni. By building on past successes, UCLA Law continues to propel the school, students, faculty and alumni into a future of unparalleled distinction.

Student-Faculty Ratio ³

10.6:1

Admission Criteria ⁴

	LSAT	GPA
25th-75th Percentile	163-168	3.49-3.84
Median	167	3.74

The above LSAT and GPA data pertain to the 2016 entering class.

Director of admissions	Robert Schwartz
Application deadline	February 1

Law School Admissions details based on 2015 data.

Admission Statistics

Approximate number of applications	5353
Number accepted	1498
Percentage accepted	28%

The above admission details are based on 2016 data.

Law School Cost ⁵

Tuition and fees Full-time:	$45,338 per year (in-state) $51,832 per year (out-of-state)
Room and board	$17,719
Books	$1,603
Miscellaneous expenses	$7,577

Class Ranking and Grades ⁶

The academic transcripts for the classes of 2017 and 2018 contain letter grades. The grading system is outlined below.

Grade	Grade Points
A+	4.3 (Extraordinary Performance)
A	4.0 - 4.29
A-	3.7 - 3.99
B+	3.3 - 3.69
B	3.0 - 3.29
B-	2.7 - 2.99
C+	2.3 - 2.69
C	2.0 - 2.29
C-	1.7 - 1.99
D+	1.3 - 1.69
D	1.0 - 1.29
F	0 -.99

Students may report their grade point averages on their resumes using either a letter grade or the appropriate numerical calculation.When students report their GPAs either verbally or in writing, the GPA may be rounded up only to the second numeral behind the decimal point (nearesthundredth) (i.e., 3.765 may be rounded up to 3.77, but not to 3.8 or 3.9; or 3.699 may be rounded up to a 3.70). As an alternative, students may state the entire GPA or drop one or more of the three numerals behind the decimal (i.e., 3.763 may be reported as a 3.76 or 3.7). "Rounding up" means that the third numeral behind the decimal point (nearest thousandth) is a 5, 6, 7,8 or 9 which, when "rounded" and then dropped from the GPA, makes the second numeral behind the decimal point one number higher than originally calculated. Students may not use numbers beyond the third numeral behind the decimal point of their GPA for rounding or any other purpose.

Class Rank

It is the policy of the School of Law not to rank its student body. The only exceptions are (1) the top 12 students in each class each year are ranked; (2) students applying for judicial clerkships and academic positions; and (3) students in the top 10 percent of each graduating class are invited to join the Order of the Coif, the national legal honorary scholastic society.* These distinctions will appear in the memorandum section of the transcripts.

*Under Coif's rules only students who have completed at least 75 percent of their UCLA Law units in letter-graded courses are eligible for consideration. Transfer students should check with the Dean of Students office to verify how many letter-graded courses they should take to qualify.

Honors ⁷

Graduation Honors

Name Of Award	% of Class Receiving	GPA Required	# of Students
Order of the Coif	10	3.753	35
Summa cum laude	0	0	0
Magna cum laude	0	0	0
Cum laude	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0

Awards ⁸

Prizes and awards publicly acknowledge the outstanding academic and research accomplishments of UCLA Law students and faculty. Whether your gift is a one-time cash award or the establishment of an endowment, it elevates the stature of our school, the caliber of our students, and the recognition of excellence in law school and beyond.

Journals ⁹

Asian Pacific American Law Journal

The Asian Pacific American Law Journal is the first law journal in the nation to address the legal, social and political issues facing the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community. The Journal welcomes all students as members.

Chicana/o-Latina/o Law Review

The Chicana/o-Latina/o Law Review is one of a few legal journals in the country devoted to scholarly analysis of issues relevant to Chicano and Latino communities. It publishes articles by judges, lawyers and scholars who provide new perspectives on the legal problems of the Latino community. All students are welcome to join.

Criminal Justice Law Review

The Criminal Justice Law Review (CJLR) focuses on current topics in criminal law, policy, and practice. CJLR seeks to develop a discourse regarding criminal justice by publishing articles, editorials, and interviews of practitioners, academics, and policymakers. CJLR also aims to foster a community by hosting an annual symposium for students, academics, practitioners, policymakers, and judges to come together to discuss current criminal justice issues.

Dukeminier Awards Journal of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law

Each year, the Dukeminier Awards Journal staff and faculty advisory board identify the best articles on sexual orientation law and public policy from law reviews around the country and reprint these articles in a prize journal. The Dukeminier Awards Journal also publishes original articles written by law students, which are chosen as part of a national writing competition.

Entertainment Law Review

The Entertainment Law Review, published biannually, is devoted to legal issues affecting film, television, radio, computer and print media, and includes such topics as copyright and patent issues; the regulation of the entertainment industry; and labor, constitutional, administrative and antitrust law as they relate to the industry.

The Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance

We are the Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance and we are here to serve as a law journal that publishes writings concerning Native Peoples’ cultures, traditions, and histories. We publish with the goal of bettering and advancing Native Nations and Indian People.

Journal of Environmental Law and Policy

The Journal of Environmental Law and Policy offers diverse perspectives on topics of current environmental interest, such as toxic waste disposal and solar water heating. It offers students with an interest in environmental law or policy an immediate opportunity to become involved in editing and publishing in a field of rapidly growing importance.

Journal of International Law & Foreign Affairs

The Journal of International Law & Foreign Affairs is an interdisciplinary publication promoting scholarship in international law and international relations. It publishes articles by leading scholars, practitioners and other professionals from around the world, as well as student comments. Some of JILFA's issues are topical, focusing on immigration or international gender and race discrimination, and others offer more variety, ranging from conflicting approaches to technological developments, to the international criminal court, to sovereign debt crises.

Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law

Established in 2001, the Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law is the first journal in the United States dedicated to this area of study. The inaugural issue was published in 2002. JINEL presents scholarly and practical articles dealing with the complex and multifaceted issues of Islamic and Near Eastern law and its applications and effects within and outside of the Near East.

Journal of Law and Technology

Since 1996, the Journal of Law and Technology has produced an online journal providing a forum for timely and relevant materials addressing the law's attempt to keep pace with technological innovation. JOLT's content includes traditional scholarly articles and comments, and practical advice from attorneys practicing at the cutting edge of law and technology. JOLT also hosts an IP/High Tech Career Forum.

National Black Law Journal

The National Black Law Journal has been committed to scholarly discourse exploring the intersection of race and the law for 35 years. Started in 1970 by five African-American law students and two African-American law professors, the NBLJ was the first of its kind in the country. It has aimed to build on this tradition by publishing articles that make a substantive contribution to current dialogue taking place around issues such as affirmative action, employment law, the criminal justice system, community development and labor issues. The Journal is committed to publishing articles that inspire new thought, explore new alternatives and contribute to current jurisprudential stances.

Pacific Basin Law Journal

The Pacific Basin Law Journal is the only law review in the country devoted to the study of international and comparative law within the rapidly developing economic sphere of the Pacific Basin. Articles and case notes are solicited from members of the international legal community throughout East Asia and the Americas. In keeping with its practical focus, the Journal devotes special attention to legal issues that directly affect trade flows and international transactions in the Pacific Basin.

UCLA Law Review

UCLA Law Review, which publishes six times a year, has earned a reputation as one of the nation's leading legal periodicals; it is run by a student board of editors which determines membership on the basis of a writing competition. Membership on the Review helps students develop skills in legal research and writing and make significant contributions to the advancement of the law through the publication of commentary on crucial legal issues.

Women’s Law Journal

The Women's Law Journal, published biannually since 1989, provides a forum for feminist legal scholarship written by academics and students. Among its past noteworthy contributors are Catharine MacKinnon, Mary Daly, Frances Olsen and William Rubenstein.

Moot Court ¹⁰

The UCLA Moot Court Honors Program is an intramural competition open to second- and third-year law students. Teams of students brief and argue a case created especially for the competition by members of the Moot Court Executive Board. The focus is on appellate advocacy, and the judges consist primarily of local members of the bench and bar. Competitors receive scores based 50 percent on their brief and 50 percent on their oral presentation. Based upon evaluations from these judges, advocates with cumulative scores placing them among the top 40 percent of all advocates participating in the Fall and Spring competitions become members of the Moot Court Honors Program. The top two advocates from each issue and side of the Spring Honors Competition (eight total) are chosen to argue in the Roscoe Pound Semi-Finals. The best oral advocate from each issue and side (four total) go on to argue the case before three of the nation's most distinguished jurists in the annual Roscoe Pound Tournament. The top 12 students who compete in both the Fall and Spring competitions are named Distinguished Advocates. The top 19 students who compete in both the Fall and Spring are eligible for various international, national and state teams.

Clinical Programs ^11-17

UCLA School of Law has long been recognized for its innovative approach to clinical teaching, which transforms the classroom into a real-world laboratory through the integration of theory and practice. We have been a national leader in clinical teaching since the early 1970s, and continue to offer rigorous practical training across a wide range of practice areas. Students gain crucial firsthand experience that prepares them for future careers, learning from faculty whose knowledge and expertise place them at the forefront of clinical education.

We boast an extensive program to prepare students in civil and criminal trial and appellate advocacy. We offer both simulated and live-client trial advocacy courses. Our simulated Civil Trial Advocacy and Criminal Trial Advocacy clinics culminate in mock trials before real judges and juries. In our live client clinics, students represent plaintiffs in civil trials, claimants in hearings involving wage and unemployment compensation claims, and defendants in criminal proceedings. We are home to a variety of appellate advocacy clinics, which allow students to brief and argue appeals and to prepare and file briefs with the United States Supreme Court. Students also can participate in clinics providing training in alternative dispute resolution, including specialized mediation, arbitration and negotiation clinics.

The law school has developed a wide range of clinical courses for students who intend to pursue transactional law in both the private and public sector. We offer skills development that will help students enter business law practices with a broad exposure to the relevant substantive law, an understanding of what business lawyers do, and how they go about doing so ethically and competently. In sophisticated transactional clinics, students learn drafting, planning and negotiation skills, how to finance a start-up company, sell a private company, advise a community-based organization, or manage a myriad of environmental issues that arise when selling a business.

Our clinical programs equip students with the skills for public interest law practice and offer students the opportunity to make an impact during their law school years. Many of our clinics provide essential support to individuals and communities who would not otherwise have access to legal representation. From individual client representation in the Asylum Clinic, to the work on behalf of community groups and national organizations in the Environmental Law Clinic, students are trained in the techniques public interest lawyers use and work alongside these practicing attorneys to make positive changes in the greater community.

This clinic allows students to work on civil rights cases in cooperation with public interest organizations such as the ACLU and private attorneys. Students spend class time learning litigation skills and then apply those skills in connection with their work on civil rights cases.

Students in this course are divided into groups and assigned one of four roles ― debtor's counsel, secured bank's counsel, unsecured creditors' committee's counsel and note holders' counsel – and over the course of the semester negotiate and/or litigate a plan of reorganization. The course provides extensive training in negotiation theory and practice as well as legal drafting, allowing students to apply the kinds of strategic decision-making and problem-solving skills used by practicing lawyers.

Students in this clinic represent clients in connection with asylum petitions under the Violence Against Women Act and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act. Working with survivors of torture and trauma, students in this course receive training in such critical skills as interviewing, researching and writing declarations and briefs, fact development and trial advocacy.

Live Client Clinic offerings include:

• Asylum Clinic
• Bankruptcy Transactional Course: Negotiating and Confirming Chapter 11 Plans
• Business Deals
• California Prison to Parole
• Cappello Trial Advocacy Clinic - Simulated Trial Advocacy
• Civil Rights Litigation Clinic
• Civil Trial Advocacy
• Community Economic Development
• Corporate In-House
• Criminal Defense Clinic
• Criminal Trial Advocacy
• Deposition and Discovery in Complex Litigation
• Environmental Aspects of Business Transactions
• Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic
• Fundamentals of Transactions Skills
• Housing and Sustainability Transactions Clinic
• Intensive Voir Dire
• International Commercial Arbitration
• International Commercial Negotiations
• International Human Rights Clinic
• Mediation
• Mediation Negotiation Theory and Practice
• Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic
• Mergers and Acquisition Transaction Planning
• Negotiation Theory and Practice
• Patent Law Clinic
• Pretrial Civil Litigation
• Pretrial Criminal Litigation
• Real Estate Law Clinic
• Regulatory Lawyering
• Scott & Cyan Banister First Amendment Clinic
• Sports and the Law
• State Appellate Practice
• Street Law - American Legal Education
• Supreme Court Clinic
• Trademark Law Clinic
• Trial Advocacy
• Tribal Legal Development Clinic
• Veterans' Benefits Clinic
• Workers' Rights Clinic
• Youth and Justice Clinic

Placement Facts ¹⁸

Starting Salaries (2015 Graduates Employed Full-Time)

Private sector (25th-75th percentile)	$90,000 - $160,000
Median in the private sector	$160,000
Median in public service	$44,000

Employment Details

Graduates known to be employed at graduation	61.8%
Graduates known to be employed ten months after graduation	81.2%

Areas of Legal Practice

Graduates Employed In	Percentage
Law Firms	66.3%
Business and Industry	10%
Judicial Clerkships	6.6%
Academia	1.9%
Public Interest Organizations	9.1%
Government	6.3%
Unknown	0%

Externships/Internships ^19-24

Externships

The well-established externship program at UCLA Law is designed to complement our upper-level curriculum. Externships offer a supervised work environment where students can put their training into practice. Though our externship program, students are able to work with a wide variety of employers and in a range of practice areas. Students can work as an extern law clerk to a judge, at a government agency, a non-profit organization or in some circumstances with in-house counsel. Students may also apply to the UCDC Law Program in Washington D.C.

Full-Time Externship Program

Full-time externships open doors for students and allow them to gain practical training and experience in a wide range of complex practice areas under expert supervision. Students might learn more about criminal law practice at the Los Angeles District Attorney Major Crimes Division or the Office of the Federal Public Defender, conduct work with the securities and exchange commissions in New York and Los Angeles, or assist with impact litigation at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Agency Externships

UCLA School of Law offers full-time externships in a variety of settings from government agencies to non-profit organizations. Students pursue externships in California, Seattle, Chicago, New York and Washington, DC (through our UCDC Program). Students taking a full-time agency externship must also enroll in a two-unit tutorial supervised by a faculty member who specializes in the subject matter of the student’s externship. The tutorial is designed to help the student reflect on lawerying and professional issues raised during the externship.

Judicial Externships

Students can also choose to pursue a judicial externship in either the state or federal system, and in the trial, appellate or specialized courts. In a judicial externship, a student might gain exposure to oral argument in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, witness trial court practice and procedure firsthand, or develop knowledge of specialized areas of the law. Students who enroll in a judicial externship also attend a contemporaneous two-unit judicial process class at the law school.

Part-Time Externship

Students in their second and third years may apply for a part-time externship with a judge, a government agency, a non-profit organization or with in-house corporate counsel. Externships allow students to expand upon their substantive and clinical coursework and to take advantage of unique opportunities for professional development. From interviewing clients at the Asian Pacific Caucus to learning how deals work at NBC Universal Studios, externships allow students to pursue their individual interests and gain experience that will serve them in their career. Students who enroll in part-time externships are required to write regular journals that help them reflect on their work experiences.

UCDC Law Program

The UCDC Law Program is a uniquely collaborative, full-semester externship program in Washington, D.C. The program combines a weekly seminar-style course on Law and Lawyering in the Nation’s Capital, with a full-time field placement to offer law students an unparalleled opportunity to learn how federal statutes, regulations, and policies are made, changed, and understood in the nation’s capital. During four months’ total immersion in the theory and practice of Washington lawyering, students will have contact with all three branches of the federal government, independent regulatory agencies, and advocacy nonprofits.

The Program includes law students from Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, and UC Irvine, and typically enrolls between 15 and 35 students. The Program is housed at the University of California Washington Center, a UC facility located at 1608 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W., just minutes from the White House and most government departments and agencies.

Internships

Summer Internships

A broad swath of UCLA Law students take advantage of our summer internships and through your generosity, you can support the tremendous intellectual growth that occurs during this time.

Summer internships offer one of the best ways to prepare students to embark on their careers and to think differently about their law school experience. Whether it’s an internship in public interest or government, students learn new skills, augment doctrinal knowledge, and deepen their understanding of the ethical and professional responsibilities of an attorney. These remarkable opportunities enrich our students’ classroom learning and extracurricular activities when they return to campus in the fall – and impact them for life.

One of the most prestigious experiences law students seek are judicial clerkships. Working with a judge as a clerk or intern provides opportunities to gain indispensable insights and skills that are transferable into many areas of legal practice. Law clerks can expect to sharpen their legal research skills and further refine their writing skills through substantial drafting of memoranda and judicial opinions. Often, they develop close, lifelong relationships with their judges and fellow clerks.

Internships with the Entertainment Industry

Many students are interested in volunteering with the legal department of an entertainment industry company, such as a motion picture or television studio or a music company. Under the California Labor Code, these companies may only hire students who get paid or receive academic credit for their work. Because the studios do not pay their interns, and because UCLA Law does not award credit for summer externships or part-time externships during the school year at for-profit institutions, these internship positions have largely been unavailable to our students.

In an effort to remedy this problem, the Law School Administration has devised a way for students to work at these internships and receive credit in the fall semester following their summer work, thus satisfying the Labor Code requirements. UCLA Law students are eligible to receive course credit for an entertainment industry summer internship by completing a research paper, preferably in connection with a general topic area on which they worked during their term at the respective venue.

Student Organizations ²⁵

Our more than 50 student organizations offer many opportunities for students to engage with the diverse community of Los Angeles, build connections with practicing lawyers and potential employers, and form lifelong bonds with their peers.

Student organizations host lively debates, meaningful community service activities and stimulating social events. Whether organizing a national Latino/a law student conference through La Raza Law Students Association or attending a panel discussion on high art and intellectual property through the Art Law Society, UCLA Law students benefit from immersive learning experiences and valuable networking opportunities.

• Advocates for Children and Teens
• American Constitution Society
• Armenian Law Students Association
• Art Law Society
• Asian/Pacific Islander Law Students Association
• Black Law Students Association
• Business Law Association
• Christian Law Students Association
• Criminal Justice Society
• Disability Law Society
• Education and Law Society
• El Centro Legal Clinics
• Empirical Legal Scholars Association
• Entertainment Law Association
• Environmental Law Society
• Federal Bar Association
• Federalist Society
• Food Law Society
• Gaming Law Association
• Health Law Society
• Intellectual Property Law Association
• International Human Rights Law Association
• International Justice Project
• International Law Society
• Iranian Law Students Association
• J. Reuben Clark Law Society
• JD/MBA Association
• Jewish Law Students Association
• La Raza Law Students Association
• Law and Entrepreneurship Association
• Law and Philosophy Association
• Law Student Alliance for Israel
• Law Students for Reproductive Justice
• Law Students in Balance
• Law Women of UCLA
• LawCappella
• Mock Trial Association at UCLA
• Moot Court Honors Program
• Muslim Law Students Association
• National Lawyers Guild
• Native American Law Students Association
• OUTLaw
• Real Estate Law Association
• Second Amendment Society
• South Asian Law Students Association
• Sports Law Federation
• Student Bar Association
• Tax and Estate Planning Law Association
• Veterans' Law Society
• Womyn of Color Collective

References

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2. http://www.law.ucla.edu/about-ucla-law/
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5. https://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-california-los-angeles-03018/cost
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17. http://www.law.ucla.edu/academics/clinical-and-experiential-programs/sequenced-skills-building/public-interest-and-human-rights/
18. http://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-california-los-angeles-03018/career-prospects
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20. http://www.law.ucla.edu/academics/clinical-and-experiential-programs/externships/fulltime/
21. http://www.law.ucla.edu/academics/clinical-and-experiential-programs/externships/parttime/
22. http://www.law.ucla.edu/academics/clinical-and-experiential-programs/externships/ucdc-law-program/
23. http://www.law.ucla.edu/giving/areas-to-support/financial-aid-and-student-support/summer-internships/
24. http://www.law.ucla.edu/careers/ucla-law-policies/internships-with-the-entertainment-industry/
25. http://www.law.ucla.edu/student-life/student-organizations/