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UC Davis School of Law

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The University of California, Davis School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of California, Davis. The school received ABA approval in 1968.[4] It joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1968.[5]

University of California, Davis
School of Law
MottoFiat lux (Latin)
Parent schoolUniversity of California
Established1965[1]
School typePublic
Parent endowment$2.2 billion (2021)[2]
DeanJessica Wilen Berg
LocationDavis, California, U.S.
38°32′09″N 121°44′57″W / 38.53583°N 121.74917°W / 38.53583; -121.74917
Enrollment622[1]
Faculty62[1]
USNWR ranking55th (tie) (2024)[1]
Bar pass rate84% (July 2019 1st time takers)[3]
Websitelaw.ucdavis.edu
ABA profileStandard 509 Report

UC Davis School of Law is the smallest of the five law schools in the University of California system, with a total enrollment of around 600 students. The school is located in a building named for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and commonly referred to as King Hall.[6]

History

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During the late 1940s, the rapid expansion of the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) partially relieved some of the political pressure on UC Berkeley School of Law to compromise on its rigid standards for student admissions and faculty hiring.[7]: 241  Berkeley was able to hold the line on its standards and thereby ascended to the top tier of American law schools by the 1990s.[7]: 241 

To further protect UC Berkeley School of Law, the university appointed a committee in 1960 to prepare recommendations for the establishment of additional law schools in the UC system.[7]: 261  The committee recommended that law schools should be established at Davis, San Diego, and Santa Barbara, but Davis was identified as the highest priority because of its proximity to the California State Capitol at Sacramento.[7]: 261 

Formal planning for the law school at Davis began in 1962.[7]: 261  The Berkeley Law faculty actively supported and worked on the development of the new law school at Davis because they knew it would relieve the pressure on themselves to ease up on admissions standards.[7]: 261  It helped that one of their own, Edward L. Barrett, Jr., was appointed as Davis's first dean in 1964.[7]: 261  UC Davis School of Law opened in a temporary space in 1966 and moved to a permanent building in fall 1968.[7]: 261  The first class of 69 students graduated in June 1969.[7]: 261 

Rankings and academics

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Mabie Law Library

In 2016, U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Davis 30th among all law schools in the United States.[1]

For diversity among the five law schools in the UC system, UC Davis was named the second-most diverse after UC Hastings by U.S. News & World Report.[8] Princeton Review placed UC Davis Law tenth in the nation for faculty diversity in the 2009 version of its annual law ranking. It is listed as an "A−" in the March 2011 "Diversity Honor Roll" by The National Jurist: The Magazine for Law Students.[9]

It is listed as an "A" (#16) in the January 2011 "Best Public Interest Law Schools" ratings by The National Jurist: The Magazine for Law Students.[10]

UC Davis Law has the smallest student body of the UC law schools. It has a slightly higher student/faculty ratio than UCLA or Berkeley.[11]

UC Davis has been ranked as the fifth most-expensive public law school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.[12] It is also ranked first for providing the most financial aid.[12]

 
Main Entrance to King Hall

UC Davis grants the second-most in financial aid in the country.[13][14][15] UC Davis Law's King Hall Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), founded in 1990 to help alumni working in relatively low-income public-service law careers to repay student loans, was the first loan repayment assistance program established at any UC law school.[16]

According to Brian Leiter's Law School rankings, Davis ranks 23rd in the nation for scholarly impact as measured by total academic citations of tenure-stream faculty.[17]

On November 28, 2022, UC Davis Law withdrew from U.S. News & World Report rankings and will no longer provide data to contribute to those rankings.[18]

Bar passage rates

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Based on a 2001-2007 6 year average, 79.4% of UC Davis Law graduates passed the California State Bar exam.[19] In 2009, 89% of first-time test takers passed the California bar.[20]

For July 2012, 78.9% of first-time test takers passed the California bar exam.[21] For July 2013, 85.0% of first-time test takers passed the California Bar Exam.[22]

For July 2014, 86% of first-time test takers passed the California bar exam.[23]

Employment

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According to King Hall's official 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 85% of the Class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[24] King Hall's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 6.5%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2019 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[25]

Costs

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The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at King Hall for the 2024-2025 academic year is $83,011 for California residents and $95,256 for non-residents.[26]

California International Law Center

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The California International Law Center is a research center at the Davis School of Law (Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall) that focuses on international, comparative, and transnational law. It works to promote scholarship, curricular and career development, and partnerships with organizations such as the American Society of International Law and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. It was founded in 2009. CILC's co-directors are Associate Dean Beth Greenwood and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law Afra Afsharipour. The acronym "CILC" is pronounced as "silk." CILC sponsors the Asylum and Refugee Law National Moot Court Competition.[27]

Darfur Project

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CILC has partnered with the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights for special project focused on the crisis in Darfur. RFK's 2007 Human Rights Laureate Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, academic faculty from throughout California, and CILC's fellow, students, and alumni will participate in creating a report of past reconciliation efforts.[28]

Global Council

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CILC's Global Council consists of leaders in international legal and policy advocacy. Current members of the council include Prof. Clayborne Carson, Prof. Mireille Delmas-Marty, Prof. William A. Schabas, former ambassador Derek Shearer, and Judge Patricia M. Wald.

Expansion

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The law school completed a $30 million expansion project in 2011. The project has added an additional wing to the law school's current building, increasing assignable space by nearly 30 percent to provide for additional classrooms, offices, and a new courtroom, named the Paul and Lydia Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom in honor of a $1 million gift to the project from the Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation. The courtroom is used by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, California Supreme Court, and California Court of Appeal[citation needed].

Noted people

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Faculty

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  • Alan Brownstein, professor of law emeritus
  • Gabriel "Jack" Chin, professor of law, specialist in fields of immigration law and criminal procedure
  • Joel Dobris, professor of law emeritus, scholar of trusts, wills, and estates
  • Angela P. Harris, professor of law emerita, critical legal theory scholar
  • Robert W. Hillman, professor of law emeritus, fair business practices and investor advocacy chair
  • Edward Imwinkelried, professor of law emeritus
  • Kevin Johnson, distinguished professor, Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, specialist in civil rights, immigration, and Chicano/a rights law
  • Miguel Méndez, professor of law emeritus, evidence law scholar (dec.)
  • Terry O'Neill, former president, National Organization for Women, acting professor of law 1988–1989.
  • Rex R. Perschbacher, Daniel J. Dykstra Endowed Chair, lecturer (1981–2016), dean of the law school (1998–2008), professor emeritus (2016–2018). Professor of law, civil procedure, professional responsibility, legal ethics and clinical application of legal education. (dec.)
  • Cruz Reynoso, associate justice of the California Supreme Court 1982–1987, professor emeritus. (dec.)
  • Martha West, former associate dean; professor of law emerita
  • William S. Dodge, professor of law emeritus, international law, international transactions, and international dispute resolution.

Alumni

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "U.S. News & World Report, "Best Law Schools: University of California -- Davis"".
  2. ^ "UC Davis Endowment Exceeds $2 billion".
  3. ^ Rubino, Kathryn (16 December 2019). "California Bar Exam Results: A Breakdown By Law School (July 2019)". Above the Law. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  4. ^ "ABA-Approved Law Schools by Year". ABA website. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  5. ^ AALS Member Schools
  6. ^ King Hall
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Epstein, Sandra P. (1997). Law at Berkeley: The History of Boalt Hall. Berkeley: Institute of Governmental Studies Press. ISBN 0-87772-375-3.
  8. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008, Law School Diversity Index". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  9. ^ Larsen, Rebecca (March 2011), "Most Diverse Law Schools (Diversity Honor Roll)", The National Jurist, 20 (6), San Diego, California: Cypress Magazines: 30–37
  10. ^ Weyenberg, Michelle (January 2011). "Best Law Schools for Public Interest". The National Jurist. 20 (4). San Diego, California: Cypress Magazines: 24–28.
  11. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008, What are the largest and smallest law schools?". US News. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  12. ^ a b "Public Cost Programs - Top Law Schools - US News Best Graduate Schools". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  13. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008, Who's the priciest? Who's the cheapest?". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  14. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008, Which public schools award the most and the least financial aid?". US News. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  15. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008, Whose graduates have the most debt? The least?". US News. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  16. ^ "Law School expands loan repayment assistance program". The Aggie. October 5, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  17. ^ "Top 25 Law Faculties Based on Scholarly Impact, 2005-2009".
  18. ^ Jones, Dave (2022-11-28). "UC Davis Law Withdraws From U.S. News & World Report Rankings". UC Davis. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  19. ^ "Internet Legal Research Group: University of California-Davis School of Law, 2009 profile". Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  20. ^ Robertson, Kathy (2009-11-25). "Top UC Davis, McGeorge law students raise the bar". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  21. ^ Hoerauf, Graham (2013-03-13). "California Bar Admissions 2012" (PDF). California Bar Association. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  22. ^ "TaxProf Blog: July 2013 California Bar Exam Results".
  23. ^ Robertson, Kathy (January 8, 2015). "UC Davis ranks No. 4 in bar exam pass rate; McGeorge comes in at No. 15". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  24. ^ "Employment Statistics". 10 September 2008.
  25. ^ "University of California-Davis Profile".
  26. ^ "Tuition and Expenses". 10 September 2008.
  27. ^ Asylum & Refugee Law National Moot Court Competition
  28. ^ [1] Archived January 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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