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UCLA School of Law

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University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Parent schoolUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Established1949
School typePublic law school
Parent endowment$7.7 billion (2022–2023)[1]
DeanMichael Waterstone[2]
LocationLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Enrollment1,086 (as of May 18, 2022)[3]
Faculty104
USNWR ranking12th (2025)[4]
Bar pass rate92.47% (July 2022 1st time takers)[5]
Websitelaw.ucla.edu
ABA profileStandard 509 Report

The University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (commonly known as UCLA School of Law or UCLA Law) is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles.

History

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The Hugh and Hazel Darling Law Library, UCLA School of Law

Founded in 1949, the UCLA School of Law is the third oldest of the five law schools within the University of California system. It was established by legislation authored by State Assemblyman William H. Rosenthal in 1947.[6]

In the 1930s, initial efforts to establish a law school at UCLA were not successful as a result of resistance from UC president Robert Gordon Sproul, and additionally because UCLA's supporters eventually refocused their efforts on establishing medical and engineering schools.[7]

During the mid-1940s, the impetus for the creation of the UCLA School of Law emerged from outside of the UCLA community. Assemblyman Rosenthal conceived of, and fought for, the creation of the first public law school in Southern California as a convenient and affordable alternative to the expensive private law school at USC.[7][8][9] Rosenthal's first attempt, in 1945, failed, but his second attempt gained momentum when the State Bar of California and the UCLA Alumni Association announced their support for the bill.[10] On July 18, 1947, Governor Earl Warren authorized the appropriation of $1 million for the construction of a new law school at UCLA by signing Assembly Bill 1361 into state law.[8][10][9]

Selecting the law school's first dean was difficult and delayed its opening by a year.[10] UCLA's law school planning committee prioritized merit, while the then-conservative Regents of the University of California prioritized political beliefs.[8] Another factor was a simultaneous deanship vacancy at the Berkeley Law.[10] Near the end of 1948, the committee finally identified a sufficiently conservative candidate willing to take the job: L. Dale Coffman, the then dean of Vanderbilt University Law School.[8] The Regents believed Coffman would help bring balance to the UCLA campus, which they saw as overrun by Communists.[8]

Coffman was able to recruit faculty to UCLA, including Roscoe Pound, Brainerd Currie, Rollin M. Perkins, and Harold Verrall.[8][10] To build a law library, he hired Thomas S. Dabagh, the librarian of the Los Angeles County Law Library.[8][10] The UCLA School of Law officially opened in September 1949 in temporary quarters in former military barracks behind Royce Hall, and moved into a permanent home upon the completion of the original Law Building in 1951.[8][10][9]

The new law school at Los Angeles was the first UC law school to be formally named a "school of law", the first to obtain a full subsidy from the Board of Regents for its law review, and the first to obtain partial autonomy for its faculty from the university's academic senate.[11]: 202–218  These developments had a considerable impact on Berkeley Law, which then changed its name, finally got its own subsidy for its law review, and battled with the other faculty at the Berkeley campus to avoid ejection of its faculty from the academic senate (because the amendments to the regents' standing orders affected faculty at all UC professional schools offering courses only at the graduate level).[11]: 202–218 

Coffman's deanship, however, ended allegedly due to his strongly prejudiced and vindictive personality.[8][10][9] Coffman drove out Dabagh in 1952 after they could not bridge their fundamental differences over how to run the law library; a dispute that was widely regarded by the UCLA community as contributing to Dabagh's early death in 1959.[8] On September 21, 1955, the faculty revolted in the form of a memorandum to chancellor Raymond B. Allen, alleging that Coffman was categorically refusing to hire Jews or anyone he perceived to be leftist, and that the school's reputation was deteriorating because Coffman's abrasive personality had led to excessive faculty turnover.[8][9] On May 24, 1956, Coffman was stripped of his deanship after a lengthy investigation by a panel of deans concerning his biases and his "dictatorial, undemocratic, and autocratic" management style.[8] He remained on the faculty until his forced retirement in 1973, but continued to face allegations as late as 1971 that he was "an unreconstructed McCarthyite and pro-segregationist."[9]

Coffman's successor was Richard C. Maxwell, who served as the second dean of UCLA Law from 1958 to 1969.[12] Dean Maxwell "presided over happier, more harmonious years of institutional growth",[9] and it was under his deanship that UCLA became "the youngest top-ranked law school in the country."[12] Dabagh's successor, Louis Piacenza, was able to grow the law school's library collection to 143,000 volumes by May 1963, which at that time was the 14th largest law school library in the United States.[9]

By 1963, the law school had 600 students in a building designed for 550, and the law building's deficiencies had become all too evident, such as a complete lack of air conditioning.[9] In October 1963, the law school administration announced a major remodeling and expansion project, which added air conditioning and a new wing to the building. During the 1960s, the law school grew so quickly that the new wing was already insufficient upon its completion in January 1967.[9] From its founding to the end of the 20th century, UCLA Law struggled with severe overcrowding, as librarians, faculty, staff, and as many as 18 student organizations—at one point, more than any other law school in the United States—competed for limited space in the law building for books, classes, conferences, and offices.[9]

The chronic space shortage was ultimately relieved by the addition of a wing for clinical education [13] and, after four years of construction, completion of the Hugh and Hazel Darling Law Library in January 2000.[9]

Under Maxwell, the faculty increased from 12 to 37 professors, and the school hired its first female and African-American faculty members.[citation needed] Under Murray Schwartz, who led the school from 1969 to 1975, and William Warren, who served as dean from 1975 to 1982, the school became a pioneer in clinical legal education, developing a skills-based approach that remains among the school's hallmarks.[14]

In 1973, students created a network of student-run legal clinics first known as El Centro Legal de Santa Monica, which continues to provide pro bono services around Los Angeles with 15 separate clinics.[15]

Academics

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UCLA Law has approximately 1,000 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) program and 200 in its Master of Laws (LL.M.) program. It also offers a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) program for students who already have a J.D. and hope to become law professors, as well as a Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.)[16] program for those who do not seek a law degree, but find a legal education an important complement to their professional obligations. The Master of Legal Studies degree also offers a Concurrent Degree Program for David Geffen School of Medicine students (MD/MLS).[17]

The school allows students to represent clients under supervision.[citation needed] UCLA Law's clinics also provide services to many people who cannot afford to pay for their legal services, including veterans, the homeless, and individuals appearing in criminal and immigration courts. In 2017, the school opened the Documentary Film Legal Clinic and Music Industry Clinic, which provide legal services to aspiring visual journalists, musicians, and entrepreneurs in the arts, and the Veterans Justice Clinic at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center.[citation needed]

Students can elect to specialize in law and policy, business law and policy, entertainment law, environmental law, public interest law, critical race studies, and law and philosophy. The roughly 300 students who begin law school at UCLA every year are organized into sections. Students take all of their first-year courses with their sections.[18]

Several joint degree programs are available, which require four years of study and result in the simultaneous award of a Juris Doctor and master's degree in Afro-American studies, American Indian studies, law and management, public health, public policy, philosophy, social welfare, and urban planning.[19]

Faculty and students

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J.D. entering class of 2026 profile[20]
  • 122 undergraduate schools represented
  • 63% female; 35% male; 2% non-binary
  • 58% students of color
  • 64% California residents; 36% non-residents
  • 9% majored in engineering, technology, science or math
  • 18% are the first in their families to have completed college

The UCLA School of Law has a faculty of over 100 with expertise in all major disciplines of law, representing "one of the most diverse in the country."[21] Thirteen members of the school's tenured faculty have been recognized for being the most-cited scholars in their areas of specialty.[22] The school faculty is ranked 11th[23][needs update] for scholarship, up from 15th in 2010 and 13th in 2013.

In 2023, 6,457 students applied to attend UCLA Law, and 315 were enrolled.[24] The median LSAT score for members of the entering class in 2023 is 170.[citation needed]

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The Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) works with the intersection of Immigration Scholarship and practice.[25] It works with the Immigrant Family Legal Clinic[26] and the Immigrant's Right Policy Clinic.[27]

Campus

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UCLA School of Law's south entrance facing Charles E. Young Drive East

UCLA School of Law is located on the UCLA campus in the Westwood area of Los Angeles.[28]

The school proper is housed in a three-story brick building known simply as the Law Building, with the law library tower extending to five stories. The oldest parts of the Law Building's interior are notorious for a "high school atmosphere" and "dark, drafty classrooms".[29] However, the Law Building has been extensively improved by the addition of the clinical wing in 1990 and the new law library in 2001. A few offices, such as the Office of Career Services, are housed in an adjacent building, Dodd Hall.

Reception

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Rankings

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In 2026, U.S. News & World Report ranked UCLA as 13th among U.S. law schools, including 4th in trial advocacy, 4th in environmental law, 9th in criminal law, 12th (tied) in tax law, and 30th in Law Schools With the Most Graduates in Federal Clerkships.[4] In 2022, UCLA joined a growing list of law schools that said they would no longer actively participate in the U.S. News rankings.[30]

According to Brian Leiter's law school reports, UCLA Law ranked 12th in the nation for faculties in terms of scholarly distinction in 2022.[31]

The Hollywood Reporter has repeatedly ranked UCLA as the number one school for entertainment law.[32]

Bar passage rates

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In October 2020, UCLA Law's bar passage rates were 97% in California and 100% in New York.[33]

American Bar Association data shows that more than 95%[34] of 2019 graduates had secured full-time, long-term, JD-required employment within 10 months of graduation.

People

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Alumni

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Current faculty

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Former faculty

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References

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  1. ↑ "Annual Endowment Report, Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2023; p.3" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "Michael Waterstone named dean of UCLA School of Law | UCLA Law".
  3. ↑ "Facts & Figures: Enrollment—Student Enrollment in Professional Schools". www.ucla.edu. UCLA. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 "University of California—Los Angeles". U.S. News & World Report – Best Law Schools. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "ABA Required Disclosures | UCLA Law".
  6. ↑ "From the Oral History of WILLIAM H. ROSENTHAL" (PDF). cschs.org. California Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  7. 1 2 Dundjerski, Marina (2011). UCLA: The First Century. Los Angeles: Third Millennium Publishing. p. 117. ISBN 9781906507374. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rastorfer, Renee Y. (Summer 2003). "Thomas S. Dabagh and the Institutional Beginnings of the UCLA Law Library: A Cautionary Tale". Law Library Journal. 95 (3): 347–368. Retrieved 19 February 2019. Available through HeinOnline.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Dewey, Scott Hamilton (May 2016). "Growing Pains: The History of the UCLA Law Library, 1949-2000". Law Library Journal. 108 (2): 217–236. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dundjerski, Marina (2011). UCLA: The First Century. Los Angeles: Third Millennium Publishing. p. 118. ISBN 9781906507374. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  11. 1 2 Epstein, Sandra P. (1997). Law at Berkeley: The History of Boalt Hall. Berkeley: Institute of Governmental Studies Press. ISBN 0-87772-375-3.
  12. 1 2 Moidel, Selma Moidel (2016). "The UCLA School of Law - Origin, Conflict, and Growth" (PDF). California Legal History. 11: 1–6. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  13. ↑ Loyola Law School (18 May 2023). "Loyola Law School dean biography".
  14. ↑ UCLA School of Law (July 13, 2020). "UCLA School of Law History".
  15. ↑ El Centro Legal (July 13, 2020). "El Centro Legal".
  16. ↑ Kisliuk, Bill (December 17, 2019). "UCLA Law Creates Master of Legal Studies Degree". Newsroom. University of California, Los Angeles.
  17. ↑ "Concurrent Degree Programs". UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
  18. ↑ Cynthia L. Cooper, The Insider's Guide to the Top Fifteen Law Schools (New York: Doubleday, 1990), 343 & 345.
  19. ↑ "Joint Degree Programs". UCLA Law School website. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  20. ↑ "School Facts".
  21. ↑ Cooper, 345.
  22. ↑ "13 UCLA Law Faculty Among Most Cited Legal Scholars". law.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  23. ↑ Zeman, Nicole; Veenis, Katherine; Catlin, Nicole; Sisk, Gregory C. (2018). "Scholarly Impact of Law School Faculties in 2018: Updating the Leiter Score Ranking for the Top Third". SSRN 3230371.
  24. ↑ "UCLA Law Class Profile".
  25. ↑ "Center for Immigration Law and Policy | UCLA Law". law.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  26. ↑ "Immigrant Family Legal Clinic | UCLA Law". law.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  27. ↑ "Immigrants' Rights Policy Clinic at UCLA Law | UCLA Law". law.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  28. ↑ Cooper, 359.
  29. ↑ Cooper, 358–359.
  30. ↑ Sloan, Karen (November 22, 2022). "UCLA law school joins exodus from U.S. News rankings as movement expands". Reuters. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  31. ↑ Brian Leiter (July 26, 2022). "Top 40 law faculties in terms of scholarly distinction, 2022". Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  32. ↑ Multiple sources:
  33. ↑ "UCLA Law Bar Passage Rates".
  34. ↑ "UCLA School of Law Graduate Outcomes 2019".
  35. ↑ UCLA International Institute Archived 2014-01-02 at the Wayback Machine.
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34°04′23″N 118°26′18″W / 34.073023°N 118.438443°W / 34.073023; -118.438443

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