SCHOOL OF LAW

Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean

General Information: law@uci.edu
http://www.law.uci.edu/

Faculty

Erwin Chemerinsky, J.D. Harvard Law School, Dean of the School of Law and Professor of Law

Linda R. Cohen, Ph.D. California Institute of Technology, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, School of Social Sciences, and Professor of Economics and Law

Joseph F. DiMento, Ph.D., J.D. University of Michigan, Professor of Law; Planning, Policy, and Design; Environmental Health, Science, and Policy; and Management

Catherine Fisk, J.D. University of California, Berkeley; LL.M. University of Wisconsin at Madison, Professor of Law

Elizabeth F. Loftus, Ph.D. Stanford University, UCI Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior; Criminology, Law and Society; Cognitive Sciences; and Law

It is anticipated that 10–15 full-time founding faculty will be appointed within the School by fall 2009. For up-to-date information on these appointments, please monitor the School's Web site at http://www.law.uci.edu.

The School of Law, established by the University of California Board of Regents in November 2006, is the first public law school in California in more than 40 years. The first class of students is expected to be enrolled in fall 2009. The School will offer the J.D. (Juris Doctor) and expects in the future to offer the LL.M. (Master of Laws) and S.J.D. (Doctor of Juridical Science). Joint-degree programs will connect legal education with the wide range of academic and professional opportunities of a major research university. The School will emphasize interdisciplinary studies and is expected to offer dual degrees such as J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.D., and J.D./Ph.D's in many different fields.

Students completing the J.D. degree will be fully prepared for the practice of law based on the ultimate objective of any legal system —the realization of justice. As part of the three-year curriculum leading to the J.D., the School of Law will provide students with a legal education from some of the finest law faculty in the country. The curriculum will include in-depth study of legal doctrine and also provide experiential learning based on clinical practice and professional training in lawyering skills necessary for the practice of law at the highest level. It is expected that every student will have a clinical experience or the equivalent. Additionally, it is expected that there will be a full range of student activities including law review, moot court, student bar association, and groups focusing on particular areas of interest.

Students will be encouraged to use the third year of law school for a capstone experience focused on their field of legal specialization. They will work with faculty and other students from law and related disciplines, and with experienced practitioners in a clinical context under the guidance of their faculty advisors. The capstone courses will introduce students to complex legal problem-solving through projects that require the kind of sustained and highly motivated effort expected of young scholars, associates at law firms, and young lawyers at public interest law firms or regulatory agencies.

The School of Law will build on UCI's existing strengths in emerging technology, social policy, international business, environmental science and policy, health care, and other fields to produce leaders in law, government, and business for the twenty-first century. UCI law graduates will also be encouraged to pursue careers in public service, including non-governmental organizations and philanthropic agencies. Financial aid and a loan-repayment assistance program will be available to support students interested in these fields. The School will work aggressively to place students in law firms, public interest and legal services offices, and government agencies. It is expected that a wide array of employers, from both the public and private sectors, will interview on campus.

The School of Law will seek accreditation from the American Bar Association as soon as possible. That process takes place over a three-five year period including an initial application for provisional accreditation for new law schools. (Students and graduates of provisionally approved law schools are entitled to the same recognition given to students and graduates of fully approved law schools.) The Dean is fully informed as to the Standards and Rules of Procedure for the Approval of Law Schools by the American Bar Association. The administration and the Dean are determined to devote all necessary resources and in other respects to take all necessary steps to present a program of legal education that will qualify for approval by the American Bar Association. The School of Law makes no representation to any applicant that it will be approved by the American Bar Association prior to the graduation of any matriculating student.

The School of Law seeks to enroll outstanding students who reflect a wide diversity of life experiences. The initial students will receive a top-quality legal education and also have the chance to participate in the shaping of an exciting new institution. Further information about admission requirements, application deadlines, fee levels, and curriculum developments will be updated regularly on the School's Web site at http://www.law.uci.edu/.