McGeorge School of Law

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law History

University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law was established in 1924 and is a private institution. The 13-acre campus is in a suburban area in Sacramento. The primary mission of the law school is to educate practice-ready graduates, able to represent clients skillfully and ethically, through a rigorous curriculum that unifies classroom study with development of professional skills. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Sacramento area. Other resources include state capital internships and campus administrative justice offices. Facilities of special interest to law students include the trial courtroom, the LawLab equipped with computer technology, the “live-client” clinical facilities, the student center with food service, the library with ample study and computer areas, and recreational facilities. Housing for students consists of 158 on-campus apartments; housing off campus is readily available in the Sacramento area at a reasonable cost. About 95% of the law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law Academics

In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. and J.S.D. Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 30 credits from an ABA law school credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.A. or M.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts or Master of Science), J.D./M.B.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration), and J.D./M.P.P.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Policy and Administration).

Students must take 14 to 16 credits in their area of concentration. The McGeorge School of Law offers concentrations in corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international law, juvenile law, litigation, tax law, torts and insurance, governmental affairs, and advocacy. In addition, on-campus clinics include Community Legal Services, which provides legal services for those not otherwise able to afford them; it is available to advanced students, carries a 2-semester commitment, and is worth 6 credits. Other campus-based clinics available to advanced students for 2 or 3 credits each semester are Administrative Adjudication Clinic, Parole Representation Clinic; Immigration Clinic, Bankruptcy Clinic, Business and Community Development Clinic, Civil Practice Clinic, Victims’ Rights Clinic, and Legislative Process, Strategy and Ethics Clinic. A number of elective courses are in a seminar format with limited enrollment. Of particular interest are Advanced Intellectual Property; Negotiations and Settlement; California Law Revision; Reorganization, Recapitalization and Insolvency; and International Water Resources Law. More than 80 off-campus internships are available in nonprofit and local, state, and federal governmental offices and agencies. Internships are available to advanced students and are worth 2 or 3 credits per semester. Directed research, available as an elective for advanced students, is offered for 1 or 2 credits. Individual professors also have student research assistants. Additionally, the Research Pool undertakes research projects for practitioners. Lecture series such as the Distinguished Speaker’s Series, Hefner Memorial Lecture Series, and Lou Ashe Symposium bring outstanding guest speakers to campus. The Institute on International Legal Studies includes a 3-week program in Salzburg, Austria, in cooperation with the University of Salzburg. International and comparative law courses are offered in public and commercial law fields. For more than a decade, Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, has co-taught “Fundamental Rights in Europe and the U.S.” McGeorge also has a Summer Institute in Suzhou, China, with courses and cultural visits in Chinese courts. Tutorial programs include the Skills Hour Program and the Practice Examination Program offered in the fall of the student’s first year. A voluntary Minority Support Program provides a peer support and networking system as well as special orientation sessions, student-led discussion groups, and course review sessions. The most widely taken electives are Trial Advocacy, clinical offerings, and business courses.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 88 total credits, of which 63 are for required courses. They must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.3 in the required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Process, Property, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of Appellate and International Advocacy, Business Associations, Community Property, Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Decedents’ Estates and Trusts, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and Remedies. The required orientation program for first-year students is a 3-day program at the beginning of the year that includes orientation classes, small group sessions, and social activities. First-year faculty provide special feedback programs, including practice examinations, throughout the first year.

In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.33 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement.

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 509,164 hard-copy volumes and 285,813 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 4572 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, CIS Universe, DIALOG, Legal-Trac, LEXIS, Mathew Bender, NEXIS, OCLC First Search, RLIN, WESTLAW, CCH, and BNA are available to law students for research. Special library collections include California legal materials, California and U.S. documents depository, and tax and international law special collections. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 7833 to 1 and to students is 502 to 1. The ratio of seats in the library to students is 1 to 1.

Special Consideration

The law school recruits minority and disadvantaged students recruiting events, publications, letters, contacts with McGeorge students, and scholarship and grant programs. Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must have one year of credit. Acceptance of transfer students is dependent upon space availability; preference is given to students with compelling reasons to request transfer.

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 3254 applied, 1309 were accepted, and 342 enrolled. The median LSAT percentile of the most recent first-year class was 74; the median GPA was 3.4 on a scale of 4.3. The lowest LSAT percentile accepted was 36; the highest was 97.

Applicants must take the LSAT. The most important admission factors include academic achievement, LSAT results, and general background. No specific undergraduate courses are required. Candidates are not interviewed.

The application deadline for fall entry is April 15. Applicants should submit an application form, LSAT results, transcripts, a personal statement, a nonrefundable application fee of $75, and optional letters of recommendation (3 are suggested). Notification of the admissions decision begins in January. The latest acceptable LSAT test date for fall entry is February; June if space is available. The law school uses the LSDAS.

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law Financial Aid

About 93% of current law students receive some form of aid. The average annual amount of aid from all sources combined, including scholarships, loans, and work contracts, is $37,638; maximum, $55,000. Awards are based on need and merit. Required financial statement is the FAFSA. Minority or disadvantaged students Diversity factors are considered in the award of scholarships and grants. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application at time of acceptance, assuming a completed application is on file.

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law Students

About 48% of the student body are women; 26%, minorities; 3%, African American; 13%, Asian American; 9%, Hispanic; and 3%, Native American. The majority of students come from California (73%). The average age of entering students is 25; age range is 17 to 77. About 76% of students enter directly from undergraduate school and 2% have a graduate degree. About 16% drop out after the first year for academic or personal reasons.

Students edit the McGeorge Law Review and the Pacific McGeorge Global Business and Development Law Journal. McGeorge teams compete in the National and ABA Moot Court competitions and the Philip Jessup International Moot Court Competition. Other competitions include Willem C. Viz International Commercial Arbitration in Vienna, San Diego Defense Lawyers, William Daniel Mock Trial, San Diego Consumer Attorneys Mock Trial, Michigan State Competition, ABA Texas Young Lawyers National Trial Competition Nationals, ATLA National Student Advocacy Competition Nationals, ABA Client Counseling, and ABA Negotiation. Law student organizations include the Student Bar Association, Public Legal Services Society, and Government Affairs Student Association. There are local chapters of ABA-Law Student Division, and Phi Alpha Delta fraternity. Campus clubs and other organizations include Entertainment Law Society, Women’s Caucus, and International Law Society.

The law school operates on a traditional semester basis. Courses for full-time students are offered both day and evening and must be completed within 4 years. For part-time students, courses are offered both day and evening and must be completed within 5 years. New full- and part-time students are admitted in the fall. There is a 7 1/2-week summer session. Transferable summer courses are offered.