Whittier Law School

Whittier College, Whittier Law School History

Whittier College Whittier Law School was established in 1975 and is a private institution. The 15-acre campus is in a suburban area of Costa Mesa, California. The primary mission of the law school is in the Quaker tradition of Whittier College, stressing concern for the individual student’s intellectual and ethnic development. The Law School expresses this concern through a low student-to-faculty ratio, which allows for considerable interaction with students, and by training socially and professionally responsible lawyers. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Costa Mesa area. Facilities of special interest to law students include approximately 150 law firms that exist within a 5-mile radius of campus. Orange County courts provide abundant opportunities for externships, clerkships, and other associations for students. Substantial resources are also available in nearby Los Angeles. Housing for students is not available on campus but is available and affordable in surrounding areas. The Office of Student Advising and Career Counseling assists students seeking housing accommodations. All law school facilities are accessible to the physically disabled.

Whittier College, Whittier Law School Academics

In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 6 credits may be applied.

The Whittier Law School offers concentrations in environmental law, international law, Center for Children’s Rights, and intellectual property. In addition, 4 clinics are offered to upper division students for up to 4 units of credit. The Children’s Rights Clinic offers 10 law students per semester the opportunity to provide pro bono legal assistance to children in selected cases on such matters as guardianship, custody, and adoption, under faculty supervision. The Special Education Clinic affords the same number of students the opportunity to assist special-needs children to request services from local school districts, in mediation sessions and administrative hearings. The Family Violence Clinic is designed to provide holistic legal services, combining the law with mental health, counseling, and other social services. Assistance is provided at several local shelter locations and up to 10 students can participate each term. The Legal Policy Clinic is a “clientless” clinic permitting students to advocate legal positions in the student’s area of interest. Seminars are available including First Amendment, Advanced Torts, Natural Resources, Reproductive Technology, Information Privacy Seminar, and Adoption. Internships are permitted after the completion of the first year curriculum. Students can earn up to 6 units working the offices of county, state, city, and federal agencies and courts, such as the City Attorney’s office, District Attorney’s office, Department of Corporations and the public defender’s office. Placements are also available with various public and private nonprofit legal entities. Student may take up to 3 units of independent study each semester with a full-time professor. Special lecture series include International Law, Health Law, and Center for Children’s Fellow Program. Summer-abroad programs are offered in Israel, Spain, China, Amsterdam, and France. Exchange programs are available at University of Paris and University of Catabria and University of Seville in Spain. Students are also permitted to enroll in ABA-approved study-abroad programs sponsored by other law schools for a maximum credit of 6 units. Each semester during the first year of law school, students are invited to attend extensive skills and exam writing workshops. In addition, teaching assistants are available in most first year classes for 1-on-1 tutorials. The Academic Success Program is structured to meet the needs of individuals in mastering writing and other skills. Each semester during the first year of law school, students are required to attend weekly small group sessions and lectures on skills, incdlung exam writing skills. These sessions are taught by the director of the program and by full-time Professors of Academic Support. Special interest group programs include International Law, Environmental Law, Center for Children’s Rights, and Intellectual Property. The most widely taken electives are Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Wills and Trusts.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 87 total credits, of which 40 are for required courses. They must maintain a minimum GPA of 77.0 in the required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Civil Procedure I and II, Contracts I and II, Criminal Law, Legal Skills I and II, Real Property I and II, and Torts I and II. Required upper-level courses consist of Community Property, Constitutional Law I and II, Corporations, Crimincal Procedure, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Professional Responsibility Practicum, Remedies, and Wills and Trusts. Clinical students are required to take Legal Skills I and II and Professional Skills I and II. The required orientation program for first-year students is a week-long program that includes introductions to and presentations by faculty, the administration, the library, financial aid office, and student organizations, plus a lecture entitled “How to Survive in Law School.”.

In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 77.0 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement. Students are required to take a 4-unit Professional Responsibility course, which includes a 1-unit writing skills component.

Whittier College, Whittier Law School Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 421,678 hard-copy volumes and 133,552 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 3791 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, DIALOG, Infotrac, Legal-Trac, LEXIS, LOIS, Mathew Bender, NEXIS, RLIN, WESTLAW, Wilsonline Indexes, JSTOR, HeinOnline, and New York Times are available to law students for research. Special library collections include a federal and a California state depository. Recently, the library provided off site access for students and faculty via OneLog. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 15,060 to 1 and to students is 475 to 1. The ratio of seats in the library to students is 1 to 43.

Special Consideration

The law school recruits minority and disadvantaged students by means of extensive fall recruiting, mass mailings targeted at minority groups, and diversity scholarships. Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must have one year of credit, have a minimum GPA of 3, and have attended an ABA-approved law school.

Whittier College, Whittier Law School Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 3144 applied, 982 were accepted, and 273 enrolled. Figures in the above capsule and in this profile are approximate. Three transfers enrolled in a recent year. The median LSAT percentile of the most recent first-year class was 61; the median GPA was 3.1 on a scale of 4.0. The lowest LSAT percentile accepted was 23; the highest was 85.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and take the LSAT. Minimum acceptable GPA is 2.0 on a scale of 4.0. The most important admission factors include academic achievement, GPA, and LSAT results. No specific undergraduate courses are required. Candidates are not interviewed.

Applicants should submit an application form, LSAT results, transcripts, TOEFL, if English is not the primary language, a nonrefundable application fee, 2 letters of recommendation, and a personal statement; if foreign, the applicant must have his/her foreign degree reviewed by an evaluation service approved by the school. Moreover, transcripts must be presented at matriculation. Notification of the admissions decision is as decisions are made. Check with the school for current application deadlines. The law school uses the LSDAS.

Whittier College, Whittier Law School Financial Aid

In a recent year, about 94% of current law students received some form of aid. The average annual amount of aid from all sources combined, including scholarships, loans, and work contracts, was $29,230; maximum, $53,202. Awards are based on need and merit. Required financial statement is the FAFSA. Special funds for minority or disadvantaged students include a limited number of diversity scholarships that are available. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application at time of acceptance.

Whittier College, Whittier Law School Students

About 52% of the student body are women; 42%, minorities; 5%, African American; 19%, Asian American; and 11%, Hispanic. The majority of students come from California (70%). The average age of entering students is 28; age range is 21 to 64. About 70% of students enter directly from undergraduate school. About 31% drop out after the first year for academic or personal reasons; 69% remain to receive a law degree.

Students edit the Whittier Law Review, the Whittier Journal of Child and Family Advocacy, and the student newspaper, The Zealous Advocate. Moot court teams are sent to the National Moot Court, National Criminal Procedure, and Jessup International Moot Court competitions, among others. The law schools also hosts the National Juvenile Law and Sonnenberg First Year Moot Court competitions. Law student organizations, local chapters of national associations, and campus organizations include the Alternative Dispute Resolution Group, Asian and Pacific Islander Law Students Association, Trial Advocacy Honors Board, Delta Theta Phi, Phi Alpha Delta, Phi Delta Phi, the Middle Eastern Law Students Organization, and Black Law Students and Women’s Law Associations.

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 5 years. For part-time students, courses are offered both day and evening and must be completed within 6 years. New full-time students are admitted in the fall and spring; part-time, fall. There is an 8-week summer session. Transferable summer courses are offered.