McGeorge School of Law

University of the Pacific,
McGeorge School of Law
Parent schoolUniversity of the Pacific
Established1924[1]
School typePrivate
DeanMichael Hunter Schwartz
LocationSacramento, California, US
Enrollment402 (Full-time)[1]
Faculty39 (Full-time)
102 (Total)[2]
USNWR ranking159th (tie) (2024)[1]
Bar pass rate86% (October 2020 first time takers)[3]
Websitewww.McGeorge.edu
ABA profileMcGeorge School of Law

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on the University's Sacramento campus.

History

The school that eventually became McGeorge began in 1921 when University of Chicago Law School graduate[4] and Standard Oil executive Verne Adrian McGeorge began teaching law students at night in downtown Sacramento, California. After its formal establishment as a school in 1924, this Sacramento Law School, subsequently renamed in Professor McGeorge's honor as the "McGeorge School of Law", merged with the University of the Pacific in 1966 and came to be known as "Pacific McGeorge".[5] McGeorge became an integral part of the University of the Pacific in 1991.[5] The current dean of McGeorge School of Law is Michael Hunter Schwartz, formerly the dean of the William H. Bowen School of Law at University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 2013 to 2017.[5]

Accreditation, memberships, rankings

McGeorge has been approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) since 1969.[6] As an ABA approved law school, McGeorge graduates are eligible to sit for the bar examination in any American jurisdiction.

Memberships

McGeorge joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1974.[7] It has a chapter of the Order of the Coif, a national law school honorary society founded for the purposes of encouraging legal scholarship and advancing the ethical standards of the legal profession.[8]

Rankings and bar exam passage rate

In the 2023 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings, McGeorge School of Law was ranked 133.[1]

Of the McGeorge alumni who took the California bar for the first time in July, 2022, 57% passed. It ranked fifteenth among the eighteen ABA-accredited California law schools.[9]

Tuition costs

McGeorge's tuition and fees for full-time students during the 2019–2020 academic year cost $56,776 per year, while tuition and fees for part-time students was $42,418-47,824 per year.[10]

Academic programs

McGeorge offers degree programs leading to the award of the J.D. (Juris Doctor), the LL.M. (Master of Laws), the M.P.A. (Master of Public Administration), the M.P.P. (Master of Public Policy) and the J.S.D. (Doctor of Juridical Science) degrees.

McGeorge offers both a three-year day division program and four-year evening division program.

The first year curriculum at McGeorge consists of 27 units.[11] McGeorge law students must also complete 29 units of upper-level required curriculum.[12] Therefore, 56 units out of the 88 units to graduate are required courses.[13] All students take the same required courses.

Location

The McGeorge School of Law is located on University of the Pacific's Sacramento campus at 3200 Fifth Avenue in the Oak Park area of Sacramento, the capital of California.[14]

Journals and publications

  • The University of the Pacific Law Review (formerly titled "McGeorge Law Review" and "The Pacific Law Journal"). A student-run, scholarly journal publishing four issues annually. Two issues are published each year containing professional articles and student-authored comments or casenotes; one issue contains the Review of Selected California Legislation, or "Greensheets"; and one issue contains a symposium, focusing on a specific, significant legal topic.
  • California Initiative Review. An online analysis of California ballot initiatives and related issues.
  • California Water Law Journal. A forum for water law research.

Notable people

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Present Dean and Dean Emeriti

  • Michael Hunter Schwartz, 2017 – present
  • Francis J. –"Jay" Mootz, 2012–2017
  • Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, 2002–2012, Executive Director and CEO of the State Bar of California[20] Former CIA General Counsel
  • Gerald Caplan, 1991–2002
  • Gordon D. Schaber, 1957–1991
  • John Swann, 1946–1957
  • Lawrence Dowrety, 1937 – WWII closure
  • Gilford Rowland, 1933–1937
  • Russell Harris, 1930–1933
  • Vern Adrian McGeorge, Founder, 1924–1930

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "University of the Pacific (McGeorge)". Best Law Schools. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  2. ^ "ABA Standard 509 Info Report, McGeorge School of Law" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  3. ^ "General Statistics Report - October 2020 California Bar Examination" (PDF). State Bar of California. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  4. ^ Chicago, University of (1920). University of Chicago Alumni Directory. Produced for the University of Chicago Alumni Association by Pub. Concepts, Incorporated.
  5. ^ a b c "History of McGeorge". www.mcgeorge.edu. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  6. ^ "ABA-Approved Law Schools by Year". ABA website. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  7. ^ "Member Schools – Association of American Law Schools". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  8. ^ Smith, Anesha. "member chart". www.orderofthecoif.org. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  9. ^ https://www.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/0/documents/admissions/Examinations/July-2022-CBX-Statistics.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  10. ^ "JD Program Tuition & Fees". www.mcgeorge.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  11. ^ "First-Year Required Curriculum". www.mcgeorge.edu. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  12. ^ "Upper-level Required Curriculum". www.mcgeorge.edu. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  13. ^ "Degree Requirements". www.mcgeorge.edu. Archived from the original on 29 July 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  14. ^ "Sacramento Campus — University of the Pacific". www.pacific.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  15. ^ "LLM Named to Key Azerbaijan Post". www.mcgeorge.edu. 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  16. ^ "Victor Plata". Team USA. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  17. ^ California, The State Bar of. "Christian Wellisch #255000 – Attorney Search". members.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  18. ^ "Current Members". www.supremecourt.gov. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  19. ^ "Anthony Kennedy". www.mcgeorge.edu. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  20. ^ "The State Bar of California". www.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved 13 August 2018.

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings

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