Southwestern Law School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

The Southwestern University School of Law (also known as Southwestern Law School) is a private ABA-accredited law school located in Los Angeles, California, with about 1000 students at a campus that includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an admired art-deco landmark. Founded on November 25, 1911 by John J. Schumacher, the school offers four J.D. programs of study as well as one LL.M. program. The school should not be confused with Southwestern University, a liberal arts institution in Georgetown, Texas.

The Bullocks Wilshire Building on the campus of the Southwestern Law School
The Bullocks Wilshire Building on the campus of the Southwestern Law School

Contents

[edit] History

The Westmoreland building of the Southwestern University School of Law
The Westmoreland building of the Southwestern University School of Law

Southwestern University School of Law was founded on November 25, 1911 as the Southwestern College of Law. John J. Schumacher, its founder, intended the nonprofit institution to be a law school that reached out to women and minorities. The school is one of the oldest law schools in the state of California and the second oldest law school in Los Angeles.

Southwestern received a university charter in 1915 after it expanded to include a number of other disciplines including a business school. Southwestern's first "home" was a small campus on South Hill Street, where it existed for the first five decades of its existence.

The Great Depression and Second World War took a severe toll on the school's enrollment, and by the end of the 1930s the law school was the only school that remained. However, as veterans returned home the school experienced a surge of interest, and by 1972 the decision was made to move to the school's current location on Westmoreland Avenue in the Wilshire Center area of Los Angeles. By that time, the school was ABA-accredited and interest was growing quickly.

In 1994, Southwestern acquired the adjacent Bullocks Wilshire building, an historic landmark which was subsequently renovated to house the school's law library, classrooms, and faculty offices.

[edit] Dean Bryant G. Garth

Southwestern's current dean is Bryant G. Garth. Prior to joining Southwestern, Dean Garth was the Director of the American Bar Foundation (ABF). Dean Garth succeeds Dean Leigh H. Taylor.

Since joining Southwestern in 2005, Dean Garth has brought many changes to the school. In particular, Dean Garth has redirected Southwestern to making sure the faculty and staff do everything they can to support the students at Southwestern. These changes include hiring more staff, streamlining bureaucratic regulations, readjusting the grading curve, and providing more resources for counseling.

Dean Garth has also changed the first-year curriculum to better fit the needs of the students. The curriculum is now more focused on career development and lawyering skills, including interviewing, counseling, and negotiation. As part of the new program, the first week of school is dedicated completely to the new LAWS program (Legal Analysis, Writing, and Skills).

[edit] Academic Programs

J.D. Day Program

Southwestern offers a full-time day program. During this program, students pursue a broad-based legal education with opportunities to focus on a particular area of law, such as entertainment, commercial, tax, international, criminal, among others.

J.D. Evening Program;

Southwestern's part-time evening program is a four year program designed for working professionals.

J.D. SCALE Program

Southwestern offers a two-calendar-year alternative J.D. course. SCALE's (Southwestern's Conceptual Approach to Legal Education) emphasis is on conceptual learning and simulation training.

LL.M.

In 2000, Southwestern launched the Donald E. Biederman Entertainment & Media Law Institute [[1]] which offers the nation’s first LL.M degree in entertainment and media law. It also enables students to work for leading entertainment companies such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Lions Gate Entertainment, Virgin Records, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.,and the Writers Guild of America.

The Institute also hosts conferences in the area of entertainment and media law, and provides opportunities for students to interact with professionals in these fields.

Advocacy Training

Due to its status as a leading U.S. institution in advocacy and skills training with extensive Latin American programs, Southwestern has been awarded a federal grant to train Mexican lawyers and law faculty in advocacy skills as part of a USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) effort to assist Mexican legal reforms. [[2]]

[edit] Campus

The center of the Southwestern University School of Law campus in downtown LA
The center of the Southwestern University School of Law campus in downtown LA

The campus occupies over two city blocks in the Mid-Wilshire district of downtown Los Angeles known as Korea Town. Currently the campus contains two buildings, the 6-story Westmoreland Building and the 5-story Bullocks Wilshire Building. Both buildings house classrooms, administrative offices, and faculty offices; the Bullocks Wilshire Building also houses the Taylor Law Library, the Dixon Courtroom and Advocacy Center, a fitness center, a dining center, and a number of student lounges.

The Westmoreland Building is a 6-story building typical of college and university campuses, but the Bullocks Wilshire Building is a fully restored landmark that pays tribute to its history in many ways. Every level of the building is painstakingly renovated down to the smallest details such as the clocks on the walls and the "show showcases" in the area now occupied by the library.

The school's location in downtown Los Angeles creates a unique situation for students. Southwestern University School of Law has no on-campus housing, so the student body is composed entirely of commuters. The current layout of the campus reflects this, with about one-third of the campus devoted to a dual-level parking facility.

The Bullocks Wilshire Building on the campus of the Southwestern University School of Law
The Bullocks Wilshire Building on the campus of the Southwestern University School of Law

[edit] Notable alumni

Southwestern alumni include public officials – from members of Congress to mayors, district attorneys, and over 200 judges – as well as founders of major law firms and general counsels of multinational corporations.

[edit] Politics & Government

[edit] Sports

  • Jeffrey Birren (General Counsel, Oakland Raiders)
  • Jeffrey Borris (General Counsel and Partner, Beverly Hills Sports Council)
  • Roxanne Kosarzycki (General Counsel, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
  • Donald Sterling (Los Angeles Clippers Owner)
  • Chris Bahr (Olympian, NFL Kicker)

[edit] Entertainment industry

  • Howard Kurtzman (Executive Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs, Twentieth Century Fox Television)
  • Joseph DeMarco (Executive Vice President, Fox Searchlight Pictures)
  • Alan Duke (General Counsel, Miramax Studios)
  • George Eichen (Former Senior Vice President & General Counsel MTV Networks)
  • Martin Shafer (Partner, Castle Rock Entertainment)
  • Jeffrey S. Weiss (Vice President, Business Affairs, Columbia TriStar T.V. Distribution)
  • Glen A. Smith (Executive Counsel, ABC, Inc.)
  • Wayne Levin (Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.)
  • Gregory Gelfan (Executive Vice President, Fox Filmed Entertainment)
  • Gary D. Silver (Vice President, Business Affairs CBS Entertainment)
  • Michael Moore (Vice President, Intellectual Property Group, MGM)
  • Stacey Gardner (Model on Deal or No Deal, case #2)
  • Jean Casarez (Court TV correspondent)

[edit] Legal practice

[edit] Religion

[edit] Notable faculty

[edit] Current professors

  • Michael D. Scott (Expert on computer and technology law, blogger) Blog Website
  • Robert Lutz (Public and private international law) Website
  • Robert Pugsley (Frequent TV and Radio commentator on criminal law) Website
  • Jonathan Miller (Specialist in Latin American legal institutions) Website
  • Robert Lind (Expert in entertainment, media and intellectual property law) Website
  • Myrna Raeder (Specialist in evidence and procedure) Website
  • Christopher David Cameron (Authority in labor law, focusing on unions) Website
  • Joerg Knipprath (Expert in constitutional law) Website

[edit] Former professors

[edit] Academic reputation

  • The Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas corresponds to Southwestern's extensive curriculum and faculty expertise in international and comparative law. The Journal focuses on issues of law and trade in North, Central and South America; exploring such areas as environmental law, international trade, human rights, and international crime.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court cited the Journal of Law in United States v. Balsys, 524 U.S. 666, 715 (1998).
  • Ranked Tier 3 among the nation's "Top Law Schools" by the 2007 U.S. News and World Report [[3]]
  • The law school has established itself in the field of entertainment and media law.
  • Southwestern has established an Immigration and Human Rights Clinic and a Children’s Rights Clinic.

[edit] Filming on the Southwestern campus

The Office of Administrative Services is responsible for all arrangements pertaining to commercial photography and filming on Southwestern's campus.

  • A scene in The Aviator, a 2004 film starring Leonard DiCaprio, was filmed on campus near the entrance to the Bullocks Wilshire Building.
  • The final scene in the film Ghostbusters was filmed on top of the Bullocks Wilshire Building.
  • Featured setting in Topper, a 1937 film staring Cary Grant
  • Also featured in: “Dunston Checks In”; Aerosmith’s “Love in an Elevator”

[edit] External links

[edit] References

    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../s/o/u/Southwestern_Law_School_98d9.html"