McGeorge School of Law

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University of the Pacific,
McGeorge School of Law
Image:MCG SEAL front.jpg
Established 1924
School type Private
Dean Dean Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker
Location Sacramento, California, USA
Enrollment 1,104
Faculty 60 full-time; 40 adjunct
USNWR ranking Tier 1 #95
Bar pass rate 73%
Annual tuition $31,120 (full-time); $20,690 (part-time)
Homepage www.McGeorge.edu

McGeorge School of Law is a private, ABA-accredited law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California, commonly known as "Pacific McGeorge" as it is part of the University of the Pacific which is located in Stockton, California. Originally founded in 1924, the school merged with and became part of the University of the Pacific in 1966. The university also runs a dental school in San Francisco, California. The current dean of McGeorge School of Law is former CIA General Counsel Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker.[1]

Pacific McGeorge is currently ranked among the top 100 in the U.S. News & World Report annual ranking of U.S. law schools.

Additionally, Pacific McGeorge is ranked among the nation’s Top 20 in both Advocacy and International Law programs in the 2007 U.S. News & World Report annual guide to “America’s Best Graduate Schools”. In 2008 it was tied for #3 in the West for its international programs and was also #45 for its student diversity.

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[edit] Accreditation and Memberships

Pacific McGeorge is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and by the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California. It is also a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

Pacific McGeorge 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.

[edit] General Information

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

Pacific McGeorge offers both a three-year day division program and four-year evening division program. Pacific McGeorge graduates are eligible to sit for the bar examination in any American jurisdiction.

The goal of Pacific McGeorge is to educate future members of the legal profession for responsible service in the many roles that lawyers perform. Students acquire legal knowledge and analytic skills through traditional classroom courses, as well as through extensive clinical and advocacy programs.

Pacific McGeorge recently welcomed the entering classes of 2007. The members of this entering class came from 116 different colleges and universities. More than 50 undergraduate majors, including many in the sciences, are represented. The entering class comes from 25 of the United States and from nearly that many foreign countries, when including students in the LLM program. The range of students is between 17 and 57 years old.

The entering student class is more than 48% female. Ethnic minority enrollment in this class is approximately 28%.

[edit] History

The school that eventually became Pacific McGeorge began in 1921 when Stanford Law School graduate and Standard Oil executive Verne Adrian McGeorge began teaching law students at night in downtown Sacramento, California. After its formally 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 to become Pacific McGeorge.[2]

[edit] How McGeorge Rates in the U.S. News & World Report's Annual Law School Rankings

McGeorge School of Law

For a few years, Pacific McGeorge's status in the U.S. News & World Report law school rankings put it in the dreaded "4th Tier"--the bottom quartile of U.S. law schools. However, beginning in the late 1990s McGeorge realized a jump to the 3rd tier. In the 2004 annual rankings, Pacific McGeorge jumped from the 3rd Tier to the 2nd Tier, placing it among the Top 100 Law Schools in the United States where it has remained for half a decade. It has held its place in the 2nd Tier since that time, prompting people to examine the factors contributing to Pacific McGeorge's ascendancy.

The law school undertook extensive renovations of its classrooms, implemented wireless technology throughout the campus, and has hired top-notch faculty. Additionally, Pacific McGeorge has made itself more visible and active in the legal academy, as well as in its local community. During this same time, entering student credentials have also risen steadily. Each of these may have contributed to Pacific McGeorge's rise in the annual law school rankings. It has also been suggested that the law school has increasingly engaged its alumni, building their pride in their law school's accomplishments and arming them to play a key role in boosting the rankings by becoming more active in promoting the school. Part of this effort stems from the fact that up until the mid-1990s, Pacific McGeorge was not well-known outside of Northern California.

The law school's faculty is increasingly well-regarded for its scholarship, as well as for leadership of initiatives in the academy. Pacific McGeorge is among the national leaders in an initiative to "globalize legal education," and, notably, with faculty member Franklin Gevurtz editor of a 15-book series (10 in print thus far) produced by West called the "Global Issues Series." Also of note is the law school's USAID-funded initiative to extend the "rule of law" in China, among other international initiatives. As the only ABA-accredited law school in Sacramento, capital city of the world's 8th-largest economy, Pacific McGeorge is well known for alumni who are political and governmental leaders in state and federal ranks, and the law school has provided services to government on the local, state and national level. Professor Clark Kelso, director of the law school's Capital Center for Government Law & Policy, served as the CIO for California from 2002 to December 2007, and was in January 2008 named to head up efforts to address the State's health care challenges in its prison system. Additionally, thanks to Dean Parker's background as former general counsel of both the CIA and the National Security Agency, it is not surprising that Pacific McGeorge has helped resurrect a "Journal of National Security Law and Policy," under the hands-on leadership of Pacific McGeorge faculty member John Cary Sims.

One issue that may have hindered Pacific McGeorge's continued move into the top-tier of law schools is an historical reputation for high attrition. There was a time in the law school's history that Pacific McGeorge was somewhat less selective in admissions than other similarly ranked law schools, and thus had a reputation for being "easy to get in, tough to get out." However, this is no longer true, making this holdover from decades past regrettable misperception. In fact, in recent years involuntary attrition has dropped into the single digits -- a result of more selective admissions and the provision of a Student Success Program to assist struggling students with a rigorous legal education environment. Even with the demonstrated success of this and other new initiatives, these approaches will not work for everyone: the 2005-2006 First-Year entering class had a combined (voluntary and involuntary) attrition rate of 14.3% according to the 2008 US News and World Report Law School Rankings.

Pacific McGeorge's curriculum and academic requirements are widely regarded as being rigorous--even when compared to other top and 2nd tier law schools. Pacific McGeorge's improved national ranking and its reputation for providing its students with a rigorous academic experience focused both on legal theory and on the development of practical skills ensure that its graduates are well-prepared to succeed in a wide variety of positions throughout the United States and increasingly, in international forums as well. Pacific McGeorge alumni can be found in all 50 U.S. States, and in nearly 50 countries around the globe.

[edit] Areas of Specialization

Pacific McGeorge School of Law

In addition to completing requirements for the Juris Doctor degree, Pacific McGeorge students who wish to add additional value to their legal education may elect to complete additional requirements for a specialization or concentration certificate in the following areas of law:

  • International Business
  • Governmental Affairs
  • Advocacy
  • Criminal Justice
  • Tax
  • Intellectual Property

[edit] Location

The Pacific McGeorge campus is located at 3200 Fifth Avenue in the Oak Park area of Sacramento, California, the capital of the State of California.

[edit] Journals and Publications

Faculty-edited publications

  • Journal of National Security Law & Policy Focused on war and terrorism, international relations, democracy, and civil liberties issues.

Law journals and student publications

  • McGeorge Law Review (formerly titled The Pacific Law Journal) A student-run, quarterly, scholarly journal. Each year, two or more issues each year contain professional articles and student-authored comments or casenotes; one issue comprises the Review of Selected California Legislation, or "Greensheets;" and one issue contains a symposium, focusing on a specific, significant legal topic.
  • Pacific McGeorge Global Business & Development Law Journal (formerly titled "The Transnational Lawyer") Published by law students, articles center on legal analysis and commentary about issues affecting private international law practitioners
  • California Initiative Review An online comprehensive, independent analysis of California ballot initiatives and related issues

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] Notable Faculty

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ History of McGeorge School of Law
  2. ^ History of McGeorge School of Law

[edit] External links

v • d • e
University of the Pacific
Academics

Gladys L. Benerd School of Education • College of the Pacific (School of Science and Liberal Arts) • Conservatory of Music • Eberhardt School of Business • School of International Studies • School of Engineering and Computer Science
Graduate / Professional Schools

McGeorge School of Law (Sacramento) • Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry (San Francisco) • Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Stockton)
Research

The Office of Research and Graduate Studies • Brubeck Institute
People

Alumni • Faculty
Student Life

KPAC 89.7 (FM) • Morris Chapel
Athletics

Stagg Memorial Stadium • Alex G. Spanos Center • Klein Family Field • Big West Conference