McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific

Overview

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific is located in Sacramento, California, capital of the nation’s most populous state and one of the world’s leading economies. The school is a member of the Association of American Law Schools, is accredited by the American Bar Association, and has a chapter of the Order of the Coif.

Full-time and part-time programs provide the flexibility to earn a JD degree in two and a half, three, four, or five years of study. Six hundred students pursue a JD, LLM, JSD, MPP, or MPA on a 13-acre campus that includes several other graduate programs students. JD students may pursue a joint JD/MPP or JD/MPA degree. McGeorge is the only law school in the country to offer degrees in both law and policy. The JD/MBA is offered in conjunction with our main campus in Stockton, California. The school’s reputation for educating well-prepared, practice-ready lawyers grows from the vitality of students and faculty working together. The diversity of the student body is reflected in the 150 or more colleges and universities that students attended as undergraduates, the 50 or more major fields of study, the range in years from age 22 to over 60, and the gender and ethnic diversity represented annually by students from a wide range of ethnic and cultural heritages.

Library and Physical Facilities

The Gordon D. Schaber Law Library is a recently renovated, comprehensive legal research facility that contains comfortable student study areas, a computer lab, group-study rooms, attractive event venues, and wireless Internet capabilities.

Curriculum

The curriculum at McGeorge is designed to develop highly skilled professionals who are prepared for the rapidly changing legal market. A legal education at McGeorge will push you academically within a supportive, empathetic environment where faculty and staff are invested in your personal success. The focus of the first year is on building a solid foundation in the theory of law and mastering legal research and writing. All first-year students have a small-group classroom experience in Global Lawyering Skills I, which provides the opportunity to work intensively with a professor on analytical and advocacy skills. First-year students also take a spring legal profession class where they begin to shape their professional identity and bring their professional goals into focus. Upper-division students choose among a broad array of elective courses where they get to focus on a more specialized path of study. Students may choose to add a concentration, or to pursue competition teams, law journals, externships, or legal clinics.

Experiential Learning

McGeorge guarantees every student two clinic or externship experiences as part of its curriculum.

• Clinical Education: Our commitment to experiential learning opportunities for students is woven into our culture. Every McGeorge student must complete at least two clinics and/or externships. McGeorge’s pioneering legal clinics deliver quality pro bono representation to underserved community members, and students routinely earn impressive victories on behalf of their clients. Clinic opportunities include Elder and Health Law, Federal Defender, Immigration Law, Legislative and Public Policy, the Prisoner Civil Rights Mediation Clinic, and the Small Business Clinic.
• Competition Teams: The award-winning McGeorge Moot Court, Mock Trial, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Competition Programs provide numerous opportunities for students to expand their courtroom experience, improve trial and appellate advocacy skills, and refine their skills in negotiation and arbitration. Students receive coaching and are able to test their abilities in competitions across the nation and around the world in such diverse subject areas as international law, constitutional law, criminal procedure, intellectual property, and more.
• Externships: Why wait to learn how to practice law until after graduation? McGeorge’s externships let you earn law school credit while performing supervised legal work at nearly 100 government-approved agencies, courts, nonprofit entities, and a limited number of for-profit entities. Students have the opportunity to apply legal theory and academic principles to solve legal problems and controversies; develop legal research, writing, negotiation, and interviewing skills; experience how ethical standards inform the practice of law; explore career interests in a variety of legal settings; and build a professional network.
• Legal Research and Writing: McGeorge’s distinctive two-year Global Lawyering Skills (GLS) (four courses) intensive legal writing program is designed to enhance and deepen the students’ experience in research, writing, and oral advocacy and produce skilled, practice-ready graduates. This required, four-semester program provides students with numerous simulations and hands-on, real-world learning opportunities.
• Experiential Mentoring: Every entering McGeorge student selects a mentor, from McGeorge’s pool of nearly 600 alumni mentors, who has expertise in an area of law of interest to the student. Mentors provide career advice, bring mentees to networking events, and allow mentees to watch them in action as they practice in their fields of expertise. Students who are first in their families to attend college can select a mentor who has a similar background.

Certificates of Concentration

• Business: The demands and complexities of a global economy require a strong basis in business law. This concentration is for students interested in pursuing a general business law practice, or for those wanting to specialize in entertainment law, employment law, banking law, real estate law, or other types of business law. Students with an interest in Intellectual Property Law or Tax Law can select an emphasis in Intellectual Property or Tax and complete many of the business concentration requirements by taking intellectual property or tax courses respectively.
• Capital Lawyering: Students complete courses designed to train them to work in and around the California legislature in committees; in private firms that specialize in political law or lobbying; in nonprofit agencies that engage in issue advocacy; in local, state, and federal agencies; and in law firms with regulatory practices in areas such as communications, energy, the environment, health, and employment. The curriculum ensures that students graduate with real-life experience and on-the-job contacts. Students also participate in Capital Center student groups, attend events, and network with the many Capital Alumni Chapter members in California; Washington, DC; Nevada; and elsewhere. Students with an interest in Health Law can select an emphasis in this area of law and complete several of the concentration requirements by taking health law courses.
• International: Globalization is transforming the practice of law. This concentration offers a strong foundation for a broad array of careers, whether your interests draw you toward public service or the private sector, to work abroad or in California, to litigation, transactions, or a legislative/regulatory practice. Students graduate with a solid grounding in public and private international law, in-depth exposure to at least one specialized doctrinal area, and advanced skills training that can help provide a bridge to practice.
• Trial & Appellate Advocacy: Students receive specialized, practical training to prepare for careers in litigation, civil and/or criminal trial and appellate work, or dispute resolution. A wide range of courses enables students to learn and demonstrate competencies in writing, appellate and trial advocacy, evidence, trial preparation and conduct, alternative dispute resolution, negotiation, and counseling and representation of clients.
• Water and Environmental: The field of water and environmental law lies at the intersection of environmental responsibility and society’s use of and impact on the natural world. This concentration provides students with the knowledge they need for successful careers in water and environmental law.

Student Activities

Over 40 professional, social, cultural, and academic student organizations at McGeorge represent the breadth of interests and diversity of the student community. Students manage, edit, and write for the University of the Pacific Law Review, and competition teams compete with notable success in a wide range of trial, appellate, and dispute-resolution competitions on the regional and national levels.

Housing

McGeorge has furnished and unfurnished one- and two-bedroom units, studios, and townhouses to accommodate up to 160 tenants. Early application is advised. The campus full-time housing coordinator may also suggest off-campus accommodations that are readily available in Sacramento.

Admission and Financial Aid

Admission is competitive and requires at least a bachelor’s degree or senior standing from an accredited college or university. An applicant’s undergraduate record and LSAT results are important factors in the JD admission decision process. When there are multiple LSAT scores, all scores are considered when evaluating the application for admission. Other factors considered are grade patterns or trends, employment and career accomplishments, graduate work, and extracurricular or community activities. Ethnic, cultural, geographic, and experiential backgrounds that contribute to student-body diversity are valued. Competitive merit- and need-based financial aid programs provide scholarship awards and grants to entering and advanced students. A knowledgeable financial aid staff provides counseling to assist students in minimizing student loan indebtedness. The Financial Aid Office is committed to providing students with financial aid resources to meet the educational costs of pursuing their legal careers. Our goal is to ensure excellent customer service with accurate and timely delivery of financial aid funds.

Career Services

The McGeorge Career Development Office (CDO) offers students and alumni a full range of advising and employment resource services, including individualized review of application materials, mock interviews, support with career planning, job-search strategizing, and an extensive library of resource materials. The CDO also hosts law firms, government agencies, and businesses for on-campus interviews and maintains up-to-date listings of specific employment opportunities for part-time, summer, and postgraduate positions. The CDO staff is available to help students identify their interests and introduce them to a vast array of career and networking opportunities. McGeorge faculty and alumni play a major role in our programs, sharing their experiences and offering advice to students seeking career opportunities in their fields of expertise. Alumni participate in our Day-in-the-Life speaker series, our robust Alumni Mentor Network Program, mock interview and résumé review programs, and numerous networking events.