Golden Gate University School of Law

Introduction

At GGU Law, our city is our classroom. Our downtown San Francisco location—home to courthouses, government buildings, and cultural institutions—places our students in the legal and cultural heart of the city.

Our students are judicial externs and clinic attorneys. They participate in Bar Association events and provide legal services in rural communities. Their impact is felt far beyond campus. The experiences we offer our students, along with our top-notch programs and first-class faculty, have resulted in international acclaim.

At GGU, we offer six LLM programs, an SJD program, and a J-1 Research Scholars program. Our programs enable students to either specialize in a certain area or to qualify to take a bar exam in the United States. Our award-winning LLM in Taxation has received both regional and national recognition.

GGU Law is also nationally regarded for its innovative curriculum focused on practical training and for having one of the most ethnically diverse campuses in the United States.

Our LLM programs offer great flexibility, accepting entering students in the fall (August), spring (January), or summer (May) semester, and allowing students to complete the program on a full- or part-time basis. (SJD students, however, may enter the program only in the fall semester.) The full-time day program usually takes approximately one year, and the part-time program two years.

LLM Programs

LLM in Taxation Law

• Four decades of enhancing the profession with successful tax- and estate-planning attorneys.
• Professors are recognized tax professionals in the private and public sectors, including federal and state taxing authorities, businesses, and law and accounting firms of all sizes.
• Faculty includes professionals from the Internal Revenue Service; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP; Morgan Stanley; Schiff Hardin, LLP; and Winston & Strawn, LLP; among others.

National and Regional Recognition

GGU Law’s Taxation LLM has been recognized as among the best in California for the past three years, and it is consistently revered as among the top graduate tax programs in the nation for training in taxation, estate planning, and elder care.

Flexibility

• Courses are offered in the evening to accommodate working professionals.
• Students may transfer 12 qualifying units from ABA-accredited JD or other LLM programs toward the 24-unit degree requirement, allowing them to graduate in one semester.

LLM in Estate Planning

Golden Gate University School of Law is the only law school in the western United States that offers an LLM in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law. Course offerings reflect both the technical and people-oriented natures of this practice area as well as the need for practical experiential learning.

Students are taught by practicing attorneys and judges and have many opportunities for clerkships and externships with Bay Area law firms and Superior Court Probate departments. Graduates of this program will be fully capable of starting and running their own practices, or sought after as highly trained associates for established firms.

Flexibility

• Courses are offered in the evening to accommodate working professionals.
• Students may transfer 12 qualifying units from ABA-accredited JD or other LLM programs toward the 24-unit degree requirement, allowing them to graduate in one semester.

Dual Track in Taxation and Estate Planning

Golden Gate University School of Law offers students the unique opportunity to earn both an LLM in Taxation and Estate Planning concurrently for only 34 units. By pursuing both LLM degrees, you will be gaining expertise in two related specialty practice areas that are experiencing significant growth.

Flexibility

• Courses are offered in the evening to accommodate working professionals.
• Students may transfer 12 qualifying units from ABA-accredited JD or other LLM programs.

LLM in International Legal Studies

The LLM in International Legal Studies offers in-depth coverage of specialized areas of international and comparative law. The program explores the interaction among the legal, cultural, sociological, and business activities of the various regions of the world.

The LLM in International Legal Studies is both academic and practical. At its core, the LLM program provides students with knowledge of the fundamental principles of international law and the current rules that govern their application. Students are exposed to practical applications of negotiating skills and to different methods of international dispute settlement.

LLM in US Legal Studies

Golden Gate University offers a very flexible US Legal Studies LLM program. It provides core training in US law for foreign attorneys and law graduates with an option to take a state bar examination. Alternatively, interested students may opt to concentrate in a particular area of US law. Students have the freedom to pursue customized study plans and to choose the courses or programs that are most in line with their goals.

Concentrations

• Corporate and Commercial Law
• Immigration Law
• Labor and Employment Law
• Litigation and Lawyering Skills
• Property Development/Real Estate Law
• US Legal Practice

LLM in Intellectual Property Law

Students will delve deeply into the areas of patent, trademark, and copyright law; draft agreements and litigation documents; and learn negotiating tips and strategies. The curriculum includes both domestic and international IP law courses, and offers an unprecedented level of instruction in legal issues relating to the creative arts through courses in entertainment and art law.

The Intellectual Property Law Center promotes excellence in teaching and scholarship through a variety of academic and extracurricular programs. It sponsors activities for students in the local legal community, one of the most robust and sophisticated legal markets for IP law in the world. The IPLC also supports such events as the annual Intellectual Property Law Conference; the Distinguished Intellectual Property Law Speaker Series; periodic academic symposia on cutting-edge IP issues; IP practitioner lectures; an IP mentorship program; and a sponsored IP section in the Law Library.

The McCarthy Institute—the Joint Innovation Center of Golden Gate University's Schools of Law and Business

The McCarthy Institute is the world’s pre-eminent IP law and business innovation institute, with work that ranges from intellectual property and trademarks to branding and advertising.  It conducts regular symposia, workshops, and seminars on the intersection of law, technology, and business issues relating to intellectual property, trademarks, marketing, branding, advertising, and consumer-purchasing psychology and behavior. Its work includes conducting extensive empirical research—domestically and abroad—on all aspects of the worlds of law and business as they merge together.  The institute focuses on new technologies, the impact of innovation, and on developing a better understanding of culturally transformative business and legal developments.   

The McCarthy Institute employs a number of student fellows, who assist with the institute's research projects and are afforded opportunities to serve as named coauthors on published research papers.  The institute is served by a number of affiliate scholars in a variety of disciplines (e.g., marketing, linguistics, data analytics, economics, the social sciences, consumer psychology, intellectual property law) in joint projects that explore the intersection of legal, business, and cultural issues.

LLM in Environmental Law

The program blends academic study, writing, and practical skills training with a broad range of environmental law courses. Students work closely with faculty and practicing attorneys in researching, investigating, and preparing publishable papers on leading environmental issues.

Students may also gain practical experience by participating in the Environmental Law & Justice Clinic and placements at local environmental organizations and governmental agencies.

LLM Application Requirements

• Application form (through your LSAC LLM account)
• Personal statement
• Résumé
• Law school transcripts (through LSAC’s LLM Credential Assembly Service)
• A TOEFL score of 92 or 6.5 or equivalent score for international students is preferred, but we will consider candidates with lower scores
• Recommendation letters (optional)

SJD (Scientiae Juridicae Doctor/Doctor of Juridical Science)

The SJD program in International Legal Studies is designed to provide in-depth coverage of specialized areas of international and comparative law with an emphasis on the legal, cultural, sociological, and business activities of the Pacific Rim, the European Community, and of other regions of the world as they interact with one another and with the United States.

Each SJD student will work closely with the dissertation supervisor during the residency period. At the end of the second semester in residence, the student must pass a qualifying oral examination. Students who successfully pass their oral examination will be advanced to candidacy. The SJD candidate is expected to work closely with the members of the dissertation committee during the candidacy period and must present a final dissertation in publishable form no later than four years after advancing to candidacy.

SJD Application Requirements

• Application form (through your LSAC LLM account)
• Personal statement
• Research statement
• Writing sample
• Résumé
• Law school transcripts (through LSAC’s LLM Credential Assembly Service)
• A TOEFL score of 92 or 6.5 or equivalent score for international students is preferred, but we will consider candidates with lower scores
• Recommendation letters (3)

The Sompong Sucharitkul Center for Advanced International Legal Studies

The center’s journal, the Annual Survey of International and Comparative Law, publishes articles that address a broad range of issues concerning international law.

The center’s annual Fulbright Symposium provides a forum for engagement and debate among scholars, practitioners, and other professionals working in the areas of international and comparative law and related fields. The conference offers law faculty and students rare access to Fulbright scholars, diplomatic and consul officers, and other international law experts.

J-1 Visiting Scholar

Golden Gate University School of Law is able to accommodate a limited number of visiting scholars each year to engage in significant independent legal research projects. Prospective scholars, including professors, government officials, and law professionals, may apply to the program as Senior Visiting Scholars.

J-1 Application Requirements

• Application form (through your LSAC LLM account)
• Personal statement
• Résumé
• Research proposal
• A TOEFL score of 92 or 6.5 or equivalent score for international students is preferred, but we will consider candidates with lower scores
• Recommendation letters (optional)

Student Development and City Attractions

Students can partake in Golden Gate University’s 20+ student organizations, which address the many interests of our diverse student population. Students can broaden their professional networks by attending events at many of the Bay Area’s professional organizations, such as regional bar associations or specialty groups.

Golden Gate University’s location makes it one of the best-situated law schools in the United States. Students can enjoy the nearby historic cultural and culinary centers of Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Mission District, and North Beach—all within walking distance or reachable by public transportation. Students are also in proximity to world-class shopping at Union Square or San Francisco Giants baseball games at the spectacular AT&T ballpark. Renowned fine arts venues and the magnificent Golden Gate Park are all easily accessible by public transportation.

Not only can students enjoy the many activities within San Francisco, they can also take day or weekend trips to destinations such as

• Yosemite National Park
• Lake Tahoe
• Napa and Sonoma Valley Wine Countries
• Muir Woods
• Point Reyes National Seashore
• Monterey Bay and Carmel

Golden Gate University also offers countless opportunities—some formal, others just fun—to network, socialize, and unwind—not only with fellow students but also with faculty and alumni. Each year, Golden Gate University arranges student outings for our international scholars. A sampling of some of our activities includes

• walking tours of San Francisco
• California Supreme Court visit
• Fleet Week picnic
• traditional Thanksgiving dinner
• San Francisco City Hall tour
• Chinese New Year parade
• Ninth Circuit Court tour
• San Francisco Giants baseball game
• graduation happy hour
• San Francisco Pride festival

Faculty

Our accomplished, diverse faculty practiced law before teaching. They are experts in a wide range of legal areas—from litigation to labor law, corporate law to criminal law, property development to public interest law, environmental law to entertainment law, international law to intellectual property law—and much more. Our student-to-teacher ratio is 19:1, and our professors are committed to being accessible to students.

Student Support and Career Services

LLM and SJD students have full access to the student support and career services offered by Golden Gate University. Further, GGU’s law career services provides assistance to enrolled students and alumni of the graduate law programs in finding job placement both locally and around the world.

Diversity

Golden Gate students reflect a wide variety of ages; work experiences; and cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. Our student body includes working professionals and recent college graduates from more than 100 undergraduate and graduate institutions. They come from across the United States and from a number of foreign nations, and they represent a wide spectrum of ethnic, economic, and cultural backgrounds.

Housing/Commute to Campus

While we currently do not offer on-campus housing, housing resources are provided to incoming students through the Graduate Law Programs Office.

There are numerous housing options in the surrounding downtown areas and greater Bay Area. Our proximity to numerous public transportation centers allows our students flexibility to choose the housing option that suits their lifestyles and financial needs.

Within minutes of campus, students can commute via the following options:

• Muni—public transit system for the City and County of San Francisco
• Bay Area Rapid Transit or BART—public transportation system serving the San Francisco Bay Area
• Caltrain—California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley
• Golden Gate Transit—public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area
• Ferry Boat to Novato, Sausalito, Larkspur, Tiburon, etc.

We recommend using 511.org to plan your commute to campus. We do not offer parking facilities at GGU.

Tuition and Fees

The student is responsible for other costs, including student fees, books and supplies, room and board, and personal expenses.

The student is responsible for other costs, including student fees, books and supplies, room and board, and personal expenses.

Visit Tuition and Fees for additional information and the most up-to-date information.