The UCI Law Innovative Legal Education Program
First-Year
UCI Law is the culmination of the vision of revolutionary dreamers. The Law School provides an innovative and comprehensive curriculum that prioritizes public service taught by faculty deeply committed to diversity and equity within the legal profession. The collaborative and interdisciplinary community at UCI Law includes extraordinary students, world-renowned faculty, supportive and caring staff, engaged alumni and enthusiastic supporters.
UCI Law seeks to do the best job in the country of training students for the practice of law in any modern legal setting. Distinct in its depth and breadth, in addition to core doctrinal courses that teach legal analysis and critical thinking in a variety of subject areas, the first-year curriculum includes: (1) an innovative Lawyering Skills program; (2) a Legal Profession course; (3) a first-year elective, including courses on race and indigeneity; and (4) doctrinal courses that embed insights into how technology and artificial intelligence impact law and the legal profession.
In the first year, all students also conduct real-world interviews of clients in collaboration with local pro bono and government organizations. Separate from the curriculum, our first-year students can participate in a significant number of pro bono projects, which they begin in the fall semester.
Core to this preparation is our six-credit Lawyering Skills Program, which is broader than traditional legal research and writing and where students gain a critical foundation in the skills all attorneys use, including client interviewing, legal analysis, problem solving and oral advocacy. The first-year course on the Legal Profession is also distinct. UCI Law was one of the first schools to offer this interdisciplinary course as a first-year course, which brings together insights from law, economics and sociology. The course not only provides students tools to resolve the legal and ethical issues that lawyers confront in a variety of practice settings, but also has students learn about the profession they are joining.
In the spring semester, all students choose an elective. In 2021, UCI Law became the first University of California law school — and one of just a few law schools nationally — to adopt a graduation requirement that students take a graded course with substantial content about “race and indigeneity, structural inequity and the historical bases for such inequity.” Students can take this important elective in their first year.
Preparing Students for Practice at the Highest Levels of the Profession through UCI Law’s Top-Ranked Lawyering Skills Program
UCI Law’s top Lawyering Skills Program offers students an innovative and comprehensive introduction to the range of critical skills necessary for students to thrive in any modern legal practice. The Lawyering Skills courses introduce students to client counseling, client interviewing, negotiation, contract drafting and fact investigation. All first-year students conduct intake interviews at a local legal aid or public defender office. Thus, UCI Law students, under supervision, work with organizations on real matters beginning in their first year of law school.
Some key attributes of our Lawyering Skills Program include:
- A team of faculty members who are dedicated teachers, mentors, scholars and practitioners. Collectively, we have nearly 150 years of teaching experience. We also have a range of practical experience to offer our students, counting among our ranks prior solo practitioners, judicial clerks, award-winning legal journalists, large law firm partners, and those currently performing significant pro bono work for the local community.
- A comprehensive six-credit course covering a range of skills, including legal writing, research, analysis, oral advocacy, fact investigation, problem solving, client interviewing and counseling, negotiation and contract drafting.
- A required real-world interviewing experience for every 1L through established partnerships with pro bono and government organizations.
- Small class sizes allowing for focused individualized attention for every student.
- A range of upper-division skills courses to complement the introduction in the 1L year.
- Opportunities for upper-division students to participate in moot court, mock trial, or both.
- Regular communication with our clinical program (ranked 5th in the country) to provide students with a seamless transition between the unique 1L Lawyering Skills class and the mandatory clinic experience at UCI Law.