University of California, Irvine School of Law Granted Full Accreditation by American Bar Association
IRVINE, Calif., June 6, 2014 — The University of California, Irvine School of Law has been granted full accreditation by the American Bar Association, effective immediately.
“From the outset, our goal has been to build a top law school that emphasizes preparing students for the practice of law at the highest levels of the profession,” said Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “I am very proud that the decision by the ABA is at the earliest possible time under the ABA rules.”
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky continued: “The ABA’s decision puts the official seal of approval on the hard work of scores of faculty, administrators, students, and supporters, both on campus and in the legal community. We are so grateful for the generosity and support we have received in building the University of California, Irvine School of Law.”
When it opened in 2009 as the first new public law school in California in nearly 50 years, University of California, Irvine School of Law had a blank slate to create an innovative curriculum, including:
- Every student is required to participate in a legal clinic representing clients with faculty supervision.
- The first-year curriculum emphasizes methods of analysis.
- Upper-level courses incorporate skills training in traditional academic study.
- New courses were created that don’t exist at other law schools.
A recent study ranked the University of California, Irvine School of Law’s faculty 7th in the country for scholarly impact, behind Yale, Harvard, Chicago, Stanford, Columbia, and NYU.
The Law School is rooted in a commitment to public service, which manifests itself in the high numbers of students participating in extra-curricular pro bono projects every year. More than 90% of University of California, Irvine School of Law students provide pro bono legal services to the underserved in the community. In 2013, students completed 10,000 hours of pro bono work.
Post-graduation professional opportunities for students of University of California, Irvine School of Law are outstanding and include federal judicial clerkships, large law firm employment and public interest legal positions nationally. The Law School ranked No. 3, behind Yale and Stanford, in a recent study of student placement in prestigious federal judicial clerkships. University of California, Irvine School of Law also ranked No. 13 in a national review of “Elite Employment Outcomes” based on federal clerkships and employment in large law firms.
For more on the University of California, Irvine School of Law, visit the website at law.uci.edu.
The University of California, Irvine School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association. For information about ABA accreditation, contact the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar at:
Office of the Consultant on Legal Education / Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
American Bar Association
321 N. Clark Street, 21st Floor
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: (312) 988-6738
Fax: (312) 988-5681
legaled@americanbar.org
Press Contact: Colleen Taricani, University of California, Irvine School of Law Communications, ctaricani@law.uci.edu, (949) 945-4506