Top Law Schools in California

Stanford Law School

• In the legal field, Stanford Law School is considered part of the "Big Three" along with Harvard and Yale. With the latter two schools located in Massachusetts and Connecticut, Stanford becomes the highest ranked school outside of New England, specifically regarded as the premier institution on the U.S. West Coast. Admission to Stanford is extremely selective, as approximately only 9 percent of nearly 4,000 applicants were offered admission in 2009. Graduates from the school have fared extremely well in State Bar exams, boasting a passage rate of 95.71 percent in the jurisdictions of California and New York, a whopping 19.4 percent above the average in those states.

  Stanford University
  Law School
  Crown Quadrangle
  559 Nathan Abbott Way
  Stanford, CA 94305-8610
  650-723-4985
  law.stanford.edu

University of California, Berkeley

• As the top-ranked public law school in California, Cal-Berkeley is also regarded as the sixth best law school in the United States. California residents received a substantial discounted in-state tuition rate, making it attractive to those already residing in the state. In 2009, approximately 11 percent of 7,390 applicants were offered admission. Most graduates of the law school choose to practice in California, where State Bar passage rates are considerably higher than the state average, most recently at 82 percent in 2009.

  University of California, Berkeley
  School of Law
  Boalt Hall
  Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
  510-642-2274
  law.berkeley.edu

University of California, Los Angeles

• Ranked as the 15th best law school nationally, UCLA falls just outside of the prestigious "Top 14" in the law school rankings but still carries a tremendous national reputation. In 2009, approximately 16 percent of the 8,000 applicants were offered admission. Graduates of the school primarily chose to sit for the California State Bar exam and reported an impressive 86 percent success rate in 2009. With its prime location in the heart of Los Angeles, students and graduates are given an ideal opportunity to network and interview with some of the top law firms and employment opportunities throughout the year.

  University of California, Los Angeles
  School of Law
  71 Dodd Hall, PO Box 951445
  Los Angeles, CA 90095-1445
  (310) 825-2080
  [email protected]
  law.ucla.edu

University of Southern California

• As one of only two private California law schools to be ranked in the national Top 20, the University of Southern California, or USC, may be more expensive than similarly ranked public schools, but the strong alumni network and impressive employment statistics still make it a very strong choice for students wishing to practice in California. Nearly 88 percent of graduates passed the California State Bar exam in 2009, which is considered by many in the field to be one of the two hardest exams in the country. Admission to USC is highly selective, with approximately 20.5 percent of 5,600 applicants receiving offers of admission in 2009.

  University of Southern California
  Gould School of Law
  699 Exposition Blvd.
  Los Angeles, CA 90089-0071
  213-740-2523
  lawweb.usc.edu

The Rest of California's National Top 100 Law Schools

• In law school national rankings, the Top 100 list released by "U.S. News & World Report" is the measuring stick by which prospective students and law school administrators use to gauge reputation. The following California law schools also earned Top 100 designation in the 2010 law school rankings:

  35. University of California, Davis
  39. University of California, Hastings; San Francisco
  55. Pepperdine University; Malibu
  61. University of San Diego
  71. Loyola Marymount University; Los Angeles
  85. Santa Clara University
  98. University of San Francisco