Southwestern Law School

Founded more than 100 years ago, Southwestern Law School is deeply tied to the city of Los Angeles. Located along the city's Public Interest Corridor, the school has plenty of connections within the entertainment industry and municipal government. It's also known for its innovative curricular approach (including Full-Time, Part-Time, and accelerated Juris Doctor programs) and a model that incorporates experiential learning. Everyone at Southwestern can choose to concentrate in one of 5 preset areas, or they can customize their own combination of courses (the school has more than 200 electives to help with that), externships, clinics, and co-curricular activities. That curriculum also offers upper-division students access to 50 professional courses (skills, capstones, and special mini-terms) taught by international legal experts, all of which place an “emphasis on teaching students practical skills to hit the ground running after the bar.” All first-year students at Southwestern are required to take a year-long Legal Analysis, Writing, and Skills (LAWS) course that provides an introduction to key lawyering skills, which they can then utilize in a hands-on advocacy experience. Students say that the Public Service Program and the legal clinics “are the quickest ways to get practical experience.” They also boast about the buildings and resources: “The research facility is substantial,” and “the research librarians are very cheerful.” Classrooms are “spacious, easy to get to, [and] equipped with outlets at every single desk,” and the school “does a fantastic job of keeping us abreast of all the research tools available to us on campus and online.” As one student notes, “The available resources are incredible.” And the “swathe of academic assistance and support” includes “excellent networking opportunities” as well as “countless opportunities to improve and maximize our likelihood of passing the bar and finding employment.”

As for faculty, many “make themselves available outside of their office hours through phone calls or even FaceTime,” and “the Career Services Office and the Externship Office make students their number one priority.” Teachers are “knowledgeable in their field” and proficiently present material. They also serve as “good mentors, and if you reach out, there [are] great connections to be made. Students speak highly of “the willingness of professors to assist you outside of the class both academically and professionally,” and the number of faculty that are currently practicing “expands the anecdotal awareness of what it is like to practice [a given] area of law in a real-world situation.” Overall, Southwestern has a history of public service and a sterling “reputation in the Los Angeles basin,” and though it is particularly known for criminal, international, and entertainment and media law, “the vast majority of classes available for any particular legal field” are also present.

“The overall environment is peaceful and friendly” at Southwestern, and “most students tend to get along, [so] there is always someone willing to help” should you need it. It is “the equivalent of a community and family dynamic,” and “the student body is close amongst each other and the staff.” It is “such a welcoming community that fosters growth academically and professionally,” and “everyone truly cares about seeing every individual succeed in and out of the classroom.” Southwestern Law is a diverse school centered in a “beautiful historic building” with “a lot of support for first generation students.” This is by no means a cutthroat institution—“everyone is very genuine”—but among students there is “a healthy dose of competition in order to better ourselves and each other.” Even beyond classroom support, Southwestern “is concerned for our well-being and is there for us whether related to academic, mental, or financial issues.”