McGeorge School of Law

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University of the Pacific,
McGeorge School of Law
Image:MCG SEAL front.jpg
Established 1924
School type Private
President Dean Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker
Location Sacramento, California, USA
Enrollment 1,104
Faculty 60 full-time; 40 adjunct
USNWR ranking 100 (2008)
Bar pass rate 73%
Annual tuition $31,120 (full-time); $20,690 (part-time)
Homepage www.McGeorge.edu

McGeorge School of Law is a private, ABA-accredited law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California, commonly known as "Pacific McGeorge" as it is part of the University of the Pacific which is located in Stockton, California. Originally founded in 1924, the school merged with and became part of the University of the Pacific in 1966. The university also runs a dental school in San Francisco, California. The current dean of McGeorge School of Law is Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker.

Pacific McGeorge is currently ranked among the top 100 in the U.S. News & World Report annual ranking of U.S. law schools.

Additionally, Pacific McGeorge is currently ranked among the nation’s Top 20 International Law programs in the 2007 U.S. News & World Report annual guide to “America’s Best Graduate Schools”.

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Pacific McGeorge is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and by the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California. It is also a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

Pacific McGeorge has a chapter of the Order of the Coif, a national law school honorary society founded for the purposes of encouraging legal scholarship and advancing the ethical standards of the legal profession.

Pacific McGeorge offers degree programs leading to the award of the J.D. (Juris Doctor), the L.L.M. (Master of Laws) and the J.S.D. (Doctor of Juridical Science) degrees.

Pacific McGeorge offers both a three-year day division program and four-year evening division program. Pacific McGeorge graduates are eligible to sit for the bar examination in any American jurisdiction.

The goal of Pacific McGeorge is to educate future members of the legal profession for responsible service in the many roles that lawyers perform. Students acquire legal knowledge and analytic skills through traditional classroom courses, as well as through extensive clinical and advocacy programs.

Pacific McGeorge recently welcomed the entering classes of 2007 and 2008. The 366 members of these entering classes come from over 100 different colleges and universities. More than 50 undergraduate majors, including many in the sciences, are represented. The entering classes come from more than 30 of the United States and from several foreign countries. The range of students is between 19 and 46 years old.

The entering student classes are over 46% female. Ethnic minority enrollment in the entering classes is approximately 21%.

McGeorge School of Law

For a few years, Pacific McGeorge's status in the U.S. News & World Report law school rankings put it in the dreaded "4th Tier"--the bottom quartile of U.S. law schools. However, beginning in the late 1990s McGeorge realized a jump to the 3rd tier. In the 2004 annual rankings, Pacific McGeorge jumped from the 3rd Tier to the 2nd Tier, placing it among the Top 100 Law Schools in the United States. It has been able to hold its place in the 2nd Tier ever since, prompting people to examine the factors contributing to Pacific McGeorge's ascendancy.

Extensive renovations of existing classrooms, the implementation of wireless technology throughout the campus, the hiring and retention of top-notch faculty and a concerted attempt to make Pacific McGeorge more visible and active in the local community has likely contributed to Pacific McGeorge's rise in the annual law school rankings. It has also been suggested that alumni have played a key role in boosting the rankings by becoming more active in promoting the school. Part of this effort stems from the fact that up until the mid-1990s, Pacific McGeorge was not well-known outside of Northern California.

One issue that may be preventing Pacific McGeorge from approaching the top-tier of law schools is its notorious reputation for attrition. Some reports suggest that somewhere between 10 to 20 percent of each First-Year entering class do not advance to the second year. Up until early this decade, Pacific McGeorge was somewhat less selective in admissions than other similarly ranked law schools. Compounding the attrition problem is that Pacific McGeorge's curriculum and academic requirements are widely regarded as being rigorous--even when compared to other top and 2nd tier law schools. In recent years, Pacific McGeorge has made a concerted effort to address the attrition rate both by becoming more selective in admissions and by providing additional help to First-Year students to assist in their transition from undergraduate studies to the demanding and highly competitive environment of law school. Unfortunately, these approaches do not seem be working as the 2005-2006 First-Year entering class had an attrition rate of 14.3% according to the 2008 US News and World Report Law School Rankings.

Pacific McGeorge's improved national ranking and its reputation for providing its students with a rigorous academic experience focused both on legal theory and on the development of practical skills ensure that its graduates are well-prepared for employment in a wide variety of positions throughout the United States and increasingly, in international forums as well.

Pacific McGeorge School of Law

In addition to completing requirements for the Juris Doctor degree, Pacific McGeorge students who wish to add additional value to their legal education may elect to complete additional requirements for a specialization or concentration certificate in the following areas of law:

  • International Business
  • Governmental Affairs
  • Advocacy
  • Criminal Justice
  • Tax

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law campus is located at 3200 Fifth Ave. in the Oak Park area of Sacramento, California, the capital of the State of California. Pacific McGeorge campus map and directions.

Faculty-edited publications

  • Journal of National Security Law & Policy Focused on war and terrorism, international relations, democracy, and civil liberties issues.

Law journals and student publications

  • McGeorge Law Review (formerly titled The Pacific Law Journal) A student-run, quarterly, scholarly journal. Each year, two or more issues each year contain professional articles and student-authored comments or casenotes; one issue comprises the Review of Selected California Legislation, or "Greensheets;" and one issue contains a symposium, focusing on a specific, significant legal topic.
  • Pacific McGeorge Global Business & Development Law Journal (formerly titled "The Transnational Lawyer") Published by law students, articles center on legal analysis and commentary about issues affecting private international law practitioners
  • California Initiative Review An online comprehensive, independent analysis of California ballot initiatives and related issues

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