Organization:Western State College of Law

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Short description: American law school
Western State College of Law at Westcliff University
Parent schoolWestcliff University
Established1966; 58 years ago (1966)
School typePrivate for-profit law school[1]
DeanMarisa Cianciarulo[2]
LocationIrvine, California, United States
[ ⚑ ] 33°23′35″N 117°27′14″W / 33.39304°N 117.45394°W / 33.39304; -117.45394
Enrollment213 (full-time) 77 (part-time)
Faculty19 (full-time) 34 (part-time)
USNWR ranking180th-196th out of 196 (bottom 8%)[3]
Bar pass rate60% (July 2023 California Bar first-time takers)[4]
Websitewsulaw.edu
ABA profileWestern State College of Law profile
Western State College of Law Logo.jpg

Western State College of Law at Westcliff University is a private, for-profit law school in Irvine, California. It offers full and part-time programs and is approved by the American Bar Association.[5][6] Western State pays a fee to receive services from the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).[7]

History

Western State College of Law was founded in 1966 in Orange County, California.[5][6] In 1987, the school applied for accreditation with the American Bar Association (ABA). Although the school was unsuccessful in this attempt, it was at the time accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges[8][9] and by the California State Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE).[10] The accreditation by the CBE made graduates eligible to sit for the California Bar Examination.[10]

By 1990, Western State had expanded to three campuses in California including locations in Fullerton, Irvine and San Diego. At that time, the school was the largest law school in California.[9][11] In 1995, Western State again began pursuing accreditation with the ABA for all three of its campuses.[12] In the latter half of the 1990s, the school underwent several changes as part of the accreditation process. In 1995, the school's San Diego campus became the independently owned Thomas Jefferson School of Law[13][14] and the following year, the school closed its Irvine location and consolidated students to its Fullerton campus.[8] In 1998, the school received provisional accreditation from the ABA[5] and opened a new law library.[15]

In 2000, the college's owners sold Western State to Argosy Education Group, which owned the school for a year before it was purchased by Education Management Corporation.[5][16] Western State was granted full accreditation with the ABA in 2005, and became the third for-profit law school to receive ABA approval.[5] In April 2012, the school was incorporated as one of the colleges of Argosy University and officially changed its name to Western State College of Law at Argosy University.[17] The same year, the school sold its property to California State University, Fullerton for roughly $18 million.[18] In January 2016, the campus moved to Irvine, California.

In October 2017, it was announced that the college of law was sold, along with the rest of Argosy University, to the Dream Center Foundation, a subsidiary of the Dream Center, a nonprofit Pentecostal network of community centers. The transaction was funded in part by the Najafi Companies, a private equity firm.[19] In 2019, a federal court approved Westcliff University's plan to purchase the school and revert it to for-profit status.[20] The ABA allowed continued accreditation under the ownership of Westcliff University in December 2019.[21]

Academics

Admissions

For the class entering in 2023, the school accepted 45.1% of applicants, with 33.1% of those accepted enrolling. The average enrollee had a 152 LSAT score and 3.16 undergraduate GPA.[22]

Programs

Western State offers both full-time and part-time programs.[5][3] The school offers two areas of focus through their Business Law Center and their Criminal Law Practice Center, which are aimed at preparing graduates for a career in business or criminal law through additional training, internships and networking with lawyers.[23] The law school also offers certificates in Immigration Law, Family Law, and Real Estate.

(As of January 2024), the school had 213 full-time students, 77 part-time students, and 19 full-time and 34 part-time members of the faculty.[24] [22]

Bar passage

The pass rate for Western State alumni taking the California bar exam for the first time in July 2023 was 60%, the lowest of 18 California ABA law schools.[25] The Ultimate Bar Pass Rate, which the ABA defines as the pass rate for graduates who sat for a bar exam within two years of graduating, is 77% for the Class of 2020.[4]

Rankings

U.S. News & World Report ranks the school in the last group of 180-196 out of 196 schools.[24] In 2020, among all law schools, Western State had the third-highest Diversity Index, as reported by U.S. News & World Report.[26] In addition, in 2020, it received an A+ for Diversity in National Jurist's Best Law Schools.[27]

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at the Western State College of Law for the 2018-19 academic year was $63,692 for a student living at home and $77,126 for a full-time student that is self-supporting.[28]

Post-graduation employment

ABA Employment Summary for 2022 Graduates[29]
Employment Status Percentage of Graduates
Employed - Bar Passage Required
 
 58%
Employed - J.D. Advantage
 
 16%
Employed - Professional Position
 
 12%
Employed - Non-Professional Position
 
 2%
Unemployed - Start Date Deferred
 
 0%
Unemployed - Not Seeking
 
 2%
Unemployed - Seeking
 
 5%
Employment Status Unknown
 
 5%
Total of 85 Graduates

According to Western State's ABA-required disclosures, 88.3% of the Class of 2022 obtained some form of employment ten months after graduation. 25 members, being 58% of the class, obtained JD-required employment, and 7 members, being 16% of the class, obtained JD-advantage employment. Excluding solo practitioners, 55.3% of the class obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment with most employed in law firms of 1-10 lawyers.[30]

Notable alumni

  • Anthony Adams, a former member of the California State Assembly[31]
  • Leslie Alexander (businessman), former owner of the Houston Rockets
  • Vito Barbieri, an Idaho state representative[32]
  • Roger Benitez, a senior judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
  • Bob Chandler, a former American football player[33]
  • Mark Chasan, founder of eMusic[34]
  • Bonnie Dumanis, former district attorney for San Diego County[35]
  • Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen, a Vietnamese-American personality and co-host of Thuy Nga's Paris by Night shows[36]
  • Michael Dvorak, former Indiana state representative and former St. Joseph County, Indiana prosecutor[37]
  • Mike Garrett, a former American football player and former athletic director at the University of Southern California[38]
  • George Gascón, the district attorney for Los Angeles County[39] and the former district attorney for San Francisco [40]
  • Duncan Hunter, a former member of the United States House of Representatives and 2008 Presidential candidate[41][42]
  • Ross Johnson (deceased), a former long-time California state legislator[38]
  • Mangala Moonesinghe (deceased), a former member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and former ambassador[43]
  • Ruth Parasol, the founder of PartyGaming[44]
  • Dick Walsh (deceased), a former Major League Baseball executive[45]
  • George O. Wood (deceased), former general superintendent of Assemblies of God[46]

References

  1. ↑ Jeong Park (15 August 2019). "Western State College of Law in Irvine has a new buyer; classes will soon start for current students". https://www.ocregister.com/2019/08/15/western-state-college-of-law-in-irvine-has-a-new-buyer-classes-will-soon-start-for-current-students/. 
  2. ↑ "Marisa Cianciarulo". Western State College of Law. https://www.wsulaw.edu/faculty-and-staff/full-time-faculty/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Western State College of Law". usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/western-state-university-03183. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "General Statistics Report July 2023 California Bar Examination". https://www.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/0/documents/admissions/Examinations/July-2023-CBX-Statistics.pdf. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Jeff Gottlieb (16 February 2005). "O.C. Law School Gets Accreditation". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2005/feb/16/local/me-lawschool16. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Elaine Gale (5 August 1998). "Western State College of Law Is Judged Fit for ABA Accreditation". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/aug/05/local/me-10207. 
  7. ↑ "Non-Member Fee-Paid Schools". aals.org. Association of American Law Schools. http://www.aals.org/about_memberschools.php#nonmember. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Martin Miller (19 March 1996). "Western to Merge Sites in Bid for Bar OK". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1996-03-19/local/me-48882_1_law-school. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Matt Lait (20 July 1992). "Law School's Minorities Get Cultural Help". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1992-07-20/local/me-4139_1_law-school. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Marla Jo Fisher (20 December 2003). "Jury's out on law school's future; Western State University, O.C.'s oldest law college, is in danger of losing its ABA accreditation". The Orange County Register. http://www.calstate.edu/pa/clips2003/december/22dec/jury.shtml. 
  11. ↑ Eric Lichtblau (12 July 1990). "Irvine: Western State Law Campus Will Open". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-12/local/me-494_1_western-state. 
  12. ↑ Anna Cekola (7 July 1995). "Countywide: Law School to Seek Bar Accreditation". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1995-07-07/local/me-21250_1_law-school. 
  13. ↑ Emily Cadman (2 May 2006). "Thomas Jefferson dean aims to improve law education quality". San Diego Daily Transcript. http://www.sddt.com/News/article.cfm?SourceCode=20060502cri#.Uh_RgmSgm5M. 
  14. ↑ "History". tjsl.edu. Thomas Jefferson School of Law. http://www.tjsl.edu/about-tjsl/history. 
  15. ↑ Mimi Ko Cruz (6 January 1998). "Law School Adds Library in ABA Bid". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jan/06/local/me-5465. 
  16. ↑ Deniene Husted (17 November 2000). "Fullerton Community News". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2000/nov/17/local/me-53324. 
  17. ↑ "History". edmc.edu. Education Management Corporation. http://www.edmc.edu/About/History.aspx. 
  18. ↑ Raymond Mendoza (26 September 2012). "CSUF to acquire new property". The Daily Titan. http://www.dailytitan.com/2012/09/csuf-to-acquire-new-property/. 
  19. ↑ Ashley A. Smith (5 March 2017). "Large for-profit chain EDMC to be bought by the Dream Center, a missionary group". https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/03/06/large-profit-chain-edmc-be-bought-dream-center-missionary-group. 
  20. ↑ Park, Jeong (15 August 2019). "Western State College of Law in Irvine has a new buyer". Orange County Register. https://www.ocregister.com/2019/08/15/western-state-college-of-law-in-irvine-has-a-new-buyer-classes-will-soon-start-for-current-students/. 
  21. ↑ "American Bar Association Approves Western State College of Law Accreditation" (in en). 2019-12-19. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191219005670/en/American-Bar-Association-Approves-Western-State-College. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "2023 Standard 509 Information Report - Western State College of Law". American Bar Association. https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/Disclosure509.aspx. 
  23. ↑ "Areas of Concentration". wsulaw.edu. Western State College of Law at Argosy University. http://www.wsulaw.edu/prospective-students/special-programs.aspx. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Western State College of Law". U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/western-state-college-of-law-at-westcliff-university-03183. 
  25. ↑ "General Statistics Report - July, 2023 California Bar Examination". https://www.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/0/documents/admissions/Examinations/July-2023-CBX-Statistics.pdf. 
  26. ↑ "Law School Diversity Index". U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-school-diversity-rankings. 
  27. ↑ "Western State College of Law". the National Jurist. http://nationaljurist.com/law-schools/western-state-school-of-law. 
  28. ↑ "Standard 509 Disclosure". http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/Disclosure509.aspx. 
  29. ↑ http://employmentsummary.abaquestionnaire.org/
  30. ↑ "Standard 509 Disclosure". http://abarequireddisclosures.org/EmploymentOutcomes.aspx. 
  31. ↑ "Adams snags $111,845 state job". Daily Press. 8 December 2010. https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2010/12/08/adams-snags-111-845-state/37077594007/. 
  32. ↑ "Leslie Lee Alexander". members.calbar.ca.gov. The State Bar of California. http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/79581. 
  33. ↑ Douglas S. Looney (12 July 1982). "The Bare Facts Are He's A Star". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1125701/index.htm. Retrieved 29 August 2013. 
  34. ↑ "Mark Stephen Chasan # 117813 - Attorney Licensee Search". https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/117813. 
  35. ↑ "Bonnie Michelle Dumanis". members.calbar.ca.gov. The State Bar of California. http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/74343. 
  36. ↑ "Duyen Ky Cao Nguyen". members.calbar.ca.gov. The State Bar of California. http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/170823. 
  37. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/4649/michael-dvorak. 
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "Alumni Hall of Fame". wsulaw.edu. Western State College of Law at Argosy University. http://www.wsulaw.edu/alumni-and-friends/hall-of-fame.aspx. 
  39. ↑ James Queally (7 December 2020). "As George Gascón takes office, campaign promises will be put to the test". Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-07/george-gascon-campaign-promises-la-county-district-attorney. 
  40. ↑ Carla Rivera (10 January 2011). "San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon named district attorney". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/10/local/la-me-gascon-da-20110110. 
  41. ↑ "Duncan Lee Hunter". members.calbar.ca.gov. The State Bar of California. http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/71300. 
  42. ↑ "Hunter, Duncan Lee". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000981. 
  43. ↑ "Q&A With HC Mangala Moonesinghe". lacnet.org. The Lanka Academic. 2000. http://www.lacnet.org/the_academic/chat/QA_Mangala.shtml. 
  44. ↑ "Ruth Monicka Parasol". members.calbar.ca.gov. The State Bar of California. http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/160708. 
  45. ↑ Park, Carol (December 13, 2004). "Profile: Dick Walsh, Executive Director of the Ontario Convention Center; Former California Angels Executive VP and GM". Tribune Business News. http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2004_4th/Dec04_DWalsh.html. 
  46. ↑ "George Oliver Wood". members.calbar.ca.gov. The State Bar of California. http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/155860. 

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