UC Davis School of Law

University of California, Davis
School of Law
MottoFiat lux (Latin)
Parent schoolUniversity of California
Established1965[1]
School typePublic
Parent endowment$2.2 billion (2021)[2]
DeanJessica Wilen Berg
LocationDavis, California, U.S.
38°32′09″N 121°44′57″W / 38.53583°N 121.74917°W / 38.53583; -121.74917
Enrollment622[1]
Faculty62[1]
USNWR ranking50th (tie) (2025)[1]
Bar pass rate93% (July 2025 1st time takers)[3]
Websitelaw.ucdavis.edu
ABA profileStandard 509 Report

The University of California, Davis School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of California, Davis. The school received ABA approval in 1968.[4] It joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1968.[5]

UC Davis School of Law is one of five law schools in the University of California system, with a total enrollment of around 600 students. The school is located in a building named for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and commonly referred to as King Hall.[6]

History

In July 1962, the Regents of the University of California approved a plan for a law school at the University of California, Davis.[7] Edward L. Barrett, Jr., was appointed as UC Davis Law's first dean[8]: 261  on July 1, 1964.[7]

Barrett hired Mortimer Schwartz as the first law librarian, so that a law library could be established right away, and for the founding faculty, hired Daniel Dykstra, Edgar Bodenheimer, Brigitte Bodenheimer, Edward Rabin, and Frank Baldwin.[9]

UC Davis School of Law opened in a temporary space in fall 1966 and moved to a permanent building in fall 1968.[8]: 261  For its first entering class in fall 1966, the new law school received 340 applications, accepted 150, enrolled 78, and awarded 68 J.D. degrees in June 1969.[9]

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968 caused several students and faculty members to suggest renaming the law school after him.[10] Instead, the building housing the law school was formally dedicated as Martin Luther King Jr. Hall on April 12, 1969.[11] The featured speaker was Chief Justice Earl Warren.[11]

Rankings and academics

Mabie Law Library

In 2025, U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Davis 50th among all law schools in the United States.[1]

For diversity among the five law schools in the UC system, UC Davis was named the second-most diverse after UC Hastings by U.S. News & World Report.[12] Princeton Review placed UC Davis Law tenth in the nation for faculty diversity in the 2009 version of its annual law ranking. It is listed as an "A−" in the March 2011 "Diversity Honor Roll" by The National Jurist: The Magazine for Law Students.[13]

It is listed as an "A" (#16) in the January 2011 "Best Public Interest Law Schools" ratings by The National Jurist: The Magazine for Law Students.[14]

UC Davis has been ranked as the fifth most-expensive public law school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.[15] It is also ranked first for providing the most financial aid.[15]

Main Entrance to King Hall

UC Davis grants the second-most in financial aid in the country.[16][17][18] UC Davis Law's King Hall Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), founded in 1990 to help alumni working in relatively low-income public-service law careers to repay student loans, was the first loan repayment assistance program established at any UC law school.[19]

According to Brian Leiter's Law School rankings, Davis ranks 18th in the nation for scholarly impact as measured by total academic citations of tenure-stream faculty.[20]

Bar passage rates

Based on a 2001-2007 6 year average, 79.4% of UC Davis Law graduates passed the California State Bar exam.[21] In 2009, 89% of first-time test takers passed the California bar.[22]

For July 2012, 78.9% of first-time test takers passed the California bar exam.[23] For July 2013, 85.0% of first-time test takers passed the California Bar Exam.[24]

For July 2014, 86% of first-time test takers passed the California bar exam.[25]

Employment

According to King Hall's official 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 85% of the Class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[26] King Hall's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 6.5%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2019 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.[27]

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at King Hall for the 2024-2025 academic year is $83,011 for California residents and $95,256 for non-residents.[28]

Expansion

The law school completed a $30 million expansion project in 2011. The project has added an additional wing to the law school's current building, increasing assignable space by nearly 30 percent to provide for additional classrooms, offices, and a new courtroom, named the Paul and Lydia Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom in honor of a $1 million gift to the project from the Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation. The courtroom is used by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, California Supreme Court, and California Court of Appeal[citation needed].

Noted people

Faculty

  • Vikram Amar, Daniel J. Dykstra Distinguished Professor of Law, scholar of constitutional law, federal courts, and civil procedure
  • Alan Brownstein, professor of law emeritus
  • Gabriel "Jack" Chin, professor of law, specialist in fields of immigration law and criminal procedure
  • Joel Dobris, professor of law emeritus, scholar of trusts, wills, and estates
  • Angela P. Harris, professor of law emerita, critical legal theory scholar
  • Robert W. Hillman, professor of law emeritus
  • Edward Imwinkelried, professor of law emeritus
  • Kevin Johnson, distinguished professor, Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, specialist in civil rights, immigration, and Chicano/a rights law
  • Miguel Méndez, professor of law emeritus, evidence law scholar (dec.)
  • Rex R. Perschbacher, Daniel J. Dykstra Endowed Chair, lecturer (1981–2016), dean of the law school (1998–2008), professor emeritus (2016–2018). Professor of law, civil procedure, professional responsibility, legal ethics and clinical application of legal education. (dec.)
  • Cruz Reynoso, associate justice of the California Supreme Court 1982–1987, professor emeritus. (dec.)
  • Martha West, former associate dean; professor of law emerita
  • William S. Dodge, professor of law emeritus, international law, international transactions, and international dispute resolution

Alumni

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "U.S. News & World Report, "Best Law Schools: University of California -- Davis"".
  2. ^ "UC Davis Endowment Exceeds $2 billion".
  3. ^ "UC Davis Law Student Body Profile". UC Davis School of Law. Fall 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  4. ^ "ABA-Approved Law Schools by Year". ABA website. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  5. ^ "AALS Member Schools". Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
  6. ^ King Hall
  7. ^ a b Scheuring, Ann F. (2001). Abundant Harvest: The History of the University of California, Davis. Davis: UC Davis History Project. p. 133.
  8. ^ a b Epstein, Sandra P. (1997). Law at Berkeley: The History of Boalt Hall. Berkeley: Institute of Governmental Studies Press. ISBN 0-87772-375-3.
  9. ^ a b Scheuring, Ann F. (2001). Abundant Harvest: The History of the University of California, Davis. Davis: UC Davis History Project. p. 134.
  10. ^ Scheuring, Ann F. (2001). Abundant Harvest: The History of the University of California, Davis. Davis: UC Davis History Project. p. 136.
  11. ^ a b Scheuring, Ann F. (2001). Abundant Harvest: The History of the University of California, Davis. Davis: UC Davis History Project. p. 137.
  12. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008, Law School Diversity Index". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  13. ^ Larsen, Rebecca (March 2011), "Most Diverse Law Schools (Diversity Honor Roll)", The National Jurist, 20 (6), San Diego, California: Cypress Magazines: 30–37
  14. ^ Weyenberg, Michelle (January 2011). "Best Law Schools for Public Interest". The National Jurist. 20 (4). San Diego, California: Cypress Magazines: 24–28.
  15. ^ a b "Public Cost Programs - Top Law Schools - US News Best Graduate Schools". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  16. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008, Who's the priciest? Who's the cheapest?". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  17. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008, Which public schools award the most and the least financial aid?". US News. Archived from the original on 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  18. ^ "America's Best Graduate Schools 2008, Whose graduates have the most debt? The least?". US News. Archived from the original on 2008-02-08. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  19. ^ "Law School expands loan repayment assistance program". The Aggie. October 5, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  20. ^ "Top 25 Law Faculties Based on Scholarly Impact, 2005-2009". Brian Leiter's Law School Rankings.
  21. ^ "Internet Legal Research Group: University of California-Davis School of Law, 2009 profile". Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  22. ^ Robertson, Kathy (2009-11-25). "Top UC Davis, McGeorge law students raise the bar". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  23. ^ Hoerauf, Graham (2013-03-13). "California Bar Admissions 2012" (PDF). California Bar Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  24. ^ "TaxProf Blog: July 2013 California Bar Exam Results".
  25. ^ Robertson, Kathy (January 8, 2015). "UC Davis ranks No. 4 in bar exam pass rate; McGeorge comes in at No. 15". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  26. ^ "Employment Statistics". 10 September 2008.
  27. ^ "University of California-Davis Profile".
  28. ^ "Tuition and Expenses". 10 September 2008.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UC_Davis_Law_Review