Specialized Admissions Requirements
To be considered for admission with Regular Status, applicants must have either a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, an Associate degree from an accredited community college, or have completed, in good academic standing, (a minimum of 60 semester or 90 quarter units) at an accredited institution. The grade point average on all subjects undertaken must be equal to that required for graduation.
Law School Admission Test
Applicants must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) which is given four times a year at test centers locally, throughout the U.S., and in many foreign countries. Individuals who have previously passed the LSAT may not be required to retake the exam providing that their scores are sufficiently current, acceptable and obtainable from Law Services. Further LSAT information can be obtained at www.lsac.org.
Admission with Special Status
Applicants who are unable to satisfy the academic requirements for admission with Regular Status may be considered for admission as Special Status students. Special Status is designed for students who have achieved a level of maturity and professional experience which has prepared them for successful completion of the law school curriculum.
Special Status applicants, in addition to the documentation required of applicants for Regular Status, must submit their educational records, two letters of recommendation from employers and/or others attesting to abilities and potential for success in law school, and an LSAT score satisfactory to the San Francisco Law School Admissions Committee.
In addition, the State Bar of California requires that all applicants seeking admission with Special Status pass the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) prior to admission to law school. The applicant must attain passing scores on the following general examinations administered by CLEP: 1.) English Composition or English Composition with Essay (passing score is 500) and 2.) Two of the following: humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, and history (in the 50 percentile).
Upon successful completion of the First Year curriculum, Special Status students must take the First Year Law Students’ Examination (FYLSE) administered by the California Committee of Bar Examiners. Students can continue into their second year of study despite their not having taken or not having passed the examination. They will receive credit for study completed up to the time they pass the examination, if they pass it within three administrations of the examination after their first become eligible to take the exam.
For CLEP Test applications or information contact:
The College Board, Western Regional Office
2099 Gateway Place, #480
San Jose, CA 95110
(408) 452-1400
Admission to Advanced Standing
In addition to the requirements of applicants for regular status, those students in good standing wishing to transfer from other law schools must provide official transcripts of all law study and a letter of good standing from the Office of the Dean of the last law school attended. Only courses successfully completed (C or better grade) may be considered for transfer. A student must earn 45 units while in residence in order to graduate from San Francisco Law School.
Applicants not in good academic standing at the time of leaving their prior law school, must also provide two letters of recommendation from the Dean and/or professors at the law school attended who can attest to the student’s ability for success in law school and a personal statement by the applicant detailing the circumstances that led to the student’s academic disqualification and the remedies taken to ensure success in future study.
The Admissions Committee reserves the right to contact all references for a more detailed assessment of each applicant’s potential. It is within the discretion of the Admissions Committee if credit is given for any previous courses. In the case of disqualification, credit for prior law school study would be unusual.
Admission with Auditor Status
Students currently enrolled in good standing at other accredited law schools may, with the approval of their Dean, be admitted to San Francisco Law School with non-matriculating or auditor status. Students with auditor status are subject to the same tuition, fees and all policies and regulations of San Francisco Law School. For information regarding required documentation, contact the Admissions Office.
International Applicants
Applicants who have attended schools outside of the United States, must arrange to have transcripts evaluated by either:
Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
P.O. Box 514070
Milwaukee, WI 53203
(414) 289-3400
www.ece.org
or
International Education Research Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 3665
Culver City, CA 90231-3665
Telephone: (310) 258-9451
www.ierf.org
San Francisco Law School does not offer other services or issue I-20 forms to foreign nationals. The School does require a level of English proficiency, both verbal and written, consistent with that which must be demonstrated to achieve an acceptable score on the required Law School Admission Test (LSAT).
Faculty Listing
Faculty for the Law program are listed below:
Duke Amaniampong, JD
Marvin Appelbaum, JD
Jack F. Bonanno, JD, LLM
Hon. Carol Brown, JD
Geoffrey Brown, JD
Malea Chavez, JD
Jerry P. Coleman, JD
Allen F. Corotto, JD
Andrew Davies, JD
Harry M. Dorfman, JD
Steve Feller, JD, Associate Professor
Michael J. Fox, JD
Janet Frankel, JD
Abe Gupta, JD
Richard B. Hechler, JD
Paul Lufkin, JD
Christopher Martz, JD
Geraldine McGrath, JD
Leslie S. Patrick, LLB, Distinguished Professor
Roy Scheingart, JD
Sondra Solovay, JD
Rand Stephens, JD
Sarah Wolking, JD
For a detailed description of program faculty background and research interests, please see the alphabetical listing of faculty for the San Francisco Law School.
Accreditation Information
San Francisco Law School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Additionally, San Francisco Law School is accredited by the State Bar of California, Committee of Bar Examiners. San Francisco Law School has been continuously accredited since California accreditation began in 1937.
Students who graduate from San Francisco Law School are eligible to practice law in the State of California upon passage of the California Bar Examination.
Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or be admitted to practice law in jurisdictions other than California. A student who intends to seek admission to practice law outside of California should contact the admitting authority in that jurisdiction for information regarding its education and admission requirements.
For information related to the school’s bar examination passing rates, visit http://admissions.calbar.ca.gov.
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