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The Southwestern University School of Law (also known as Southwestern Law School) is a private ABA-accredited law school located in Los Angeles, California, with about 1000 students at a campus that includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an admired art-deco landmark. Founded on November 25, 1911 by John J. Schumacher, the school offers four J.D. programs of study as well as one LL.M. program. The school should not be confused with Southwestern University, a liberal arts institution in Texas.

History

Southwestern University School of Law was founded on November 25, 1911 as the Southwestern College of Law. John J. Schumacher, its founder, intended the nonprofit institution to be a law school that reached out to women and minorities. The school is one of the oldest law schools in the state of California and the second oldest law school in Los Angeles.

Southwestern received a university charter in 1915 after it expanded to include a number of other disciplines including a business school. Southwestern's first "home" was a small campus on South Hill Street, where it existed for the first five decades of its existence.

The Great Depression and Second World War took a severe toll on the school's enrollment, and by the end of the 1930s the law school was the only school that remained. However, as veterans returned home the school experienced a surge of interest, and by 1972 the decision was made to move to the school's current location on Westmoreland Avenue in the Wilshire Center area of Los Angeles. By that time, the school was ABA-accredited and interest was growing quickly.

In 1994, Southwestern acquired the adjacent Bullocks Wilshire building, an historic landmark which was subsequently renovated to house the school's law library, classrooms, and faculty offices.

The current dean is Bryant G. Garth. He succeeds Leigh H. Taylor.

Campus

The campus occupies over two city blocks in the Mid-Wilshire district of downtown Los Angeles known as Korea Town. Currently the campus contains two buildings, the 6-story Westmoreland Building and the 5-story Bullocks Wilshire Building. Both buildings house classrooms, administrative offices, and faculty offices; the Bullocks Wilshire Building also houses the Taylor Law Library, the Dixon Courtroom and Advocacy Center, a fitness center, a dining center, and a number of student lounges.

The Westmoreland Building is a 6-story building typical of college and university campuses, but the Bullocks Wilshire Building is a fully restored landmark that pays tribute to its history in many ways. Every level of the building is painstakingly renovated down to the smallest details such as the clocks on the walls and the "show showcases" in the area now occupied by the library.

The school's location in downtown Los Angeles creates a unique situation for students. Southwestern University School of Law has no on-campus housing, so the student body is composed entirely of commuters. The current layout of the campus reflects this, with about one-third of the campus devoted to a dual-level parking facility.

Academics and reputation

The law school and its faculty is well known for their entertainment and media law programs.

In 2000, Southwestern launched the Donald E. Biederman Entertainment & Media Law Institute. The Institute provides students with the opportunity to work for leading entertainment companies and organizations such as the Writers Guild of America, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Virgin Records, and Lions Gate Entertainment.

Rankings

Rankings have been a source of controversy at the school. U.S. News and World Report ranks the school in the 3rd tier, however admissions standards have been consistently rising over the past few years. Generally, the school compares well with ABA-accredited schools statewide. The school's admissions standards are currently comparable with those of Pepperdine University but slightly less competitive than those of the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles.

The school has also been successful in recruiting highly qualified students from prominent California colleges and universities including the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Berkeley, and even more geographically remote schools such as Yale, New York University, Johns Hopkins University and the Pennsylvania State University. Dean Bryant G. Garth has committed to improving the school's ranking during his tenure.

Notable alumni

Politics & Government

Sports

Entertainment

Business

Religion

Filming on the Southwestern campus

  • A scene in The Aviator, a 2004 film starring Leonard DiCaprio, was filmed on campus near the entrance to the Bullocks Wilshire Building.
  • The final scene in the film Ghostbusters was filmed on top of the Bullocks Wilshire Building.
  • Featured setting in Topper, a 1937 film staring Carry Grant
  • Also featured in: “Dunston Checks In”; Areosmith’s “Love in an Elevator”

External links

Law schools in California

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Southwestern University School of Law".

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