Western State University College of Law

Founded in 1966, Western State College of Law is the oldest law school in Orange County, Southern California, and is a fully ABA approved, nonprofit, private law school.

Noted for small classes and personal attention from an accessible faculty focused on student success, Western State maintains bar pass rates consistently in the top half of California’s ABA law schools.

Western State’s 11,000+ alumni are well represented across public and private sector legal practice areas, including 150 California judges and about 15% of Orange County’s Deputy Public Defenders and District Attorneys.

Exposure to real world legal settings, practical experience, and invaluable contacts with alumni practitioners—all will assist you in the transition to the job market and throughout your professional career. Western State’s culture engenders a supportive environment among students, faculty, and staff. With a student body of 411, and a faculty-student ratio of 14/1, there is a better opportunity to learn more in the classroom, including the opportunity to ask questions during class to more fully explore the subject matter. The Western State tradition of bringing practical experience into the classroom is at the heart of our students’ success. In many classes, students don’t just learn the law from the books, they also learn how it applies in real life.

Immigration Clinic, Certificates in Business Law, Criminal Law, Family Practice, Immigration Law and Real Estate Practice; all provide certified practical experience. Many of our faculty bring their backgrounds as practicing attorneys to the classroom. Through skills simulations, real world cases and documents, and guest speakers, they teach students the real-life version of the law in addition to the theory and doctrine.

In addition to the required Bar tested courses, Western State offers an innovative and rigorous program of study that maps out the doctrine that students need to know to pass one of the hardest exams in the country: the California Bar Exam. In addition, there are two courses that help you prepare for the bar exam: Solving Legal Problems and Basic Bar Studies.

Basic Bar Studies was designed to complement and reinforce the 'Barbri' Bar Prep course materials. Students complete more than 20 essays that have previously been administered by the CA State Bar in addition to creating outlines and study tools needed for the exam.

The success of the Western State programs comes through in our numbers: in the majority of bar exams over the past four years, Western State students have met or exceeded the national average for ABA-accredited schools in California, at times outranking schools with far higher official rankings.

Today’s law students and graduates need to emerge from law school with the requisite knowledge, skills and contacts to face new challenges and enter a changing legal environment. Many of our professors enhance the classroom experience by bringing examples from their prior practical legal experience, bridging the gap from theory to the realities of practicing law. Our highly effective academic success program helps students acquire the strong academic foundation required for success in law school, on the bar exam and throughout their future careers.

Western State’s connections and reputation provides students with a wealth of opportunities to gain hands-on experience during law school; participation in a broad range of Externships, Immigration Clinic, Business Law Center, Criminal Law Practice Center and Moot Court enable students to find their niche, build their practical skills, and enhance their legal resume.

Applying for financial aid can be a daunting process. We’re here to help! Our Student Finance Office works hard to provide opportunities to those students for whom finances are a determining factor. Your legal career starts in law school, and Western State College of Law faculty and staff take an active personal interest in your professional development. We provide individual guidance and access to a wide range of exciting opportunities in the field to help you find your legal niche, develop your skills and strengths, build your resume and prepare for placement.

Exposure to real world legal settings, practical experience, invaluable contacts with alumni and other practitioners will assist you in the transition to the job market and throughout your professional career. Engaging in special areas such as the Immigration Clinic, Business Law Center, Criminal Law Practice Center, Externships, Law Review, Moot Court, Mock Trial, or Negotiations will develop your practical lawyering skills and help you gain hands-on experience to enhance your professional profile. By earning a certificate in Family Law Practice, Real Estate Practice, Business Law, Criminal Law Studies or Immigration Law Practice, you can demonstrate extra preparation and focus in your area of specialty to potential employers.

Western State seeks to foster law students’ development as legal professionals throughout law school. When faculty brings examples from their practical legal experience into the classroom, they engage their students and illustrate how theory comes together in practice. These exercises provide a lens outside of the standard case method of instruction to help students understand the law and its application and helps students prepare for the day to day reality of practicing law.