Southwestern Law School is one of the few law schools in the country to open its doors wide to minorities including women. Established as early as 1911, it used to be a nonprofit organization, committed to serve various social groups. Years later, the Southwestern College of Law founded by John J. Schumacher now turned out to be one of the best ABA-accredited law schools in town. Success in law education was attributed to more than 10,000 alumni who are known business leaders, public officials, and legal experts. The list also includes senate members and house representatives. Some alumni are now senior partners in prestigious law firms, while others are now part of large multinational companies. The famous names include Governor Jim Gibbons of Nevada and prosecutor Marcia Clark of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. (1)
Student Admission
Expect the admission rate in top law schools to be more competitive each year. An average 25% is the acceptance rate of Southwestern Law School, a clear proof of its highly selective process. But other than the GPA score and LSAT result, the selection committee also takes into consideration community service, work experience, and character profiles in choosing good candidates for admission. Southwestern Law School also welcomes diversity with representatives from various states and countries with different undergraduate courses. As such, there’s also a good rate of representation among women and minority students. (2)
Aside from its impressive curriculum, Southwestern Law School also gives its law students more opportunities to hone their leadership and social skills. Hands-on training, clinical programs, and social involvement are top priorities in choosing a good law school. (3) Currently, there are about 35 social activity groups serving the various interests of students. Other than supporting three school journals, Southwestern Law School also facilitates career service and public interest programs. Different types of scholarships, grants, and financial aids are available to eligible students. (4)
Law Degree Programs
Outstanding faculty members also help prepare law students in becoming a legal expert, litigator, policy-maker, arbitrator, and leader. They are known to be experts in their own fields of law practices such as criminal justice, urban development, and media law. These are only some of the good reasons why soon-to-be legal professionals choose to study law through the following J.D. degree programs: (5)
Full-time Day Program (3 years)
This program allows law students to study the different areas of law practices such as commercial law and tax law.
Part-Time Day Program (4 years)
This program is specially designed for students who need to devote time for child care as parents.
Part-Time Evening Program (4 years)
This program is open for workers who want to graduate with law degrees as part-time students.
J.D. SCALE Program (2 years)
This is an accelerated program that focuses more on learning key concepts and skill training through smaller classes.
Southwestern Law School also offers an LL.M. degree program for entertainment and media law.
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_University_School_of_Law
(2) http://www.swlaw.edu/about
(3) http://gradschool.about.com/od/lawschool/f/applylaw.htm
(4) http://www.swlaw.edu/about
(5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_University_School_of_Law