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Just wondered what you guys thought about this?

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I guess I'm out of the loop. Is this just a theoretical, or is this actually being talked about?

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interesting

Yeah I think it is pretty cool too! It would really shake things up in US News I am sure.

I'm skeptical. California is flooded with law schools and frankly there isn't space left for more second and third tier schools. Only a really first rate institution will be able to thrive which is why UCI is being so selective with students and faculty. Slapping the UC prestige label on Cal Western isn't going to make it a good school. If Cal Western was willing to completely renovate, change admission standards, new faculty, etc then sure, potentially. But the idea they can do it without UC funding doesn't seem reasonable (see UCI funding) and there just isn't any money left in the system.

As is the case with UCI, a UCSD law school would be first-tier for sure. The number of prestigious California law schools would increase while the number of lower performing schools would decrease. It's addition by subtraction because the overall number of California law schools would not increase.

There would be immediate prestige attached to the law school just because of the name, and that would mean different students, teachers and administration. I like this trend and would like to see more prestigious colleges and universities (think M.I.T., Cal Tech, Johns Hopkins, Rice, etc.) either start new law schools while the worst ones close, or take over the lower performing schools altogether. That would greatly improve legal education. All the better if all law schools would all just shrink their class sizes.

As for the divergent research and teaching focuses (UCSD and Cal Western respectively), schools can evolve. Of course there would be some faculty attrition in the process, but that's the way things work.