Santa Clara Law

In 1851, Santa Clara College was founded as a higher-education institution in Santa Clara, California. This college was one of the pioneering educational institutions to be established in the state, and it has since served countless students who have gone on to become successful professionals.

Santa Clara College has a long-standing history of excellence in providing students with the best education possible. The college offers many degree programs and majors, including Law. Santa Clara Law School is one of the most renowned law schools in the country and has been recognized for its top-notch curriculum.

Santa Clara Law School's educational program focuses on developing knowledgeable, ethical, and qualified attorneys who can practice in various legal fields. The law school emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and professional development while providing students with opportunities to gain real-world experience through internships, clinics, and externships.

Admissions

If you're looking for an exceptional legal education experience, Santa Clara Law offers students the opportunity to engage in challenging and meaningful coursework in a supportive and stimulating atmosphere. Whether you're looking to specialize in high-tech law, international law, or another area of legal study, Santa Clara Law is ready to help you reach your goals.

Join the Santa Clara Law community today and become part of an elite group of distinguished attorneys, judges, and other legal professionals. With Santa Clara Law's commitment to excellence and diversity, you can be sure that your education is in good hands. Welcome to the future of legal studies! If you need more clarification about applying to law school or just beginning the application process, please take the time to read some of the excellent pre-law articles found here.

Statistics

Admissions Stats
Class of:	2020-2021	2021-2022
25th - 50th - 75th percentile LSAT	154 - 156 - 158	155 - 157 - 160
25th - 50th - 75th percentile GPA	3.11 - 3.34 - 3.54	3.18 - 3.42 - 3.62
Acceptance rate	55.4%	53.3%
Applications received	2071	2338
Acceptances	1148	1247
Matriculants	179	162

Santa Clara Law is a prestigious law school with 2,338 applications in the 2022 application cycle. Of those, 1,247 were offered admission with a yield of 17.64%. This means that 220 out of the 1,247 applicants who received offers decided to attend Santa Clara Law and make it their home for the upcoming year.

The median LSAT score for the 1L class was 157, with a 25th percentile LSAT of 155 and a 75th percentile of 160. Regarding GPA, the median was 3.42, with a 25th percentile GPA of 3.18 and a 75th percentile GPA of 3.62. These strong results demonstrate that Santa Clara Law is a competitive, prestigious law school that succeeds in attracting some of the brightest and most promising applicants.

For those considering applying to Santa Clara Law, or any other top-notch law school, it’s important to remember that while median LSAT scores and GPAs are important indicators of a school’s success, each applicant is evaluated on their own merits. With a robust application and thoughtful preparation, any student can put themselves in the best possible position to be admitted.

Santa Clara Law is an excellent school with plenty of academic and extracurricular opportunities. For those considering applying, hopefully, these statistics will give you a better idea of what to expect regarding admissions and the competition you’ll face. Best of luck, and happy studying!

Application Process

Your application process at Santa Clara Law is straightforward and simple. It begins with taking the LSAT no later than January of the year you plan to enroll – although they will accept scores from later test administrations, these may not be received before their priority deadline, which could affect your likelihood of both admission and scholarship awards.

You should also register with LSAC's JD Credential Assembly Service (JD-CAS) and have your transcripts sent directly to them.

You must complete their online application form through LSAC, noting that this year's $75 application fee is waived.

The next step is to upload a personal statement and any optional submissions, such as letters of recommendation and a resume. These are not mandatory, but they strongly encourage you to submit them for consideration.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Santa Clara Law provides an outstanding education in the legal field and is one of the most respected institutions in the country. Students enrolled in their JD program can expect to pay tuition fees for their education, which vary based on the number of units taken each year. For full-time students starting for the 2022-2023 school year, the cost of tuition is $2,016 per unit. This results in a full-time first-year cost of $56,448 for those taking 28 units and $60,480 for second and third-year students taking 30 units. For part-time students, the total cost is slightly lower at $42,336 for 21 units. Santa Clara Law also offers financial aid, scholarships, and loan forgiveness programs to help students manage their educational costs. With an outstanding faculty and rigorous curriculum, Santa Clara Law is the perfect choice for prospective law students looking for a top-notch legal education.

Cost of Attendance

Santa Clara University does not charge students for living expenses or books but provides an estimated amount for these costs. Depending on individual circumstances and lifestyles, the cost of living can vary greatly. The estimated total for room and board is $24,746; books will cost you $1,620; transportation expenses should be budgeted at $3,676; and personal expenses (which include a mandatory health insurance fee) are estimated to be $5,410. You should expect to incur approximately $35,452 in indirect educational costs while attending Santa Clara Law. It is important to note that the above figures do not include tuition fees or other non-academic related costs. It is also essential to consider that living expenses and books can be lowered depending on the housing and textbook option chosen by the student. Although you are recommended to budget for these estimated amounts, be sure to shop around for better deals or look into scholarships or grants to help reduce your overall cost of attendance. Finding ways to minimize your indirect educational costs while still getting the quality education you deserve is possible. Santa Clara Law is committed to helping students make informed decisions about their educational costs and will continue to provide resources and support for all its students.

Financial Aid

Attending Santa Clara University School of Law can be an essential step towards a successful career in the legal profession. Prospective students need to understand the financial commitment of obtaining a legal education and the options available for financing it.

At Santa Clara Law, they understand that many students may need access to more resources to cover the total cost of attendance. To ensure that every student is included in legal education for financial reasons, their office of Financial Aid can help you develop a customized financing plan.

They provide numerous scholarship opportunities and access to federal and private loan programs. Their staff assists in determining eligibility for need-based aid, merit-based scholarships, public interest scholarships, and loan forgiveness programs.

Academics and Curriculum

Attending Santa Clara Law will allow you to study in one of the world's most helpful and dynamic business hubs: Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. This is an excellent choice for those wishing to pursue a legal career. The region provides enhanced professional opportunities thanks to its advanced technological infrastructure, unparalleled access to high-tech and venture capital resources, and a wide array of established legal firms.

Santa Clara Law is also highly respected in the legal community for its strong academic reputation and top-ranked programs, including International Business Law, Environmental & Energy Law, Intellectual Property Law, Health Care Law, and Information Technology Law. Their faculty are world-renowned scholars whose research and teaching focus on helping students develop the professional skills necessary for success.

High Technology Law

Applicants would be hard-pressed to find a law school with a greater emphasis upon or dedication of resources to high technology law than Santa Clara Law School. While many law schools have only recently discovered the intellectual property (IP) law field, Santa Clara has long been at the forefront of this constantly evolving and growing legal area.

Assistant Dean Alexandra Horne said, "I think that since Silicon Valley has been a semiconductor and tech center, students have come to Santa Clara because of the IP and High Tech Program."

The Santa Clara Computer & High Technology Journal was one of the first legal publications dedicated to high technology law. This student-run publication is considered one of the finest in the nation.

While Santa Clara's long-standing excellence in technology law has been well known in Silicon Valley, it achieved nationwide recognition by being ranked within the top ten law schools in the US News ranking of IP programs.

Capitalizing upon its Silicon Valley location, the law school has created a very strong IP program by extensively using visiting lecturers from the technology legal community and hiring professors' experts in IP law. The most notable professor is patent law icon Donald Chisum, publisher of a treatise and several casebooks on patent law.

Santa Clara's excellence in High Technology law, particularly patents, has made the law school attract many engineers and life science majors, who generally become patent attorneys.

"Numerous top IP firms and technology companies, such as Cisco, eBay, and Sony Entertainment, offer internships to students… many students receive job opportunities from these companies upon graduation," said Assistant Dean Horne.

Santa Clara offers a wide array of classes in high technology law and often offers two classes per semester in the core IP areas, such as patent and copyright law. These classes are well attended, with over 100 students often in these classes.

Building on its success, Santa Clara Law School now offers a High Tech Law Certificate. Assistant Dean Horne explains, "The program continues to develop and expand and now offers a certificate program in High Tech. Students can get the certificate with an emphasis upon Technology Law, corporate issues within IP law, or an International IP certificate with an International law component."

Obtaining this certificate, as many students choose to, requires at least 15 units in High Technology classes and a research paper analyzing IP law and policy. Additionally, a Master of Laws Degree in Intellectual Property (L.L.M. in Intellectual Property) was created in 2001, further expanding the law school's course offerings and expertise.

Santa Clara Law School's High Technology program is well-known and respected in Silicon Valley, as well as the other high-tech hubs of Boston, Seattle, Austin, and San Diego.

The new Assistant Dean in charge of the High Technology Program, Alexandra Horne, is dedicated to building upon and expanding this renowned program and its course offerings.

She says of Santa Clara's Law School, "Being located in the center of Silicon Valley, we are better situated than Stanford or Boalt at attracting local practitioners who are experts at Technology Law. These practitioners are wonderful and smart and are right on top of new legal issues, for they practice their area of law daily."

International Law

Silicon Valley's economy is driven by international trade. Thus, it is no surprise that Santa Clara Law School also provides rich and diverse class offerings in international law. Earning the Certification in International Law requires students to complete four courses on international law and a research paper exploring legal issues in international law. Additionally, one final and exciting requirement is that students enroll in at least one overseas summer program with 11 choices of location, including Oxford, Munich, Seoul, and Singapore.

There are a lot of interplays between High Technology and International Law programs. Several visiting professors from countries such as Germany and Japan lecture about the IP customs of their countries.

The Certificate in High Technology law with an International emphasis offers several unique learning opportunities. For example, Professor Chisum oversees the summer program in Munich, which examines the European patent system. This is taught in conjunction with faculty from the prestigious Max Plank Institute. Other overseas programs are also taught at renowned universities, such as Sophia University in Tokyo.

Santa Clara Law School's focus on intellectual property and international law bode well for students, as these branches of law will become increasingly prevalent and intertwined.

Public Interest Law

Santa Clara Law School has a long-standing commitment to public interest law and representing those who otherwise would not receive proper representation. A strong clinical program has been developed to further this goal, where students can learn the skills necessary for effective advocacy. At Santa Clara Community Law Center, students can counsel clients in small business counseling, workers' rights, consumer/debtor issues, and immigration rights.

Students who complete the necessary academic coursework in public interest law and complete a large written paper examining an issue in public interest law can earn a certificate in Public Interest and Social Justice. Additionally, students must complete 25 hours of community volunteer work and 150 hours of supervised legal work in a public interest/social justice organization, government office, or a judicial externship.

JD/MBA Joint Degree

This combined degree can be earned in only four years, with certain classes counting towards completing both degrees. This joint degree is helpful for those considering careers in corporate law, business, consulting or becoming a company's general counsel.

Students are first admitted to the law program and can apply to the business school during their first year. While work experience is a large plus towards admission to the business school, it is not always required.

Clinics

Santa Clara Law offers an Entrepreneurs' Law Clinic to serve the needs of early-stage Silicon Valley companies and give students in-depth experience. The clinic is designed to provide high-quality, cost-efficient legal help to SCU-affiliated startups while giving Santa Clara Law students a unique opportunity to gain insight into the various legal issues confronting high-tech or other growing businesses in the Valley.

Led by experienced faculty members and staff, the Entrepreneurs' Law Clinic provides services such as business formation advice and document preparation, intellectual property protection counsel, contract review and negotiation guidance, venture capital and financing assistance, employment law advice, mergers & acquisitions guidance, and more. The clinic also offers a wide range of educational opportunities, including seminars on startup formation and financing and legal research projects exploring the impact of regulatory developments in the tech industry.

Synopsis

Santa Clara Law School is rising and will only improve over time as its recent accomplishments become nationally recognized. Recently appointed Dean Polden is focused on continuing the significant progress that Santa Clara Law School has made and building upon the renowned High Technology and International law programs. His efforts will assuredly be rewarded with greater prominence and more applications for the law school.

In sum, applicants considering a career in IP or international law and or planning on practicing in California should consider visiting and applying to Santa Clara Law School.

Contact Information

Santa Clara Law
Admisssions
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Phone: (408) 554-4000

https://law.scu.edu/Admissions/

Summary

Established	1903
Location	Santa Clara, CA
Dean	Lisa Kloppenberg
2022 US News Ranking	133
LSAT Median Score	157
GPA Median Score	3.42
Bar Passage Rate	70% (2022)
Employment Rate	31% (2022)
Cost	$56,448
Average Debt	$181,198
Application Deadline	February 15, 2023

Forum and Discussion

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Reference

Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa Clara, CA
https://law.scu.edu/
Rank #133
LSD Law
Guide to Fee Waivers
LSAC Guide
How to Learn to Do Well on a Law School Exam
Success in Law School - A Unique Perspective
The Guide to Law School Loans

Interview: Dean Donald Polden of Santa Clara
Interview: Dean Jeanette Leach of Admissions to Santa Clara University's School of Law
Interview: Santa Clara Law School Assistant Dean Alexandra Horne