The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the
law school
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
of the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
. It is one of 14 schools and colleges at the university. Berkeley Law is consistently
ranked within the top 14 law schools in the United States
A law school in the United States is an educational institution where students obtain a professional education in law after first obtaining an undergraduate degree.
Law schools in the U.S. confer the degree of Juris Doctor (J.D.), which is a ...
.
The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was never the official name. This came from its initial building, the Boalt Memorial Hall of Law, named for
John Henry Boalt
John Henry Boalt (March 29, 1837 in Norwalk, Ohio – May 9, 1901 in Cloverdale, California) was an attorney who resided in Oakland, California in the late 19th century. After graduating from Amherst College in 1857, Boalt attended the Univer ...
. This name was transferred to a new classroom wing in 1951 but was removed in 2020.
In 2019, 98 percent of graduates obtained full-time employment within nine months, with a median salary of $190,000.
In 2021, the school had the highest bar passage rate (95.5%) of any California law school.
The school offers
J.D.,
LL.M.
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
,
J.S.D.
A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate in law equivalent to the more commonly awarded Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Australia
The S.J.D. is offered by the Australian National Unive ...
and
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
degrees, and enrolls approximately 320 to 330 J.D. students in each entering class, annually, with each class being further broken down into smaller groups that take courses together.
Berkeley Law alumni include notable federal judges, politicians,
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
executives, noted legal academics and civil rights experts. Prominent alumni include
Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren
Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
,
U.S. Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
Dean Rusk
David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909December 20, 1994) was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the second-longest serving Secretary of State after Cordell Hull from the F ...
,
U.S. Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Edwin Meese
Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan pres ...
,
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
and
Chair of the Federal Reserve
The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chair shall preside at the meetings of the Boa ...
G. William Miller
George William Miller (March 9, 1925 – March 17, 2006) was an American businessman and investment banker who served as the 65th United States secretary of the treasury from 1979 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as the 11 ...
, President of the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
Joan Donoghue
Joan E. Donoghue (born December 12, 1957) is an American lawyer, international legal scholar, former U.S. State Department official, and the current president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). She was first elected to the court in 2010 ...
,
Mayor of San Francisco
The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by t ...
Ed Lee
Edwin Mah Lee (Chinese: 李孟賢; May 5, 1952 – December 12, 2017) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 43rd Mayor of San Francisco from 2011 until his death. He was the first Asian American to hold the office.
Born in ...
,
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
CEO
Terdema Ussery
Terdema Lamar Ussery II (born December 4, 1958) is a senior partner and general council for Verreaux Consulting Group. He is the former president and CEO of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks. During that time, he also serv ...
, and
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945 ...
prosecutor
Whitney Robson Harris
Whitney Robson Harris (August 12, 1912 – April 21, 2010) was an American attorney, and one of the last surviving prosecutors from the Nuremberg Trials.
Early life and education
Harris was born in Seattle, Washington. His father was a car de ...
.
History
![Boaltsouthside](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Boaltsouthside.jpg)
The school that is today known as Berkeley Law originated in 1894 as the Department of Jurisprudence of the University of California.
The department was founded by professor William Carey Jones, who personally taught all its courses for the first three years.
According to Jones, the inspiration for the department came from his experience in 1882 teaching a course in
Roman law
Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...
to Berkeley seniors.
Jones envisioned that the new department would be less
vocational
A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious co ...
and more academic in comparison to the existing
Hastings College of the Law
The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a Public university, public Law school in the United States, law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the ...
in San Francisco.
Initially, the department was merely intended to broaden Berkeley undergraduates' academic knowledge of the law.
Students who wished to learn how to actually
practice law were referred to Hastings, where coursework already completed at Berkeley could count towards earning Hastings law degrees.
In 1901, the number of faculty was increased to six by the hiring of one lecturer and two instructors, which enabled the department to offer courses adding up to two years of instruction.
In 1902, the addition of four more lecturers enabled the department to provide a complete three-year law program and the referrals to Hastings were discontinued.
On June 26, 1902, newspapers in San Francisco and Oakland reported that there was now a "complete law school" at Berkeley, whose graduates would be eligible to immediately apply for admission to the California bar without having to take additional courses at Hastings.
The department awarded its first law degrees in 1903 to three men, one of whom was journalist and labor activist
Motoyuki Negoro
Motoyuki Negoro (June 14, 1875 – April 18, 1939) was a journalist and strike leader in Hawaii.
Early life
Negoro was born in 1875 in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. After attending school for a couple years in his hometown, he decided to go to ...
.
In 1906, Emmy Marcuse was the first woman to earn a law degree from the department.
The law that affiliated Hastings with UC states: "The college is affiliated with the University of California, and is the law department thereof." According to UCLA political science professor J.A.C. Grant, the law school at Berkeley was euphemistically labeled a department (or later, school) of jurisprudence for decades because it was believed UC could have only one "law department."
[ Available through ]HeinOnline
HeinOnline (HOL) is a commercial internet database service launched in 2000 by William S. Hein & Co., Inc. (WSH Co), a Buffalo, New York publisher specializing in legal materials. The company began in Buffalo, New York, in 1961 and is currently b ...
. In this source, Grant mistakenly refers to the will of the founder of Hastings; it is clear from the context that he and Prosser were unaware that the first UC law school was actually launched with an inter vivos
Inter vivos (Latin, ''between the living'') is a legal term referring to a transfer or gift made during one's lifetime, as opposed to a testamentary transfer that takes effect on the death of the giver.
The term is often used to describe a trust e ...
gift.
In 1912, the department moved into the then newly built Boalt Memorial Hall of Law at the center of the main UC Berkeley campus. This building was completed in 1911 with funds partially obtained from a donation of San Francisco land made by Elizabeth Josselyn Boalt in memory of her late husband,
John Henry Boalt
John Henry Boalt (March 29, 1837 in Norwalk, Ohio – May 9, 1901 in Cloverdale, California) was an attorney who resided in Oakland, California in the late 19th century. After graduating from Amherst College in 1857, Boalt attended the Univer ...
, an attorney who had resided in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
until his death in 1901. Upon the move to the new building, the UC Regents designated the department as the "School of Jurisprudence".
In 1948,
William Lloyd Prosser
William Lloyd Prosser (March 15, 1898 – 1972) was the Dean of the School of Law at UC Berkeley from 1948 to 1961. Prosser authored several editions of ''Prosser on Torts'', universally recognized as the leading work on the subject of tort law ...
visited UCLA after he was selected to become the next Boalt Hall dean—but before formally assuming office—in order to assist with the planning for the
UCLA School of Law
The UCLA School of Law is one of 12 professional schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA Law has been consistently ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top 20 law schools in the United States since the inception ...
. During his visit, Prosser heard from Grant about how a bill had been passed to create a "school of law" at UCLA even though Hastings was supposed to be the UC "law department," decided that Berkeley could get away with the same thing, and immediately set about renaming the School of Jurisprudence to the School of Law.
In 1951, the law school moved to its current location in the southeastern section of the
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
campus. This classroom wing of the new law building was designated by the UC Regents as Boalt Hall, while the old law building was renamed "Durant Hall". (Durant Hall was subsequently rehabilitated and is still used today as office space for deans of the
College of Letters and Science.) With this move, the institution was renamed again and became the "UC Berkeley School of Law".
In April 2008, the law school rebranded itself "Berkeley Law" to disentangle the confused usage which had grown over time confusing the formal name of the School of Law with the name of the building it occupied, and to more clearly align the school's name with its parent university. The administration hoped that this would improve the law school's national and international name recognition, as many individuals knew UC Berkeley had a law school but were often confused as to whether the name "Boalt Hall" referred to a separate institution. Despite the official name change, "Boalt Hall" continued to be used as the name of the law school's primary building and to refer to the law school informally for another 12 years.
By 2009, Berkeley Law was desperately short of space because the faculty had increased by about 25 percent over the past four years.
The law school launched a multi-year renovation and expansion project which was eventually completed in 2012. The most important improvement was to relocate and expand the
law library
A law library is a special library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their law clerks, historians and other scholars of legal history in order to research the law. Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for new l ...
into an underground facility under a new South Pavilion.
Since the mid-1990s, the law library stacks had been crammed into conventional shelving in the law school's North Addition. Construction contractors dug a deep hole in the middle of the law school's courtyard, put the law library stacks two levels underground, and installed powered
compact shelving units that move at the touch of a button.
At ground level, they built a glass pavilion housing classrooms, a student lounge, and a cafe, all of which is topped off by a rooftop garden accessible by a second-floor bridge.
The North Addition is now home to the Robbins Collection (a separate library of
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
and
civil law materials) and the Visiting Scholar Program.
On January 30, 2020, the UC Regents completely removed the name "Boalt Hall" from Berkeley's primary law school building and in all references made to the law school.
The de-naming was the outcome of a nearly three-year process launched after a UC Berkeley lecturer discovered writings by John Henry Boalt expressing flagrantly racist views.
In an e-mail sent to the university at the time, UC Berkeley Chancellor
Carol Christ wrote, "Boalt made profoundly offensive and racist statements about Chinese and Chinese Americans, suggesting that it would be better to 'exterminate' those of Chinese descent than to have them assimilate."
The university also found that Boalt had no other historical legacy than his racism, and that naming the building after him had not been a condition of his widow's donation.
This was the first time in UC Berkeley's history that the name of a building had been removed because its namesake's values did not align with those of the university.
Going forward, the law school building will now be known simply as the Law Building.
(UCLA and UC Irvine have always used the term "Law Building" to describe the homes of their respective law schools.)
Admissions
The J.D. program's admissions process is highly selective, with Berkeley Law admitting 22% of all applicants who applied in 2020. Berkeley Law is known to value high undergraduate
GPA
Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
s. The 25th and 75th
Law School Admission Test
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT; ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension as well as logical and verbal reas ...
(LSAT) percentiles for the Class of 2023 were 163 and 170, respectively, with a median of 168. The 25th and 75th undergraduate GPA percentiles were 3.65 and 3.92, respectively, with a median of 3.81.
For a typical class in the J.D. program, the average age of admitted students is 25 years old, with ages ranging from 21 to 46 years old. The student-faculty ratio is nearly 6:1. Berkeley Law is unique among most law schools for having a class usually composed of 60% women and 40% men.
Academics
Berkeley Law has approximately 850
J.D. students, 200 students in the
LL.M.
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
and
J.S.D.
A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate in law equivalent to the more commonly awarded Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Australia
The S.J.D. is offered by the Australian National Unive ...
programs, and 45 students in the
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
program in Jurisprudence and Social Policy. The School also features specialized curricular programs in Business, Law and Economics, Comparative Legal Studies, Environmental Law, Public Interest & Social Justice, Critical Race Studies, International Legal Studies, and Law and Technology.
Berkeley Law's grading system for the J.D. program is unusual among most law schools but similar to the grading system used at
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
,
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
, and
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...
. Students are graded on a High Honors (HH), Honors (H), and Pass (P) scale. Approximately 60% of the students in each class receive a grade of Pass, 30% receive a grade of Honors, and the highest 10% receive a grade of High Honors; lower grades of Substandard Pass (or Pass Conditional, abbreviated PC) and No Credit (NC) may be awarded at the discretion of professors. The top student in each class or section receives the Jurisprudence Award, while the second-place student receives the Prosser Prize.
The faculty of Berkeley Law also provide academic direction and the bulk of the instruction for the undergraduate program in Legal Studies, which is organized as a major in
Letters and Science
''Letters'' and ''Science'' are granite sculptures created by Charles Keck, installed at Columbia University's main entrance, at the intersection of Broadway and 116th Street, in New York City. They were created in 1915 and 1925, respectively. '' ...
. The Legal Studies program is not intended as a pre-law program, but rather as a liberal arts program "that can encourage sustained reflection on fundamental values."
Berkeley Law has a chapter of the
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...
, a national law school honorary society founded for the purposes of encouraging legal scholarship and advancing the ethical standards of the legal profession.
The law school has been
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
approved since 1923. It joined the
Association of American Law Schools
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non ...
(AALS) in 1912.
Berkeley Law offers combined degree programs with other schools within both the
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
campus and the broader
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
system, as well as joint master's degrees with
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
Post-graduation employment
In 2018, the school's bar passage rate was 90.9%.
According to Berkeley's official ABA-required disclosures, over 90 percent of 2018 graduates obtained full-time, long-term, bar admission-required employment nine months after graduation.
Rankings
Since the inception of the ''
U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings in the late 1980s, Berkeley Law has consistently ranked within the
prestigious "T14" (top 14) group of schools. For the 2022–2023 academic year, ''USNWR'' ranked Berkeley Law as the ninth-best law school in the United States. In addition, ''USNWR'' ranked Berkeley Law first in corporate, IP, and environmental law and second in criminal law.
In 2020,
QS World Rankings ranked Berkeley Law as the seventh-best law school in the world.
Berkeley Law's flagship journal, the ''
California Law Review
''California Law Review'' (also referred to as ''CLR'') is the journal of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. It was established in 1912. The application process consists of an anonymous write-on competition, with grades playing ...
'', is ranked third and fifth in the United States in studies conducted by researchers at
Washington & Lee University
Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts university in Lexington, Virginia. Established in 1749 as the Augusta Academy, the university is among the Colonial col ...
and the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
, respectively.
According to
Brian Leiter
Brian Leiter (; born 1963) is an American philosopher and legal scholar who is Karl N. Llewellyn Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Chicago Law School and founder and Director of Chicago's Center for Law, Philosophy & Human Values. ...
's 2012 scholarly impact study, Berkeley Law ranks seventh in terms of scholarly impact as measured by the percentage of tenured faculty represented in specific specialty areas.
Costs
Berkeley Law's tuition has increased in recent years. Currently, tuition and fees are $49,364 per year (in-state) and $53,315 per year (out-of-state). Most out-of-state students may claim in-state status in their second year of study.
The total cost of attendance (adding estimated living expenses to the aforementioned tuition and fees) at Berkeley Law for the 2018–2019 academic year is $85,315 for California residents and $89,266 for non-residents. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $282,442 for residents and $296,694 for non-residents.
For students working in public interest law who will earn less than $70,000 annually, Berkeley Law offers a ten-year loan repayment assistance program (LRAP).
Scholarships are offered on the basis of both merit and need. Named prizes include the Berkeley Law Opportunity Scholarship, which provides full tuition to first-generation college students, and the Hyundai-Kia Scholarships, which are given to students who demonstrate sustained and unique interest in law and technology. Stipends are also awarded for summer public service internships.
Clinical and research opportunities
Berkeley Law hosts over 21 centers, six primary clinics, and a five-area domestic and international field placement program for experiential learning in specific areas of the law.
These institutes are located both on the UC Berkeley campus and in other regions of the greater
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
, and are often conducted through partnerships with attorneys, interest groups, law firms, and corporations throughout Northern California and the United States. In addition to these centers, students are given the ability and funding to create "SLPs", or student-initiated legal services projects.
Business and Economics
The Berkeley Center for Law and Business was established in 2004 and is the Law School's focal point for experiential learning in corporate law. It focus on issues of corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, financial fraud prosecution, capital markets, cybersecurity, antitrust compliance, and venture capital investments. The program also hosts the joint J.D./
M.B.A.
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
degree with Berkeley Law's adjoining
Haas School of Business
The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as Berkeley Haas, is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a public university i ...
and national competitions for corporate negotiation.
Other centers in business law include the Robert D. Burch Center for Tax Policy and Public Finance (established in 1994) and the Law, Economics, and Politics Center.
Constitutional, Regulatory, and Policy
Constitutional and regulatory law centers at Berkeley include the new Berkele
Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justicethat was founded in 2018, the Berkeley Judicial Institute, and th
California Constitution Center which is the only non-profit organization dedicated to the study of the
Constitution of California
The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original co ...
. In addition to housing chapters of the
American Constitution Society
The American Constitution Society (ACS) is a progressive legal organization. ACS was created as a counterweight to, and is modeled after, the Federalist Society, and is often described as its progressive counterpart.
Founded in 2001 following t ...
and
The Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquartered ...
, the Law School enables interested students to spend a semester studying constitutional and regulatory law at the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
's Washington campus, and hosts civil field placements and externships with the offices of various judges,
United States Attorneys
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
, Attorneys General, and other government offices.
Other policy centers at the Law School include the Center for the Study of Law and Society (established in 1961), the Kadish Center for Morality, Law and Public Affairs (established in 2000), a center dedicated to data on redistricting and voting rights, and the Institute for Legal Research.
Social Justice and Public Interest
Berkeley Law has several clinical programs and centers that allow students to gain practical experience advocating for social justice and assisting low-income or marginalized individuals. These opportunities include the Death Penalty Clinic, Policy Advocacy Clinic, Veterans Law Practicum, and Domestic Law Violence Practicum. Many clinics, externships, field placements, and programs are hosted in partnership with the nearby East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), which provides legal aid for disadvantaged
Alameda County
Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...
residents. Students can work with the EBCLC on issues such as juvenile justice, expungement of minor crimes, housing law, tax assistance, and small business establishment.
Berkeley Law also hosts multiple centers, institutes, and initiatives producing research and scholarship on issues such as criminal justice reform, access to civil justice, and more. These centers include the
Thelton Henderson
Thelton Eugene Henderson (born November 28, 1933) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He has played an important role in the field of civil rights as a la ...
br>
Center for Social JusticeCivil Justice Research Initiative Center on Race, Sexuality & Culture
Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice and the Public Law and Policy Program.
Environmental
The Center for Law, Energy & the Environment and the Environmental Law Clinic focus on legal solutions to climate change, sustainable power use, renewable energy, and ocean health.
International and Comparative
Berkeley Law's international law program encompasses the International Human Rights Law Clinic (established in 1998), the Human Rights Center, the Robbins Collection, and an LL.M. program. These organizations and programs develop policy solutions for human rights causes, promote global human rights and international justice through advocacy, investigate war crimes and serious violations of human rights, and sponsor comparative research and study in the fields of religious and civil law. The Human Rights Center previously won a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. In addition, the centers in this area train students for moot court competitions focused on international law.
Other international law centers within Berkeley Law include the Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies and the Korea Law Center, as well as the Sho Sato Program in Japanese and US Law, named after co-founder Professor Sho Sato (1924-1986).
Technology
The Berkeley Center for Law and Technology was established in 1996. Issues addressed by this center and its affiliates, such as the Samuelson Law, Technology, and Public Policy Clinic (founded in 2000) and the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law, include intellectual property, privacy, patents, healthcare law, and digital entertainment.
Law journals
''California Law Review''
Established in 1912, the ''
California Law Review
''California Law Review'' (also referred to as ''CLR'') is the journal of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. It was established in 1912. The application process consists of an anonymous write-on competition, with grades playing ...
'' is the flagship journal of Berkeley Law. The application process consists of an anonymous write-on competition, with grades playing no role in the consideration of membership. A personal statement is also considered.
''Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law''
''
Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law
The ''Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law'' is a Law review, law journal published at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. It was established in 2000 as the ''California Criminal Law Review''. It was renamed ''Boalt Journal of Crimina ...
'' was first established in 2000. The journal publishes work concerning emerging issues of both substantive and procedural criminal law, as well as criminal justice issues unique to California and the Western United States. The journal publishes a fall edition in January and a spring edition in June every year and is completely digital.
''Berkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law''
''
Berkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law
The ''Berkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law'' (''BJELL'') is a law journal that publishes articles focusing on current developments in labor and employment law. It was founded in 1975 as the ''Industrial Relations Law Journal''. It changed it ...
'' was first established in 1975 and publishes articles focusing on current developments in labor and employment law. Typical articles in the journal cover legal issues dealing with employment discrimination, "traditional" labor law, public sector employment, international and comparative labor law, employee benefits, and the evolution of the doctrine of wrongful termination. In addition to scholarly articles, the journal includes student-authored comments, book reviews and essays. It is published twice a year.
''Berkeley Journal of International Law''
''
Berkeley Journal of International Law
The ''Berkeley Journal of International Law'' is an academic journal covering international law. It is run and edited by students at UC Berkeley School of Law. It was established in 1982 as the ''International Tax & Business Lawyer''.
The journal ...
'' was first established in 1982 and covers public and private international law and comparative law. It also publishes reviews of new books in the field, and is published twice yearly.
''Berkeley Technology Law Journal''
''
Berkeley Technology Law Journal
The ''Berkeley Technology Law Journal'' (BTLJ) is a law journal published at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. It started publication in Spring 1986 as the ''High Technology Law Journal'' and changed its name to BTLJ in 1996.BT ...
'' began in 1986 and covers emerging issues of law in the areas of intellectual property, cyber law, information law, biotechnology, antitrust, and telecommunications law. The journal appears quarterly.
''Ecology Law Quarterly''
''
Ecology Law Quarterly
''Ecology Law Quarterly'' is an environmental law review published quarterly by students at the UC Berkeley School of Law. The journal also produces ''Ecology Law Currents'', an "online companion journal designed to publish pieces on a more frequen ...
'' began in 1971 and is Berkeley Law's journal focusing on environmental and energy law. Analysis in the journal includes short-form commentary and analysis of court decisions and policies relating to environmental law.
''Berkeley Business Law Journal''
''Berkeley Business Law Journal'' was first established in 2004, and is one of the largest journals at the law school with over 100 members. It publishes an annual print journal and blog (called ''The Network'') and connects students to professors and practitioners in the corporate law space through on-campus symposia and events.
Other journals
Other student-run legal publications include the ''Asian American Law Journal'', ''Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy'', ''Berkeley Journal of Entertainment & Sports Law'', ''Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice'', ''Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern & Islamic Law'', and ''Berkeley La Raza Law Journal''.
Alumni
File:Earl Warren.jpg, Earl Warren
Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
'14, 14th Chief Justice of the United States and 30th Governor of California
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
File:FOMC 00478 (13896606200).jpg, G. William Miller
George William Miller (March 9, 1925 – March 17, 2006) was an American businessman and investment banker who served as the 65th United States secretary of the treasury from 1979 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as the 11 ...
'52, 65th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
and 11th Chair of the Federal Reserve
The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chair shall preside at the meetings of the Boa ...
File:Edwin Meese publicity shot.jpg, Edwin Meese
Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan pres ...
'58, 75th U.S. Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
File:Pete Wilson meeting with Les Aspin, Feb 3, 1993 - cropped to Wilson.JPEG, Pete Wilson
Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California bet ...
'61, 36th Governor of California
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
and former United States Senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
from California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
File:Theodore Olson.jpg, Theodore Olson
Theodore Bevry Olson (born September 11, 1940) is an American lawyer, practicing at the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Olson served as United States Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel (1981–1984) ...
'65, 42nd Solicitor General of the United States
The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021.
The United States solicitor general represent ...
File:Philip Alston by David Shankbone.jpg, Philip Alston
Philip Geoffrey Alston is an Australian international law scholar and human rights practitioner. He is John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, and co-chair of the law school's Center for Human Rights and Globa ...
LL.M. '76, former United Nations Special Rapporteur and prominent international law professor
File:Mayor Ed Lee Headshot Closeup.jpg , Ed Lee
Edwin Mah Lee (Chinese: 李孟賢; May 5, 1952 – December 12, 2017) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 43rd Mayor of San Francisco from 2011 until his death. He was the first Asian American to hold the office.
Born in ...
'78, former Mayor of San Francisco
The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by t ...
File:Paula Boggs.jpg, Paula Boggs
Paula Boggs (born 1959) is the founder of Boggs Media, LLC, a business that manages her music, speaking, and other creative business activities. She is a musician, public speaker, writer and lawyer. She is also a board member of numerous for-profi ...
'84, former Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Starbucks Corporation
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
File:Mitchell Baker.jpg, Mitchell Baker
Winifred Mitchell Baker (born 1957) is the Executive Chairwoman and CEO of the Mozilla Foundation and of Mozilla Corporation, a subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation that coordinates development of the open source Mozilla Internet applications, in ...
'87, CEO and Executive Chair of the Mozilla Corporation
The Mozilla Corporation (stylized as moz://a) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation that coordinates and integrates the development of Internet-related applications such as the Firefox web browser, by a global community of open- ...
File:Melinda Haag US Attorney.jpg , Melinda Haag
Melinda L. Haag (born 1961) is a San Francisco-based litigator and former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.
Early life and education
In 1983, Haag graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor's deg ...
'87, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California
The United States Attorney for the Northern District of California is the United States Attorney responsible for representing the federal government in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
The Northern Dis ...
File:Perú- pueblos indígenas (13385894445).jpg, James Cavallaro
James (Jim) Cavallaro is a professor of law and the co-founder and executive director of the University Network for Human Rights. He teaches human rights at Wesleyan University, where he is a director of the Minor in Human Rights Advocacy, as well ...
'92, former President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme'', ...
File:MirandaDu2014.jpg, Miranda Du
Miranda Mai Du (born 1969) is an American judge. Du was nominated by President Barack Obama to the United States District Court for the District of Nevada in 2011, and confirmed by the Senate in 2012. As a district judge, Du has presided over a n ...
'94, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* United (2011 film) ...
File:Amul Thapar.jpg, Amul Thapar
Amul Roger Thapar (born April 29, 1969) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He is a former United States district judge of the United States Dist ...
'94, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* Eastern District of Kentucky
* Western District of ...
File:Colin Allred, official portrait, 116th Congress.jpg, Colin Allred
Colin Zachary Allred (born April 15, 1983) is an American politician, lawyer, and former professional football player. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the U.S. representative from . The district includes the northeastern corner of Dallas, ...
'14, U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
Berkeley Law has produced a substantial number of prominent alumni at all levels of government, jurisprudence, business, legal practice, academia, and society. For a full register of all notable Berkeley Law graduates, see this ''
list of Berkeley Law alumni
UC Berkeley School of Law has produced many influential alumni in law, government, business, academia and society.
The following are prominent alumni of Berkeley Law. Within each category below, alumni are listed by their graduation date from ...
''.
In domestic government and politics, the law school has produced numerous influential individuals from both the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
and
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
. Several state governors and United States Senators, including
Earl Warren
Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
and
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California bet ...
of California and
Neil Goldschmidt
Neil Edward Goldschmidt (born June 16, 1940) is an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the United States Secretary of Transportat ...
of
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, are graduates of Berkeley Law. The law school has also graduated a substantial number of officials who have served at the
U.S. Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to ...
level. Included are
U.S. Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
Dean Rusk
David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909December 20, 1994) was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the second-longest serving Secretary of State after Cordell Hull from the F ...
, who served in the
Kennedy administration
John F. Kennedy's tenure as the 35th president of the United States, began with his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with his assassination on November 22, 1963. A Democrat from Massachusetts, he took office following the 1960 p ...
and
Johnson administration,
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
and
Chairman of the Federal Reserve
The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chair shal ...
G. William Miller
George William Miller (March 9, 1925 – March 17, 2006) was an American businessman and investment banker who served as the 65th United States secretary of the treasury from 1979 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as the 11 ...
, who served in the
Carter administration
Jimmy Carter's tenure as the 39th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. A Democrat from Georgia, Carter took office after defeating incumbent Republican President ...
, and
U.S. Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Edwin Meese III
Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan pres ...
, who served in the
Reagan administration
Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...
. Beyond these individuals, many Berkeley graduates have had the opportunity to work in the U.S. federal government in various prominent roles, including as
Assistant U.S. Attorney General
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general.
The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...
,
Solicitor General of the United States
The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021.
The United States solicitor general represent ...
, Assistant Secretary of State,
U.S. ambassador
Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the President of the United States, president to serve as the country's diplomat, diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as Ambassador-at-large, ...
,
United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
,
Chief Technology Officer of the United States
The United States Chief Technology Officer (US CTO) is an official in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The U.S. CTO helps the President and their team harness the power of data, innovation and technology on behalf of the American people ...
, cabinet undersecretaries, Chair of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cred ...
, and members of the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
. Moreover, Berkeley Law has also produced a substantial number of graduates who have served as state attorneys general, state cabinet officers, members of state legislatures, mayors, and city attorneys across the United States.
Berkeley Law has also produced various international leaders, including
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945 ...
prosecutor
Whitney Robson Harris
Whitney Robson Harris (August 12, 1912 – April 21, 2010) was an American attorney, and one of the last surviving prosecutors from the Nuremberg Trials.
Early life and education
Harris was born in Seattle, Washington. His father was a car de ...
and
Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand
The deputy prime minister of Thailand () is a ministerial position within the government of Thailand
The Government of Thailand, or formally the Royal Thai Government ( Abrv: RTG; th, รัฐบาลไทย, , ), is the unitary gov ...
Wissanu Krea-ngam
Wissanu Krea-ngam ( th, วิษณุ เครืองาม, , ; born 15 September 1951) is a Thai jurist, professor, and politician. He was the secretary-general of the cabinet from 1993 to 2002 and deputy prime minister under Thaksin Shinaw ...
.
On the judicial bench, Berkeley Law has produced a
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
,
Earl Warren
Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
, and scores of federal appellate and district judges, state supreme court justices, and international arbitrators. These graduates encompass current influential federal judges
Miranda Du
Miranda Mai Du (born 1969) is an American judge. Du was nominated by President Barack Obama to the United States District Court for the District of Nevada in 2011, and confirmed by the Senate in 2012. As a district judge, Du has presided over a n ...
,
Amul Thapar
Amul Roger Thapar (born April 29, 1969) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He is a former United States district judge of the United States Dist ...
,
Vince Chhabria
Vince Girdhari Chhabria (born November 27, 1969) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and formerly a Deputy City Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney's Office.
Biog ...
,
Marsha Berzon
Marsha Lee Berzon ( Siegel; born April 17, 1945) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Education and legal training
Berzon graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe ...
, and
Evan Wallach
Evan Jonathan Wallach (born November 11, 1949) is an American lawyer and Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. A former United States Judge of the United States Court of International Tra ...
. In international courts, alumni include
High Court judge Sir
Rabinder Singh, the highest-ranking judge of Asian descent in British history, and
Reynato S. Puno
Reynato Puno y Serrano, KGCR (Filipino: ''Reynato Serrano Puno''; born May 17, 1940) is a Filipino jurist. He served as the 22nd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from December 8, 2006 by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo unt ...
, the former
Chief Justice of the Philippines
The chief justice of the Philippines ( fil, Punong Mahistrado ng Pilipinas) presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines.
As of April 5, 2021, the position is curr ...
.
Among dozens of prominent Berkeley Law graduates in academia are international arbitrator
David Caron
David D. Caron (28 June 1952 – 20 February 2018) was an American attorney who was the dean of the King's College London School of Law, and an emeritus professor of UC Berkeley School of Law. Caron was a Member of the Iran-United States Clai ...
,
William and Mary Law School
The William & Mary Law School, known historically as the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, is the professional graduate law school of the College of William & Mary.
Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, the school is the oldest extant law school in t ...
professor
Nancy Combs
Nancy Amoury Combs is an American legal scholar known for her work on international criminal law. She is Ernest W. Goodrich Professor of Law and director of the Human Security Law Center and Cabell Research Professor at the William & Mary Law Scho ...
, and
Upendra Baxi
Upendra Baxi (born 9 November 1938) is a legal scholar, since 1996 professor of law in development at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. He is presently a Research Professor of Law and Distinguished Scholar in Public Law and Jurispruden ...
, who has served as a dean or professor at over nine law schools in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and the United States.
And within the business, journalism and nonprofit sectors, Berkeley Law has taught significant numbers of students who have gone on to become CEOs and general counsels for
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
companies and other businesses, executives and founders of NGOs, and award-winning journalists. Included are
Paula Boggs
Paula Boggs (born 1959) is the founder of Boggs Media, LLC, a business that manages her music, speaking, and other creative business activities. She is a musician, public speaker, writer and lawyer. She is also a board member of numerous for-profi ...
, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for
Starbucks Corporation
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
,
Jess Bravin
Jess M. Bravin (born 1965) is an American journalist. Since 2005, he has been the ''Wall Street Journal'' correspondent for the United States Supreme Court.
Background
Bravin graduated from Harvard College, where he wrote from 1985 to 1987 for ...
of ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'',
Mitchell Baker
Winifred Mitchell Baker (born 1957) is the Executive Chairwoman and CEO of the Mozilla Foundation and of Mozilla Corporation, a subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation that coordinates development of the open source Mozilla Internet applications, in ...
, current CEO and Executive Chair of the
Mozilla Corporation
The Mozilla Corporation (stylized as moz://a) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation that coordinates and integrates the development of Internet-related applications such as the Firefox web browser, by a global community of open- ...
, and
James Cavallaro
James (Jim) Cavallaro is a professor of law and the co-founder and executive director of the University Network for Human Rights. He teaches human rights at Wesleyan University, where he is a director of the Minor in Human Rights Advocacy, as well ...
, who served as President of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme'', ...
.
Notable faculty
David E. Feller was a renowned labor law expert and professor emeritus of Boalt Hall when he passed away in 2003. He was a prominent member of the Boalt faculty for over 35 years and a revered practitioner in the field of labor law for nearly two decades prior to coming to Boalt. Professor Feller’s distinguished career included serving as general counsel to the United Steelworkers and the Industrial Union Department of the AFL-CIO, arguing several important cases before the United States Supreme Court, and participating significantly in ground-breaking civil rights litigation in the 1950s
In popular culture
*
Billy McBride
Billy may refer to:
* Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name)
Animals
* Billy (dog), a dog breed
* Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945
* Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge
* Billy, a young ...
, the attorney protagonist of the Amazon series ''
Goliath
Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...
'' played by
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...
(and which Thornton won a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama is an award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). This Golden Globe Award honors the best performance by an actor in a drama television series. It ...
for portraying) is a Berkeley Law alumnus. In Season 3, Episode 4, "Full Circle", McBride goes through a box of law school mementos that include a page-flagged Constitutional Law
casebook
A casebook is a type of textbook used primarily by students in law schools.Wayne L. Anderson and Marilyn J. Headrick, The Legal Profession: Is it for you?' (Cincinnati: Thomson Executive Press, 1996), 83. Rather than simply laying out the legal do ...
and a folded-up piece of paper with the words "Boalt Hall" on it. Also in Season 2, Episode 1, "La Mano", a "University of California" diploma can be seen hanging from the wall of McBride's makeshift office (that operates out of a room in the Ocean Lodge Hotel). By process of elimination, this is a law degree diploma because in the pilot (Season 1, Episode 1, "Of Mice and Men"), McBride mentions he "went to college" at, and graduated with an undergraduate degree from
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
(where he also played baseball). The series creator
Jonathan Shapiro
Jonathan Shapiro (born 27 October 1958) is a South African cartoonist, known as Zapiro, whose work appears in numerous South African publications and has been exhibited internationally on many occasions. He is the nephew of British magician ...
is a Berkeley Law alumnus as well.
*
Sandy Cohen
Sanford "Sandy" Cohen is a fictional character on the FOX series ''The O.C.'', portrayed by Peter Gallagher.
Sandy, son of Sophie Cohen, is married to Kirsten Cohen. Their eldest child, Seth, is something of a social misfit. Sandy's father left ...
, a character on the popular television series ''
The O.C.
''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...
'', is a lawyer and Berkeley Law alumnus
"The O.C. at Boalt"is a student group that, in addition to screening episodes of ''The O.C.'' during the lunch period, offers the Sandy Cohen Fellowship, a summer grant for students who plan to work as public defenders (on ''The O.C.'', Sandy Cohen worked as a public defender while living in Orange County). In recent years, "The O.C. at Boalt" has also managed to bring
Peter Gallagher
Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series ''The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, recurr ...
, the actor who plays Sandy Cohen, to UC Berkeley School of Law to speak on an annual basis.
*
Matthew Perry
Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004).
As well as starring in the short-lived television series ''Stud ...
played a Republican graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law on multiple episodes of ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...
''.
*
Kelly Rutherford
Kelly Rutherford (born November 6, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Generations'' (1989–1991), as Megan Lewis on the Fox primetime soap opera ''Melr ...
played lawyer Samantha "Sonny" Liston, a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law, on ''
E-Ring
''E-Ring'' is an American military drama television series created by Ken Robinson and David McKenna and executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, that premiered on NBC on September 21, 2005, and aired through February 1, 2006. The series star ...
''.
*
Joanie Caucus
Joanie Caucus is a fictional character in Garry Trudeau's comic strip ''Doonesbury''.
She first appeared in September 1972 in which she has a fight with her husband, Clinton, over her rights as a woman. She finds that her recently acquired femi ...
, a character in
Garry Trudeau
Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born July 21, 1948) is an American cartoonist, best known for creating the ''Doonesbury'' comic strip. Trudeau is also the creator and executive producer of the Amazon Studios political comedy series ''Alpha House''.
...
's comic strip ''
Doonesbury
''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States
The president ...
'', attended UC Berkeley School of Law.
* In ''
Catch Me If You Can
''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American biographical crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams and James ...
'',
Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
plays Roger Strong, the District Attorney of New Orleans and a UC Berkeley School of Law alumnus.
* In the movie ''
Intolerable Cruelty
''Intolerable Cruelty'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Joel and Ethan Coen, and produced by Brian Grazer and the Coens. The script was written by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone and Ethan and Joel Coen, with the ...
'', a copy of the ''
California Law Review
''California Law Review'' (also referred to as ''CLR'') is the journal of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. It was established in 1912. The application process consists of an anonymous write-on competition, with grades playing ...
'' is featured prominently on a table in the senior partner's office.
*Judy Carrier, a major continuing character in Lisa Scottoline's novels about Rosato & Associates— an all-woman law firm in Philadelphia, received her degree from UC Berkeley School of Law.
*Pete Harrison, played by Bradley Whitford, was the leading role in the hit show ''
Trophy Wife
A trophy wife is a wife who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband. The term is often used in a derogatory or disparaging way, implying that the wife in question has little personal merit besides her physical attractiveness, requires sub ...
'', and was a Berkeley Law graduate. He dons a Berkeley Law sweatshirt in the first season.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uc Berkeley School Of Law
California, Berkeley
California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
Boalt
1894 in law
California, Berkeley
Environmental law schools
Law in the San Francisco Bay Area
1894 establishments in California