University of California, Davis - School of Law

The School of Law at the University of California, Davis is one of the smallest law schools in California and offers a community balanced with an “atmosphere of excellence.” King Hall (as students refer to it, named after Martin Luther King, Jr.) is well-known for its strong environmental law and public interest programs, and the “fantastic” clinical programs give students fantastic “incredible opportunities to gain practical lawyering skills.” UC Davis also recently added the California Supreme Court Clinic to its list of clinical experiences, making it the first law school to have a clinic focus on its State Supreme Court. Needless to say, the opportunities for those who are self-starters “are clearly also present.”
The seminars given here “are one of, hands-down, the best academic and intellectual opportunities offered at the law school.” These small group settings (anywhere from three to twenty-one students) are “true diamonds:” “collaborative, organic environments where extremely high-level, student-driven discussion and thought can flourish.” Each first year class is also given an upper level law student tutor to help guide students through the courses and achieve success.
Most large classes are run on the Socratic method, but there is plenty of variance in teaching methods and many professors “have a more conversational style approach, which is refreshing.” Professors here are “staggeringly, incredibly helpful, and genuinely dedicated to students learning.” They are “extremely approachable and there are various social events such as Coffee Hours where you can interact in a more informal manner.” “In my smallest class every student had a one-on-one or two-on-one lunch with the professor at some point during the semester,” says a 1L. Not only are they accessible, but they “eagerly encourage students to come to office hours and often lament how few students take advantage of that time.”
The faculty and administration are “eager to engage with students” and the student body is “deeply involved with the administration in a constant conversation about budget, classes, and events.” Students appreciate the name recognition in the Bay Area and Southern California for legal opportunities, and the “accessibility to Sacramento for job opportunities.”

The community and collegial atmosphere (“We practically do hold hands and sing Kumbaya in the hallways”) are “the best things” about UCD according to students, who “genuinely enjoy being law students at King Hall. “The pervasive feeling is that we’re all in this together,” says one. The diversity in the law school is “very good,” with a mix of students from all over the world integrating in the JD/LLM, and visiting and exchange students. The building itself has recently been renovated with several new rooms added on and a library that is “stunning in its beauty,” which “shows that your tuition money is going towards making the law school a better place.” There are plenty of great student groups which “provide the key for networking and meeting legal professionals and alumni.”
Law students also have a lot of fun together outside of the classroom, as well: the school is located in a secure location, “free from distractions and yet close to Sacramento and San Francisco where you can network with legal professionals and build your career and close to Napa and other wine counties and Lake Tahoe where you can visit in a day for recreation.” People here tend to be “very liberal” and Davis is “surprisingly bourgeois” for a city “in the middle of nowhere.” “I call it the ‘Nebraska of California’ because it is surrounded by farmland,” says a student.