24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263
Phone: 310.506.4611; Fax: 310.506.7668
E-mail: lawadmis@pepperdine.edu; Website: law.pepperdine.edu
Pepperdine School of Law is located in Malibu, California, just 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles, making it a conducive environment for the intense study of law. Malibu offers an almost rural setting, yet it is an integral part of greater Los Angeles, providing access to one of the largest legal communities in the world. Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.
Pepperdine students bring a broad spectrum of backgrounds. They share a strong desire to attain high levels of achievement in academics, their personal lives, and their careers. Students come to Pepperdine from diverse socioeconomic, cultural, and religious backgrounds for the emphasis on integrity, service, and justice with a desire to become trusted leaders.
Although the faculty have distinguished themselves through scholarly research and writing as well as leadership positions in prestigious legal organizations, the faculty's primary mission is to teach—to help students see the structure of legal thought and to be available as professional examples of a multifaceted profession. They demonstrate to their students that lawyers should be people-oriented individuals with strong moral character, capable of guiding their clients toward what is just and honorable as well as what is legally permissible.
The School of Law occupies the Odell McConnell Law Center, located on the university's 830-acre campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The Jerene Appleby Harnish Library is the focal point of the school, housing a collection of over 400,000 volumes and volume equivalents. Students enjoy access to a multitude of leading online legal research services. Wireless network access is available throughout the Law Center. The facility contains two high-tech courtrooms, as well as lecture halls, seminar rooms, a bookstore, student dining area, and lounges.
Pepperdine offers a three-year, full-time JD program; four-year, full-time JD/MBA and JD/MPP dual-degree programs; a five-year, full-time JD/MDiv dual-degree program; a concurrent JD/MDR-degree program; and an LLM in Dispute Resolution. A student enrolled full time in a summer session can accelerate graduation by one semester. The required core courses are complemented by an extensive selection of elective courses.
Unique in the nation, the Palmer Center prepares students for the modern hybrid role of lawyer, business consultant, financial strategist, and venture capitalist, and equips them with credentials and options in the field of entrepreneurship. Through carefully tailored coursework, the Palmer Center integrates multifaceted law and business disciplines into a distinctive and dynamic certificate program that supplements and complements the traditional JD degree.
The Straus Institute is the most comprehensive program of its type in the nation. Students studying in the field of dispute resolution can complete a special certificate program as part of their Juris Doctor degree or a Master's in Dispute Resolution. The LLM in Dispute Resolution began January 2003.
The Nootbaar Institute was created to explore the nexus between these three disciplines, with particular emphasis on religion and the practice of law. While affirming Pepperdine's Christian identity, the institute draws from the largest possible pool of religious voices, seeking dialogue and common ground with other faith traditions.
The Global Justice Program partners with a global network of foreign judicial systems, human rights agencies, development organizations, and international universities. The partnerships provide the framework for a variety of initiatives, including juvenile justice, judicial reform, antihuman trafficking efforts, and human rights advocacy. Through these initiatives, students and faculty collaborate to seek justice and create a lasting impact in some of the world's most vulnerable places. Under the umbrella of the Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute for Law, Religion, and Ethics, the Global Justice Program is growing rapidly in response to student interest and demand from global partners.
Clinical law programs provide students with the opportunity to refine their skills under the supervision of faculty, lawyers, and judges. The majority of clinical law opportunities are with district attorneys, public defenders, and state and federal court judges. There are a number of programs offering experience in corporate and securities law, tax law, juvenile law, family law, labor law, consumer protection, environmental law, and trade regulation. Placements are also available within the film, television, and music industries.
The Career Development Office (CDO) assists students as they navigate their transition from student to professional. Experienced staff is available for individual appointments to discuss job-search strategies, résumé-writing and interviewing skills, networking opportunities, and other aspects of career counseling. In addition, throughout the academic year, the CDO offers workshops and programs designed to illuminate the job-search process. The CDO frequently hosts guest speakers, providing students with the opportunity to talk directly with professionals currently working in specific areas of interest. Each fall and spring, employers visit Pepperdine to interview interested law students for full-time summer and postgraduate positions.
Pepperdine has partnered with the Los Angeles Union Rescue Mission to develop the Pepperdine/Union Rescue Mission Legal Aid Clinic. Located in downtown Los Angeles, the mission provides emergency food and shelter, health services, recovery programs, education, job training, and counseling within a Christian context. Students volunteer at the mission, where they meet with residents regarding legal concerns. The Pepperdine/Union Rescue Mission Family Law Clinic helps clients resolve issues such as child custody and support. The Special Education Advocacy Clinic gives students an opportunity to gain valuable experience advocating for children with disabilities. The Asylum Clinic provides law student representation to indigent and near-indigent foreign-born individuals who seek to legalize their status in the United States based on their fear of religious and other persecution abroad. The clinic provides students real-world experience in immigration law and litigation, and also provides advocacy for persons of faith as well as other vulnerable persons.
Students have the opportunity to study law in London at Pepperdine's university-owned facility in the museum district of South Kensington. While in London, students may serve as externs in clinical placements.
Students have the opportunity to participate in exchange programs with the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and the University of Augsburg in Germany. Classes are taught in English in both programs.
Pepperdine has earned a national reputation for excellence in appellate advocacy and trial advocacy competitions. Editorial and staff positions are awarded for the Pepperdine Law Review, Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal, National Association of Administrative Law Judges Journal, and the Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship, and the Law.
Each year, Pepperdine University School of Law brings law students from across the country to its campus for the Wm. Matthew Byrne Jr. Judicial Clerkship Institute (Byrne JCI). Through the Byrne JCI, students who have been accepted into federal judicial clerkship positions have the opportunity to gain distinctive, comprehensive training by federal judges.
Admission is based on the applicant's academic record, LSAT score, and a written personal statement, as well as a response to the university's mission statement and other information that reflects outstanding academic and professional promise. Applications are also evaluated on the basis of employment experience, extracurricular activities, community involvement, commitment to high standards of morality and ethics, maturity, initiative, and motivation. The admission process is guided by the view that a student body that reflects diversity provides a superior educational environment. Admission decisions may be based on consideration of factors that include racial and ethnic origin, unique work or service experience, a history of overcoming disadvantage, or unusual life experiences. First-year students are admitted only in the fall.
Pepperdine's active financial aid program provides over 85 percent of the student body with some type of assistance. Scholarships are available to students with outstanding academic credentials and to those with demonstrated financial need. The deadline for completed applications for financial aid is April 1 of the entering year.
The George Page Residential Complex is located directly across the street from the Law Center. The 72-unit complex houses graduate students in four-bedroom apartments. The Admission Office also provides an extensive housing referral service.
This grid includes only applicants who earned 120–180 LSAT scores under standard administrations.
| GPA | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSAT Score |
3.75+ Apps |
3.75+ Adm |
3.50–3.74 Apps |
3.50–3.74 Adm |
3.25–3.49 Apps |
3.25–3.49 Adm |
3.00–3.24 Apps |
3.00–3.24 Adm |
2.75–2.99 Apps |
2.75–2.99 Adm |
2.50–2.74 Apps |
2.50–2.74 Adm |
Below 2.50 Apps |
Below 2.50 Adm |
No GPA Apps |
No GPA Adm |
Total Apps |
Total Adm |
| LSAT score 175–180 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 |
| LSAT score 170–174 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 63 |
| LSAT score 165–169 | 119 | 110 | 112 | 101 | 77 | 69 | 51 | 46 | 30 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 413 | 345 |
| LSAT score 160–164 | 156 | 148 | 238 | 172 | 202 | 81 | 120 | 43 | 53 | 9 | 22 | 2 | 24 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 829 | 457 |
| LSAT score 155–159 | 151 | 82 | 253 | 64 | 194 | 9 | 141 | 9 | 72 | 3 | 36 | 2 | 21 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 877 | 169 |
| LSAT score 150–154 | 64 | 7 | 83 | 4 | 114 | 3 | 110 | 4 | 51 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 494 | 19 |
| LSAT score Below 150 | 27 | 1 | 71 | 5 | 84 | 0 | 118 | 1 | 92 | 0 | 66 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 509 | 7 |
| Total | 543 | 371 | 776 | 362 | 686 | 176 | 553 | 115 | 301 | 28 | 178 | 7 | 127 | 2 | 43 | 4 | 3207 | 1065 |
Apps = Number of Applicants
Adm = Number Admitted
Reflects 100% of the total applicant pool; highest LSAT data reported.