536 Mission Street, Office of Admissions
San Francisco, CA 94105-2968
Phone: 415.442.6630 or 800.GGU.4YOU; Fax: 415.442.6631
E-mail: lawadmit@ggu.edu; Website: www.law.ggu.edu
Founded in 1901, Golden Gate University School of Law is located in the heart of San Francisco's legal and financial district. The law school is noted for integrating legal theory with practice-based skills training. Golden Gate Law relies on a distinguished faculty who share a strong commitment to both excellence in teaching and accessibility to students. The law school is fully ABA-accredited and is a member in good standing of the AALS.
Golden Gate Law offers both a three-year full-time day program and a four-year part-time evening program. The law school also offers an enhanced JD program under the Honors Lawyering Program. Two formal joint-degree programs, the JD/MBA and JD/PhD, are also available.
The Honors Lawyering Program (HLP) takes a unique approach to legal education, integrating the theory, skills, and values learned in the classroom with actual work in the legal community—a modern version of the traditional apprenticeship. HLP students attend a regular first-year curriculum, participate in an intensive skills-focused summer session, and then transition to a full-time fall apprenticeship. In the spring, students return to full-time classes with a new appreciation for the practice of law. During their third year, students complete a second apprenticeship and have the option to enroll in additional practice-based courses. HLP courses meet in small sections that combine lawyering skills training with the substantive law curriculum. By the third week of the summer session, students begin representing real clients under the guidance and supervision of the professors, who are themselves practicing attorneys. Students may apprentice in private law firms, companies, courts, government agencies, and public interest organizations anywhere in the Bay Area or around the world.
Golden Gate Law is considered one of the best public interest law schools in the country. Golden Gate Law owes its reputation to several factors, including the law school's curriculum, which extends to all areas of public interest law. Golden Gate Law also supports a formidable externship program, which offers myriad opportunities to engage in public interest work. Golden Gate Law offers a Certificate of Specialization in Public Interest Law, and students with prior public and community service experience may apply to the Public Interest Scholars Program, which provides selected students with special scholarships and eligibility for a summer employment stipend. Numerous student organizations support public interest work, including the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF), which raises funds for students working in unpaid public interest internships.
Students may earn a joint JD/MBA through the law school and the Ageno School of Business at Golden Gate University or a joint JD/PhD in Clinical Psychology in conjunction with Palo Alto University.
Golden Gate Law also offers JD students the opportunity to earn Certificates of Specialization in Business Law, Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Family Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Legal Studies, Labor and Employment Law, Litigation, Public Interest Law, Real Estate Law, Taxation, and Youth Law. Requirements for the areas of specialization vary, but students generally complete required coursework, writing assignments, and clinical experience to earn a Certificate of Specialization.
Golden Gate Law has one of the most extensive clinical programs in the country, offering students opportunities to earn academic credit while working closely with practicing attorneys and real clients in the community.
The law school has three on-site clinics. In the Women's Employment Rights Clinic, students represent low-income workers facing unfair labor practices. Through the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic, students assist low-income communities and communities of color in protecting their environmental interests and reducing their exposure to environmental hazards. The Pro Bono Tax Clinic provides assistance to low-income individuals in tax disputes before the California State Board of Equalization.
Through Golden Gate Law's extensive field placement externships, students work under the supervision of faculty, judges, and attorneys in government agencies, law offices, and judges' chambers. These externships include Criminal Litigation, Consumer Rights, Environmental Law, Family Law, Homeless Advocacy, Judicial Externship Program, Real Estate Law, and Youth Law.
The Center on Urban Environmental Law takes the city as a natural starting point in assessing how the law shapes environmental conditions. The Center's research efforts produce white papers focusing on regulatory strategies to improve urban environments.
The Intellectual Property Law Center brings together students, faculty, and practitioners to explore developments in the ever-changing area of IP law and policy.
The Litigation Center provides students with a clear path to the specific skills necessary to become successful courtroom advocates. The Center immerses students in an integrated litigation curriculum augmented by the school's participation in regional and national advocacy and mock trial competitions.
The Sompong Sucharitkul Center for Advanced International Legal Studies serves as a hub for international law studies, hosting an annual conference and publishing the Annual Survey of International and Comparative Law.
Students selected for Golden Gate Law's Paris Summer Comparative Law Program travel to France for the summer and take courses covering a number of current issues in international law. The curriculum combines introductory courses on France's legal system and comparative law courses. Legal luminaries from Europe and North America are also featured. Students also benefit from instruction from both Golden Gate Law faculty and French faculty and practitioners. Those students fluent in French also have the opportunity to remain in France for additional internships with French law firms after the end of the regular summer term.
Golden Gate Law offers five highly regarded LLM (Master of Laws) programs in Environmental Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Legal Studies, Taxation, and US Legal Studies. The law school also offers an advanced SJD program in International Legal Studies.
The Law Library houses the largest law collection in the San Francisco financial district—more than 350,000 volumes. Its holdings include a comprehensive series of case law reporters, statutes, digests, encyclopedias, periodicals, and treatises dealing with American law; a strong tax law collection; an extensive microforms collection; and a growing body of work in environmental law and international law. The international law holdings target selected Pacific Rim countries and English, Canadian, and other Commonwealth materials. Current students have full access to a variety of Internet-based legal databases and resources.
Golden Gate Law publishes the Golden Gate University Law Review, the Environmental Law Journal, and the Annual Survey of International and Comparative Law. The Law Review and journals provide students with the opportunity to showcase their research, writing, and editing skills.
The law school also has more than 30 student organizations ranging from groups representing specific political or cultural interests to groups focusing on specific areas of law. The very active student government represents the law school student body on important issues facing individuals, student organizations, and the law school. Through these groups, students have many opportunities to participate in programs and attend lectures hosted by a variety of organizations. These opportunities not only enrich the law school learning experience, but also hone students' networking skills. Students are encouraged to participate at all levels.
The Law Career Services (LCS) office helps students prepare for a successful legal career by providing myriad services throughout law school and beyond. LCS assists students in researching the legal market, developing contacts, and building practical and networking skills through jobs and internships. For first-year students, LCS provides an online Job Search Guide and workshops on writing résumés and cover letters. For upper-division students, LCS offers print and online job listings; meetings with recent graduates who speak with students about their career experiences; individual and small-group career counseling; job-search workshops, panels, and events highlighting the career paths of Golden Gate alumni and other attorneys; special recruitment programs; and more. Many of these services remain available to students after graduation.
Golden Gate Law strives to admit students who seek a rigorous and holistic legal education that integrates experiential learning with a solid foundation in current legal theory. The application process is designed to identify applicants who possess the ability to succeed in the classroom and contribute to the legal community at large.
Golden Gate Law awards merit scholarships to both entering and continuing students. All students are reviewed for merit scholarships as part of the admission process. The law school also offers a Public Interest Scholars Program (PISP) scholarship and an Environmental Law Scholars Program (ELSP) scholarship. Both the PISP and the ELSP scholarships require a separate statement of interest and a list of prior commitment/activities from the student as part of the regular law school application.
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 |
2.25– 2.49 Apps |
2.25– 2.49 Adm |
2.00– 2.24 Apps |
2.00– 2.24 Adm |
Below 2.00 Apps |
Below 2.00 Adm |
No GPA Apps |
No GPA Adm |
Total Apps |
Total Adm |
| LSAT score 175–180 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| LSAT score 170–174 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| LSAT score 165–169 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 41 |
| LSAT score 160–164 | 14 | 13 | 25 | 22 | 35 | 29 | 32 | 30 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 156 | 137 |
| LSAT score 155–159 | 38 | 35 | 79 | 73 | 118 | 112 | 126 | 117 | 79 | 71 | 53 | 43 | 20 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 529 | 480 |
| LSAT score 150–154 | 42 | 39 | 106 | 96 | 166 | 147 | 155 | 127 | 118 | 90 | 78 | 51 | 42 | 25 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 9 | 740 | 592 |
| LSAT score 145–149 | 15 | 12 | 53 | 32 | 114 | 28 | 105 | 12 | 91 | 9 | 66 | 1 | 42 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 511 | 98 |
| LSAT score 140–144 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 71 | 1 | 38 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 237 | 7 |
| LSAT score 135–139 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 66 | 1 |
| LSAT score 130–134 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| LSAT score 125–129 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| LSAT score 120–124 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 121 | 106 | 296 | 238 | 475 | 323 | 516 | 295 | 361 | 190 | 268 | 113 | 150 | 52 | 68 | 17 | 13 | 2 | 41 | 21 | 2309 | 1357 |
Apps = Number of Applicants
Adm = Number Admitted
Reflects 99% of the total applicant pool; highest LSAT data reported.