One University Drive
Orange, CA 92866
Phone: 877.CHAPLAW or 714.628.2500; Fax: 714.628.2501
E-mail: lawadm@chapman.edu; Website: www.chapman.edu/law
Chapman University School of Law is located in the historic Old Towne district of Orange, California. We are part of a university that is 144 years old. The law school, established in 1995, received its accreditation in 2006.
The law school has gained a national reputation for its high-quality faculty, students, and facilities. The law school has focus areas in entertainment law, business law, international law, taxation, environmental/real estate/land use, and advocacy and dispute resolution; a joint JD/MBA degree, joint JD/MFA degree in film producing, and a joint JD/MFA degree in Creative Writing; and LLM degrees in taxation and prosecutorial science. We also offer clinical opportunities in the areas of family violence, immigration law, elder law, constitutional law, and mediation and alternative dispute resolution. Our students have obtained rewarding externship and internship opportunities. The law school's successes have been aided by its location in vibrant and dynamic Orange County.
Affiliation with a well-established university allows for cross-disciplinary engagement, joint degrees, and a lively and engaging intellectual environment beyond the classroom. Chapman University offers an impressive selection of artistic and cultural opportunities for its students.
Chapman Law has committed itself to building a small, talented, and diverse student body. Total student enrollment in 2011–2012 was approximately 600 law students.
The 2011 entering class consisted of 160 law students. The students were divided into three first-year sections. The Legal Research and Writing course has a maximum of 20 students in each of nine sections. Currently, about 19 percent of the entering class comes from outside California, and the minority enrollment is 34 percent.
Competition for seats is keen. Approximately 34 percent of applicants in the 2011 applicant pool were admitted.
Chapman has assembled an impressive law faculty (including four former US Supreme Court clerks) who are excellent teachers, accomplished scholars, and outstanding mentors. Chapman Law's environment is conducive to learning. Students have access to the faculty and frequent opportunities to engage them in both formal and informal settings. Our student-to-faculty ratio is 9.61 to 1.
The beautiful Donald P. Kennedy Hall opened in 1999 with state-of-the-art learning facilities in its classrooms, law library, and trial and appellate courtrooms.
Library holdings now exceed 348,000 volumes and volume equivalents. The collection is fully accessible to students both in hard copy and through the computer network.
Library carrels and desktops are generous in number, and wireless connectivity is available throughout the building. Several group-study rooms are available for student use and extended research.
Two state-of-the-art courtrooms provide computers, cameras, and electronic blackboards for trial advocacy exercises, competitions, and formal hearings by visiting courts.
The law school offers the JD/MBA and JD/MFA programs, affording students the opportunity to earn the equivalent of two accredited professional degrees in four years instead of the typical five. Chapman's George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics is AACSB accredited. Our Dodge College of Film and Media Arts is housed in a state-of-the-art building with the latest digital technology.
About 10 percent of the students choose to focus their electives in one of six certificate areas: entertainment law, international law, tax law, environmental/real estate/land use, alternative dispute resolution, and business law. The Tax-Law Emphasis Program affords students the opportunity to represent claimants against the IRS in the US Tax Court Clinic. The Center for Land Resources allows students to network with practicing professionals. In the Externship Program, students work with appellate judges, trial judges, district attorneys, public defenders, and (just starting) corporate legal departments and law firms, where they gain hands-on experience and academic credit.
Clinic offerings include family violence/immigration law, elder law, entertainment law, constitutional litigation, mediation, and tax law. Clinics allow students opportunities to represent actual clients in an array of legal settings.
The Admissions Office reviews your academic record and LSAT score, but also considers additional indicators of potential success in law school.
The law school offers many activities that enrich the academic program and provide important training in leadership. Two scholarly journals offer valuable experience in research, writing, and editing. The Student Bar Association administers a full range of programs. Other organizations include, but are not limited to, the Minority Law Students Association, the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, the Public Interest Law Foundation, the Federalist Society, and the student-run Honor Council.
Externships allow students to earn academic credit while working in a variety of government agencies, judges' chambers, and public interest organizations, entertainment companies, and (just starting) corporate legal departments and law firms, to develop the practical skills and confidence they will need after graduation.
Chapman offers a range of advocacy experiences, including participation in mock trial, moot court, client counseling, international law, mediation, and negotiation competitions.
Chapman Law offers a generous merit- and need-based scholarship program. For the 2011 entering class, more than 64 percent of new students received scholarships. After the first year, law students are eligible to renew their merit scholarships provided they maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above in their classes after the first-year grades are posted. For 2011, approximately $6 million in scholarship funds were distributed among a student body of approximately 600. This included merit- and need-based scholarships.
Chapman also offers a full range of loan programs to supplement students' financial resources, including Direct loans, Graduate PLUS loans, Perkins loans, and private loans.
Helping our students find jobs is our top priority. Chapman Law provides students and alumni with comprehensive career services and resources that aid them in selecting their career direction and in reaching their goals. The office is staffed by an assistant dean, associate, assistant director, alumni counselor, recruitment coordinator, and an administrative assistant. The Career Services Office facilitates interviews for our students with legal employers during our On-Campus Interview and Résumé Collection Program in both the fall and spring. The office also provides students the opportunity to meet with prominent members of the legal community through frequent panels, a highly successful Attorney Mentor Program, and an extensive Mock Interview Program. In keeping with the Chapman mission of personalized education, the counselors meet with individual students to review résumés and cover letters, to aid in self-assessment and goal orientation, to discuss specific opportunities unique to the student's needs, and to provide training, support, and feedback in all aspects of exploring career options.
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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| LSAT score 170–174 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 11 |
| LSAT score 165–169 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 88 | 73 |
| LSAT score 160–164 | 49 | 48 | 78 | 77 | 78 | 72 | 62 | 61 | 49 | 24 | 28 | 7 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 371 | 294 |
| LSAT score 155–159 | 86 | 84 | 160 | 158 | 208 | 107 | 176 | 48 | 114 | 22 | 56 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 829 | 423 |
| LSAT score 150–154 | 49 | 39 | 98 | 78 | 222 | 30 | 189 | 4 | 117 | 1 | 65 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 800 | 154 |
| LSAT score 145–149 | 20 | 9 | 53 | 5 | 94 | 0 | 96 | 1 | 73 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 439 | 16 |
| LSAT score 140–144 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 181 | 0 |
| LSAT score 135–139 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 64 | 0 |
| LSAT score 130–134 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| LSAT score 125–129 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| LSAT score 120–124 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 229 | 199 | 435 | 340 | 653 | 223 | 604 | 126 | 419 | 58 | 256 | 15 | 127 | 5 | 45 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 31 | 5 | 2809 | 972 |
Apps = Number of Applicants
Adm = Number Admitted
Reflects 99% of the total applicant pool; highest LSAT data reported.