Chapman University School of Law

Established in 1995 as part of Chapman University, Chapman Law gained provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1998[6] and received full ABA accreditation in 2002.[7][8] In addition to its ABA membership, the Association of American Law Schools admitted Chapman Law as one of its members in 2006.[8] In 2019, the ABA again fully accredited the school until 2027, the standard seven-year accreditation term.[9]

Chapman University School of Law is currently ranked 111th by the U.S. News & World Report's annual law school rankings.[10]

It is currently ranked 48th for Best Part-Time Law Programs by the U.S. News & World Report's annual law school rankings.[11]

Entrance to School of Law

Donald P. Kennedy Hall, home of the School of Law

In July 2019, the first-time bar passage rate for Chapman School of Law was 59%.[12] The overall first-time pass rate for ABA-accredited California law schools was 71%.[13]

The cost of tuition for full-time JD students at Chapman for the 2016–2017 academic year is $50,076, which does not include living expenses and fees.[14] According to U.S. News & World Report, the cost of such living expenses is approximately $16,848 per year.[15] Accordingly, of 2018 graduates, 74% incurred debt to attend Chapman, with an average indebtedness of $144,718.[16]

According to Chapman's official 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 56% of the Class of 2019 obtained bar passage required employment 10 months or less after graduation, 24% were employed in JD advantage jobs where bar passage was a desired qualification, but not required, and 16% reported they were unemployed.[17]

Chapman, like some other law schools, uses merit based scholarships in order to entice competitive students who might otherwise pass over the school for higher ranked competitors and to enhance its own ranking.[18][19]

Matthew J. Parlow[20] is the Dean and Donald P. Kennedy Chair in Law at the school. He joined Chapman as dean in July 2016 after serving as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at Marquette University Law School. He previously taught at Chapman from 2005–2008.[21] He succeeded Tom Campbell, Dean from 2011-2016. John C. Eastman was Dean from June 2007 to January 2010.[22]

• Tom Campbell, Member of the United States Congress, 1989–1993 and 1995–2001, member of the California State Senate 1993–1995, and director of the California Department of Finance from 2004–2005.[23]
• Hugh Hewitt, radio host and co-panelist in several of the 2016 presidential debates.[24]
• Celestine McConville, Constitutional law and death penalty scholar[25]
• Vernon L. Smith, co-winner of the Nobel Prize in economics[26]

Chapman's Fowler School of Law publishes the Chapman Law Review, a student-run scholarly journal.[27] In addition to publishing the scholarly journal, the Chapman Law Review hosts a symposium at the start of the spring semester each year.[28]

• Official website