The USC Law School 104
(213) 740-7331
Email: Admissions@law.usc.edu

Scott H. Bice, J.D., Dean

Scott A. Altman, J.D., Associate Dean

Albert O. Brecht, J.D., M.LL., Associate Dean, Law Library and Information Technology*

Karen A. Lash, J.D., Associate Dean*

Robert M. Saltzman, J.D., Associate Dean*

John G. Tomlinson, Jr., M.A., Ph.D., Associate Dean

Lisa M. Mead, J.D., Assistant Dean*

Vicki Brown, B.A., Assistant Dean

Darin Fox, J.D., M.LL., Assistant Dean

William Hoye, B.A., Assistant Dean

Carl Mason Franklin Dean’s Chair in Law: Scott H. Bice, J.D.

Carolyn Craig Franklin Chair in Law and Religion: Ronald R. Garet, Ph.D., J.D.*

Sydney M. Irmas Chair in Public Interest Law and Legal Ethics: Erwin Chemerinsky, J.D.*

J. Thomas McCarthy Trustee Chair in Law: Christopher D. Stone, J.D.

George T. and Harriet E. Pfleger Chair in Law: Charles H. Whitebread, LL.B.*

UPS Chair in Law and Gerontology: Martin L. Levine, J.D., LL.D.

Herbert W. Armstrong Professorship in Constitutional Law: Larry G. Simon, LL.B.

Leon Benwell Professorship in Law: Edwin M. Smith, J.D.*

Virginia S. and Fred H. Bice Professorship in Law: Scott A. Altman, J.D.

Henry W. Bruce Professorship in Law: Alexander M. Capron, LL.B.

William T. Dalessi Professorship in Law: Matthew L. Spitzer, J.D., Ph.D.

Orrin B. Evans Professorship in Law: Elyn R. Saks, B.A., M.Litt., J.D.

Ivadelle and Theodore Johnson Professorship in Law and Business: Jennifer H. Arlen, Ph.D., J.D.

Maurice Jones, Jr., Professorship in Law: Edward J. McCaffery, M.A., J.D.*

Robert Kingsley Professorship in Law: Susan Estrich, J.D.

John B. Milliken Professorship in Taxation: Thomas D. Griffith, A.B., M.A., J.D.*

Dorothy W. Nelson Professorship in Law: Michael H. Shapiro, M.A., J.D.

Chief Information Officer and John Stauffer Professorship in Law: Albert O. Brecht, J.D., M.LL.

Torrey H. Webb Professorship in Law: W. David Slawson, M.A., LL.B.*

Ervin and Florine Yoder Professorship in Real Estate Law: George Lefcoe, LL.B.

Professors: Jody David Armour, J.D.; Marshall Cohen, M.A., M.A. (Oxon.) (Philosophy); Geoffrey Cowan, J.D. (Journalism); Mary L. Dudziak, J.D., M.A., Ph.D.; Edward J. Finegan, M.A., Ph.D. (Linguistics); Gregory C. Keating, M.A., J.D., Ph.D.; Michael S. Knoll, A.M., Ph.D., J.D.; W. Bentley MacLeod, M.Sc., Ph.D. (Economics); John E. Rolph, Ph.D. (Business Administration); Nomi M. Stolzenberg, J.D.

Associate Professors: David B. Cruz, M.S., J.D.; Ariela J. Gross, M.A., J.D., Ph.D.; Daniel M. Klerman, J.D., Ph.D.; Thomas D. Lyon, J.D., Ph.D.*; Dan Simon, LL.B., M.B.A., LL.M., S.J.D.; Eric L. Talley, J.D., Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor: Robert M. Saltzman, J.D.*

Adjunct Associate Professor: Karen A. Lash, J.D.*

Adjunct Assistant Professors: Darin Fox, J.D., M.L.S. (Assistant Dean, Reference Law Librarian, Law Library); Brian Raphael, J.D., M.L.S. (Reference and International Law Librarian, Law Library)

Clinical Professors: Michael J. Brennan, J.D.; Lee W. Campbell, J.D.; Carrie L. Hempel, J.D.; Noel M. Ragsdale, J.D.

Clinical Associate Professor: Derrick Ford, J.D.

Clinical Assistant Professor: Denise Meyer, B.A., J.D.*

Emeritus Professors: David W. Carroll, B.S., J.D., LL.B.*; Carl M. Franklin, A.B., M.A., M.B.A., J.D., J.S.D. (Vice President, Emeritus); Francis E. Jones, Jr., B.A., J.D., LL.M.*; Robert S. Thompson, B.S., LL.B. (Legion Lex Professor of Law, Emeritus)

*Recipient of university-wide or school teaching award.

The Juris Doctor (J.D.) is the basic law degree. To obtain the degree, full-time attendance for six semesters is required. During the first year, the student takes a required curriculum of basic courses that examines fundamental legal institutions and addresses legal problems relevant to today’s society and the modern practice of law. The second and third years of law study are primarily elective. The student has discretion in course selection, except for writing requirements.

The Law School maintains dual degree programs with the graduate programs in accounting, business administration, economics, gerontology, philosophy, public administration, public policy, social work, international relations, religion, real estate development and communications. These programs enable qualified students to earn a law degree (J.D.) and the appropriate master’s degree. If the master’s degree normally requires one year of study, a student in a dual degree program earns both degrees in only three years. If the master’s normally requires two years of post-baccalaureate courses, a total of four years is required. To earn the J.D., all students (including dual degree students) must complete 35 numerically graded law units at USC after the first year. The associate dean may make exceptions to this rule for students enrolled in Law School honors programs.

The goal of these programs is to encourage law students to gain a recognized competence in another discipline which has a direct relevance to the roles lawyers play in society. The dual degree programs are based on the premise that some topics covered in the Law School are also covered in the programs of the cooperating departments, so that some credit toward the law degree may appropriately be given for specified graduate work taken in the cooperating department. Similarly, the cooperating departments have recognized that some credit toward the master’s degree may appropriately be awarded for certain work completed in the Law School.

The Law School’s Continuing Legal Education Program provides the legal community with the greatest variety of offerings of any law school in the West. The Law School has been approved as a provider of Minimum Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California.

The institutes and conferences division presents five annual programs: the Probate and Trust Conference, the Institute on Federal Taxation, the Institute for Corporate Counsel, the Entertainment Law Institute and the Computer Law Institute.

For information on institutes, conferences and classes, contact the Law School’s Continuing Legal Education Program office at (213) 740-2582.

Students in the Law School’s professional programs pay tuition of $13,907 per semester (13-17 units); for less than 13 units, the tuition is $1076 per unit, and tuition is an additional $1076 for each unit over 17. The university reserves the right to assess new fees or charges as it may determine. The rates listed are subject to change without notice by action of the Board of Trustees.

These fees are based upon current information available at the time of publication and are subject to possible later change.

In addition to the mandatory fees charged to all USC students, law students must also join the Student Bar Association. In 1999-2000, this membership fee was $12 per semester.

First-year students must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college by the beginning of their Law School classes. The Law School does not require applicants to take any specific college courses, and discourages pre-law students from enrolling in college courses which duplicate the law school curriculum. The faculty recommends college courses that are intellectually challenging and require disciplined study. Training in careful reading and skilled writing is most valuable, as are courses involving seminar discussion and sustained research. The student will find that a broad exposure to such fields as economics, philosophy, history, political science, anthropology, mathematics, and psychology is more useful than narrow exposure to vocationally oriented courses.

All applicants are required to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) administered by the Law School Admissions Service. Applicants must take the test no later than December if they seek to start law school the following August.

Like most law schools, the USC Law School requires students to use the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). The LSDAS assembles an applicant’s transcripts and LSAT scores and forwards copies of them to law schools of the applicant’s choosing. An applicant who has previously registered with the LSDAS need only request on the appropriate form that the name of the University of Southern California Law School be added to the list of schools to which the student is applying. Further information about the LSAT and the LSDAS may be obtained from the Law School Admission Council, Box 2000, Newtown, Pennsylvania 18940.

Detailed information regarding admission application procedures is available from the Dean of Admissions, University of Southern California Law School, University Park, Los Angeles, California 90089-0074 and on the school’s Web site (www.usc.edu/law).

A student in good standing at a law school which is a member of the Association of American Law Schools may apply for admission with advanced standing either as a transfer student or as a visiting student. Transfer students enter the USC Law School after one year at another law school; they then spend two years at the Law School and earn the J.D. degree from USC. Visiting students spend one or two semesters at the Law School during their third year of law school; they are not eligible for a USC degree. For further information, please request Transfer/Visitor Information from the Admissions Office at the Law School.

Details of the registration procedure are handled through the Registrar’s Office of the Law School. Registration information will be mailed to accepted applicants approximately two to three weeks prior to the registration date indicated on the Law School calendar.

Numerical grades are given in most courses. A grade of 90 is equivalent to highest honors and is very rare; from 85 to 89, high honors; from 80 to 84, honors. Grades from 70 to 79 indicate satisfactory work; grades from 66 to 69 are unsatisfactory; and a 65 is failing. Students receiving a grade of 65 will not be given credit for the course toward graduation. A student who fails a first-year course must repeat the course, but both grades will be included in computing that student’s general average. Other courses may not be repeated except on petition to the associate dean. A student with a weighted cumulative average of less than 70 at the end of any year will not be permitted to continue.

After the first year, a student may take up to a total of eight units on an elected CR/69/65 basis, chosen from among courses otherwise graded in a normal manner. No more than four such units may be taken in a semester. The student must elect to take a course CR/69/65 during the first two weeks of the semester. Courses or seminars may, at the instructor’s option, be designated prior to registration as not available for CR/69/65 grading. To earn the J.D., all students (including dual degree students) must complete 35 numerically graded law units at USC after the first year. The associate dean may make exceptions to this rule for students enrolled in Law School honors programs.

Students may also take such courses regularly offered on a CR/69/65 basis, in addition to courses taken under this rule.

A student may not withdraw from a course later than two weeks after the first day of classes of any semester without permission of both the associate dean and the instructor.

Class attendance is an important part of law school education. It assists both the individual and fellow students in making the most of the educational opportunity offered. Students should, therefore, attend class regularly and participate in the discussion. Professors may require attendance and may take attendance into account in evaluating student performance.