About Western State

About Western State

Founded in 1966, Western State College of Law is the oldest law school in Orange County, Southern California, and is a fully ABA approved for-profit, private law school.

Noted for small classes and personal attention from an accessible faculty focused on student success, Western State maintains bar pass rates consistently in the top half of California’s ABA law schools.

Western State’s 12,000+ alumni are well represented across public and private sector legal practice areas, including 150 California judges and about 15% of Orange County’s Deputy Public Defenders and District Attorneys.

Exposure to real world legal settings, practical experience, and invaluable contacts with alumni practitioners—all will assist you in the transition to the job market and throughout your professional career.

WHAT DISTINGUISHES WESTERN STATE?

A Close-knit Family Environment from Admission to Graduation

Western State’s culture engenders a supportive environment among students, faculty, and staff. 

Professors’ open door policy provides real accessibility.

Preparation for Incoming 1Ls

Jacqueline Salazar(’13), Daren Gottlieb (’13), and Kurtis Urien (’13)

Preparation for the Bar Exam

In addition to the required Bar tested courses, Western State offers an innovative and rigorous program of study that maps out the doctrine that students need to know to pass one of the hardest exams in the country: the California Bar Exam.

Basic Bar Studies was designed to complement and reinforce the Bar Prep course materials. Students complete more than 20 essays that have previously been administered by the CA State Bar in addition to creating outlines and study tools needed for the exam.

Practical Experience in the Classroom

The Western State tradition of bringing practical experience into the classroom is at the heart of our students’ success. In many classes, students don’t just learn the law from the books, they also learn how it applies in real life.

Certificates in Business Law, Criminal Law, Family Practice, Immigration Law and Real Estate Practice; all provide certified practical experience. Many of our faculty bring their backgrounds as practicing attorneys to the classroom. Through skills simulations, real world cases and documents, and guest speakers, they teach students the real-life version of the law in addition to the theory and doctrine.

PART TIME PROGRAM

At Western State College of Law, we have been providing a high-quality legal education to working professionals for over four decades through our part-time evening program.

The Part-Time Evening program, with Fall and Spring starts, is designed to be completed in four years. At Western State, Part-Time students follow the same Program of Study and learn from the same highly qualified full-time faculty as day students. They typically enroll in 9-10 units during the fall and spring semesters and 5 units for the summer term. In addition to the required courses, a significant majority of upper-division electives are held during the evening or weekend hours, enabling part-time students to have access to the wide range of instruction offered by experienced practitioners. At Western State, evening students are full members of the law school community, with opportunities to participate in law review, moot court, student organizations, clinic and externships. Speakers, panels, and other enrichment programming are most often held at times when working students are likely to be available, while Professors also schedule office hours for the convenience of their evening students.