2 January 1949
The Beginning
UCLA Law opens as the first public law school in Southern California. Its 54 students and six faculty members begin work in temporary structures behind Royce Hall. Tuition is $35 per semester for Californians and $150 more for non-residents.
2 January 1951
Law Building Opens
The law building is dedicated. Built for $1.6 million, it provides the “most modern facilities for the teaching and study of law, and for legal research.”
2 January 1967
A Time of Growth
Dean Richard Maxwell presides over the dedication of the law building’s new north wing, as UCLA Law reaches its planned capacity of 1,000 students and 50 faculty members.
2 January 1967
Legal Education Opportunity Program
Aiming to diversify the law school community and broader legal profession, the Legal Education Opportunity Program launches and creates a substantial increase in the number of Black, Mexican American and Native American students.
1 January 1970
Clinical Program Launches
The clinical program is established early in the tenure of Dean Murray Schwartz. It is among the first programs of its kind to incorporate into the curriculum the teaching of practical lawyering skills and the actual representation of otherwise underserved clients.
1 January 1976
UCLA Entertainment Symposium
As UCLA Law’s national reputation expands greatly under the leadership of Dean William Warren, the first annual UCLA Entertainment Symposium kicks off with a program focused on “The Legal and Related Business Aspects of Independent Film Production.”
1 January 1982
Trailblazing Leadership
The deanship of Susan Prager ’71 starts. An alumna of the law school, she is the first woman dean of UCLA Law and in the University of California system. She will serve for 16 years – the longest tenure of any UCLA Law dean.
1 January 1994
Shapiro Courtyard
The Ralph ’58 and Shirley Shapiro Courtyard is dedicated in honor of their many contributions to the law school.
1 January 2000
Law Library Renovation
At the turn of the new century, Dean Jonathan Varat oversees the dedication of the Hugh and Hazel Darling Law Library. It is among the law school’s most significant construction projects, representing the prominence of the half-century-old institution.
2 January 2000
CRS and Williams Insitute
The Critical Race Studies program launches. It is the country’s first law school-based program dedicated to critical race theory in legal scholarship. A year later, the Williams Institute opens as the first academic research institution focused on LGBT issues. More than two dozen more specialized centers of study and advocacy open in the next quarter century.
1 January 2008
Emmett Institute
Dean Michael Schill presides over the opening of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, a robust continuation of the law school’s commitment to global stewardship, which includes the 14-year-old Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic.
1 January 2015
UCLA Law Women LEAD
The UCLA Law Women LEAD network for alumnae and women in the law launches with a celebration featuring Dean Rachel Moran and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, a member of the law school’s Class of 1991.
1 January 2017
Promise Institute
A $20 million gift – the largest in the law school’s history – creates the Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA Law, enhancing the law school’s extensive human rights work. Three years later, Dean Jennifer Mnookin accepts a $15 million contribution from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria – the largest-ever gift from a tribe to a law school – to reinforce the study and practice of Native American law.
1 January 2020
Master of Legal Studies
With an eye on the future of legal education, the law school’s Master of Legal Studies program starts classes, boosting professionals who want to learn legal issues that affect their industries but do not plan to practice law. Within a few years, the program further advances the educational model by offering online and hybrid coursework options.
1 January 2023
Dean Michael Waterstone
Dean Michael Waterstone joins UCLA Law as its 10th dean. As the law school continues to emerge from several years of disruption and remote work, Waterstone – a lifelong Bruin and UCLA undergraduate alumnus – promotes a spirit of community and increased connectivity.