Monterey College of Law

Monterey College of Law (MCL) is a private, non-profit law school founded in 1972 in Monterey, California. It provides part-time evening J.D. and Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) degrees.[3] The school is accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners[4] of the State Bar of California. The school is not an American Bar Association accredited law school.[5] J.D. graduates of the Monterey College of Law are eligible to sit for the California Bar Exam, and upon passing, be licensed to practice law in California, but are not generally eligible to take the bar exam or practice outside of California.

Monterey College of Law
Established1972
School typePrivate Law School
DeanMitchel L. Winick
LocationSeaside, CA, US
36°35′48″N 121°53′29″W
Enrollment140
Bar pass rate35% (Feb. 2018 first-time takers);[1] 23% (July 2018 repeat takers) [2]
WebsiteMonterey College of Law

History

Monterey College of Law was founded in 1972 to serve the communities of the California central coast. In August 2005, the College of Law moved into its home within the higher-education enclave being developed on the former Fort Ord Army base,[6] joining California State University, Monterey Bay, Hartnell College and the Monterey Peninsula College. The school opened its second building, a Certified LEED Platinum Community Justice Center,[7] in April 2010.

In 2010, the law school opened a first-year satellite campus in Santa Cruz, California.[8] After successfully completing the first-year curriculum, Santa Cruz students commute to the main campus in Seaside, California to complete their degree programs. In early 2015, Monterey College of Law acquired the University of San Luis Obispo School of Law, a registered unaccredited law school formerly located in Morro Bay, California. The new law school became an accredited branch of Monterey College of Law, was moved to a new campus in downtown San Luis Obispo, and renamed the San Luis Obispo College of Law.[9] In 2017, the law school opened its second accredited branch campus, Kern County College of Law in Bakersfield, California.[10]

Academic Leadership

Mitchel L. Winick has served as the full-time dean of the law school since August 2005.[11] He previously served as the Assistant Dean at Texas Tech University School of Law. Winick received his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and B.A. (with emphasis in economics and political science) from the University of the Pacific.

Bar Passage

Of the 17 Monterey College of Law graduates who took the California Bar Exam for the first time in February 2018, six passed, for a 35% pass rate, compared to a 39% pass rate for all February 2018 first-time takers.[12] There were no MCL first time takers in the July 2018 California Bar Exam; however, there were 22 repeat exam takers, for which five passed, for a 23% pass rate.[13] Faced with low passage rates, Dean Winick and other deans have fought to lower the passing cut score of the California Bar Exam.[14]

References
  1. http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/0/FEB2018_CBX_Statistics.pdf
  2. http://www.calbar.ca.gov/About-Us/News-Events/News-Releases/state-bar-releases-july-2018-bar-exam-results
  3. "General Information - Monterey College of Law | Quality Legal Education". Monterey College of Law. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  4. "Law Schools". The State Bar of California. 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  5. "ABA-Approved Law Schools by Year". ABA website. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  6. "An Evolution of BRAC Remedial Programs." Volume 1 No. 1. Fort Ord Reuse Authority. http://www.fora.org/Reports/ESCA_Vol_1_Issue_1%28final%29.pdf Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed July 17, 2010.
  7. Kera Abraham (2010). "Monterey College of Law presents its ultra-green Community Justice Center". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  8. "Monterey law school to open satellite campus in Santa Cruz". Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  9. Nick Wilson (2015). "SLO law school gets new owner". San Luis Obispo Tribune. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  10. hpierce@bakersfield.com, HAROLD PIERCE. "New Kern County law school offers local 'nontraditional' students a path to a legal career". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  11. "Executive Profile - Mitchel L. Winick". Bloomberg.
  12. "GENERAL STATISTICS REPORT - FEBRUARY 2018 CALIFORNIA BAR EXAMINATION" (PDF).
  13. "State Bar Releases July 2018 Bar Exam Results". The State Bar of California. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  14. "Monterey law school leads fight to lower bar exam's minimum passing score". Monterey Herald. 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.