Background Information

Strategic Planning for a Successful Future

The University of La Verne College of Law has provided quality legal education in Inland Southern California since 1970. It is an established and highly regarded institution. Over 1,200 alumni are spread throughout California, most in Inland Southern California. More than 25 of its graduates are bench officers; others are found in many of the region's leading law firms, as heads of corporations and as community leaders.

Since beginning its quest for ABA provisional approval, the College of Law has significantly increased the credentials of its entering class, dramatically expanded the size of its faculty and staff, implemented sound programs to foster faculty scholarship, acquired a debt-free state-of-the-art facility in one of the most rapidly growing locations in the nation, developed a quality law library, shown noteworthy improvement in its bar examination passage rate for first-time takers, maintained its commitment to cultural diversity, strengthened its ties to the region and demonstrated sound financial management and leadership with strong University support.

In the years ahead, the College of Law will continue to take the steps necessary to expand its enrollment, improve overall student quality and increase the size of its faculty, all consistent with educational demands. The College of Law recognizes it is in a highly competitive market. It also recognizes its location in the rapidly growing Inland region strategically positions it for success. California's atypical legal education system consists of the following: 20 ABA-accredited law schools, 19 California-accredited law schools, 15 unaccredited, California-based law schools and numerous online or correspondence law schools.

University of La Verne College of Law is the only ABA-approved law school in Inland Southern California.

Learn more about the University of La Verne College of Law's Strategic Plan:

Summary of the American Bar Association Approval Process to Date
Mission and Goals
Demographics
General Statistical Information
Age Groups & Educational Opportunities
The Need for Lawyers and a Law School in Inland Southern California

Summary of the ABA Approval Process to Date

The University of La Verne College of Law complies with American Bar Association Standard 102. Under Standard 102, a law school will be "granted provisional approval if it establishes that it is in substantial compliance with each of the Standards and presents a reliable plan for bringing the law school into full compliance with the Standards within three years after receiving provisional approval."

The University of La Verne College of Law's movement to become an ABA-approved law school has been in progress for almost ten years. This process began with an institution-wide strategic planning initiative undertaken at the University of La Verne in 1995-96 and the subsequent appointment of a Commission to examine the feasibility of an ABA-approval effort. In March 1998, the full Board of Trustees accepted the Commission's recommendation that the University seek ABA provisional approval and, in January 1999, formed an Implementation Committee. The work of that committee caused the City of Ontario to reach out to the University and provide an opportunity for the College of Law to relocate to the city in late 2000.¹

Site evaluation visits by the American Bar Association took place in January 2001 and October 2005. Each visit and the College of Law's review of the resulting Action Letters from the ABA's Accreditation Committee proved to be valuable learning experiences that enabled the College of Law to advance toward its goal of ABA approval.

Among the 55 critical factors that affect ABA approval are the success rate of graduates taking the bar examination for the first time, the academic predictors of the entering class, the availability of sufficient financial resources to provide a quality academic program and a reliable plan to bring a law school into full compliance with ABA Standards, matters referenced in prior Action Letters.

For three of the most recent bar exams, College of Law graduates have outperformed a majority of the ABA-approved law schools in California. It is notable that student quality has continued to increase in spite of the disappointing setback resulting from not obtaining ABA approval in 2003. This setback served to further strengthen the resolve of the University of La Verne to be successful.

After an extensive self-study and a positive site visit in September 2005, administrative representatives from the College of Law and University of La Verne appeared before the ABA's 19-member Accreditation Committee to present the law school's credentials for accreditation.

On Jan. 23, the Accreditation Committee recommended the law school receive provisional ABA approval, and the process continued on Feb. 11 when the College of Law's representatives appeared in Chicago before the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. When the Council concurred with the Accreditation Committee's recommendation, La Verne's representatives made a final appearance before the ABA's House of Delegates on Feb. 13, when final provisional approval was granted to the 36-year old law school.

The College of Law must remain in provisional status for a minimum of two years before becoming eligible for consideration for full approval.

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Mission & Goals

The Mission of the University of La Verne College of Law is to teach its students to be effective legal professionals who use their skills and talents for the benefit of their communities, to imbue these students with pride in the legal profession and to promote diversity within the law school community, accomplished by providing full-time and part-time programs with high academic standards.

In furtherance of its Mission, the College of Law has established these goals: (1) to merit recognition as one of Southern California's leading law schools and (2) to be known as the preeminent ABA-approved law school serving the regional needs of Inland Southern California. These goals will be achieved by providing our students with a quality legal education in which they gain an understanding of the practice of law, develop dedication to the needs of individual clients and value the promotion of justice carried out with integrity and civility. A series of Tenets, developed by the faculty, provide principles that guide day-to-day life at the College of Law.²

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Demographics

Recent demographic data confirm the need for a law school in Inland Southern California and that it will be a continuing resource for law school-bound students in the future. When, in the late 1990s, the University of La Verne made the decision to seek ABA approval for its College of Law, numerous demographic studies were conducted. Those studies demonstrated the growing need for an ABA-accredited law school in the Inland region. Because of the time that has elapsed since those studies were prepared, the College of Law has compiled updated statistics. This data demonstrates the College of Law's location strategically places it in an area of rapid population growth and economic expansion, and that by offering a quality academic program that provides attorneys for the area and beyond, it fills an unmet need.

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General Statistical Information

The University of La Verne College of Law, accredited by the California Committee of Bar Examiners since 1972, is located in the city of Ontario (population 172,701) in a vast region known as Inland Southern California.³ The Inland region consists of San Bernardino County (the largest county in the United States in geographic terms -- 20,121 square miles) and Riverside County (the third largest county in California -- 7,177 square miles). Both San Bernardino County and Riverside County's have population exceeding 1.9 million. The combined population of these two counties is in excess of 4 million.⁴ These enormous and heavily populated areas are located just inland and adjacent to Southern California's coastal counties of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego and extend over 200 miles to the east to the Nevada and Arizona borders. The College of Law's Southern California location, approximately 40 miles from the dense traffic congestion of Greater Los Angeles, provides a distinct geographic advantage and is an ideal location for a law school.

As of July 1, 2004, Riverside County replaced Los Angeles County as the state's top destination for new residents, according to a U.S. Census report released on April 14, 2005. Within one year, Riverside County added 89,128 people, more than twice the population of Palm Springs. Los Angeles County was second with 77,357 new residents; San Bernardino County was third with 58,938. Riverside County had the second-largest growth rate of any county in the nation in 2004. According to the U.S. Census, the population of Inland Southern California grew 25.7%, or 666,028 new residents, between 1990 and 2000 and an additional 23.7% between 2000 and 2006. The 2006 American Community survey estimated the population in excess of 4.0 million. The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is the hub of the region, is 14th in the nation in population size. If the Inland region were a state, it would have a population greater than 24 states.⁵ Its population is projected to surpass three more states within the next year.

A March 2005 article in The New York Times cited data from the National Association of Realtors and Loan Performance that ranked Riverside/San Bernardino third in the country as a market for investment in single-family homes. The Wall Street Journal has also taken notice of the Inland area's dramatic growth. An April 2005 article touted the area's capacity for commercial real estate growth. According to the Journal article, Inland Southern California will see 10.5 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space and 2.1 million square feet of new office space in 2005. It is a region, as quoted in The Wall Street Journal, "with easy money and no shortage of sites [and an area where] developers are scrambling to build offices, warehouses, apartments and shopping centers."

In May 2005, Inc. Magazine named Inland Southern California the "Top U.S. City to Do Business" in the category of Large Cities/Places.The area surpassed cities such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego and Jacksonville to win the 2005 title. The Inc. ranking is just one in a string of top marks for the growing area. According to the investment-advising firm of Torto Wheaton Research, the Inland region is number one in the country for new construction of manufacturing/industrial facilities. Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, cities adjacent to Ontario, were identified in May of this year as the 9th and 13th fastest growing cities in the nation, respectively, for cities with populations exceeding 100,000.

The College of Law campus is what Southern Californians call "freeway close," just 1.5 miles from Interstate 10 (a major commuter freeway) and 3.5 miles from L.A.-Ontario International Airport. A few miles to the north of Interstate 10, the 210 Freeway connects with Interstate 15 and Interstate 215, providing easy access to the College of Law campus in Ontario. State Highway 60, another lengthy commuter thoroughfare, is just two miles to the south.⁶

The San Gabriel Valley, another rapidly growing area located on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County and in close proximity to the College of Law, contains an additional 1.3 million people and, like Inland Southern California, lacks an ABA-approved law school. ABA approval will enhance the College of Law's ability to recruit from and serve these regions.

The College of Law's location in Ontario places it in one of America's most inviting regions, a major asset for recruiting students and faculty. Inland Southern California is a center for those who love the outdoors. Snow, water and jet skiers use Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear Lake or Lake Elsinore. Hikers enjoy the San Gorgonio Wilderness with trails reaching 11,000 feet, the Mt. Baldy recreational area or the deserts of the Anza Borrego State Park. Rock climbers are near famed Joshua Tree National Park. Surfers, divers and beach lovers are only an hour's drive from the Pacific Ocean. Those who love four-wheeling are near hills and desert regions set aside for their use. Perris, Hemet and Lake Elsinore are national centers for sky diving and soaring. Auto racing fans have immediate access to the famed California Speedway with its major NASCAR races. Golfers will find an extraordinary number of courses throughout the region, including the beautiful resort complexes of the Palm Springs area and the wine country of Temecula. The College of Law's location also ideally positions it to recruit from the southwestern states of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, states experiencing rapid population growth. Students from these states and numerous others are already represented in the student body.

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Age Groups & Educational Opportunities

In addition to the fact that there are over five million people in the area primarily served by the College of Law, the law school age population is a major factor to consider in assessing the importance of having a law school in the region. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's, 2005 American Community Survey, statistics show an increasingly large applicant pool from which to draw. This data is provided below.

Age and Educational Level Distributions (Inland Southern California)

Age Group	San Bernardino Co.	Riverside Co.	Totals
10-14 (now 15-19)	175,726	164,324	340,050
15-19 (now 20-24)	163,183	147,545	310,728
20-24 (now 25-29)	142,428	142,263	284,691
Total	481,337	454,132	935,469
Percent of Population	25.1%	23.8%	24.4%
High School	147,464	132,900	280,364
College or Grad. School	132,209	125,249	257,458
Total	279,673	258,149	537,822
Percent of Population	14.6%	13.5%	14.0%

Because the San Gabriel Valley is a geographic region rather than county-specific, census data is not available for this area. Interpolation, comparing percentages of potential students in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, suggests an additional 288,000 individuals are in the 15-29 age group in the San Gabriel Valley.

Inland Southern California is rich in educational institutions from which the College of Law can and does recruit many of its students. There are 16 universities and four-year colleges in the region with a total enrollment of approximately 72,000 students. The combined enrollment of the three largest institutions nearest the College of Law, namely California State University, San Bernardino (15,585), University of California, Riverside (14,429) and California Polytechnic University, Pomona (19,041) is 49,055.⁷ The College of Law actively recruits students from these colleges. To place this in perspective, Orange County (the location of Chapman, Western State and Whittier law schools) has only three institutions of higher education with a combined enrollment under 15,000.

Inland Southern California's median age of 31.1 years is typical of Southern California. However, it is unusual, in the population skews younger than that of the coastal counties, particularly in the categories under age 19. These age groups are a reflection of the many young families moving to Inland cities; they strongly suggest the prevalence of college-bound students and highlight the future strength of a law school applicant pool.

According to the 2006 American Community Survey, the Inland region's population was 43% Hispanic, 7% Black, 5% Asian and 41% White (non-Hispanic). Native Americans, Pacific Islanders and Multi-ethnics comprised the rest. The College of Law's enrollment closely mirrors the ethnic diversity of the region and is consistent with one of its Tenets, which is "[D]iversity enriches the educational experience by bringing a variety of backgrounds to the classroom." The region is becoming increasingly ethnically diverse, and the University of La Verne College of Law is committed to providing opportunities for a legal education to the underserved. No law school in California has a higher percentage enrollment of Hispanics than La Verne College of Law. According to a recent U.S. News & World Report survey, the University of La Verne ranks first in the nation in the percentage of Hispanics enrolled. The U.S. Department of Education has designated the University as a Hispanic- and minority-serving institution.

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The Need for Lawyers and a Law School in Inland Southern California

A serious need exists for an increased lawyer population in the Inland counties. Until the College of Law moved to Ontario in January 2001, Inland Southern California was a legal education wasteland. The area had no accredited law school to provide services to the legal community commonly found in heavily populated and growing communities. The University of La Verne College of Law quickly became recognized as a leader by the legal profession in Inland Southern California. Its faculty established itself as active participants in the legal life of the region.

Members of the faculty are active in the San Bernardino and Riverside County bar associations, the Eastern Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Western San Bernardino County Bar Association and the Inland Empire Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Some faculty members serve as officers or on committees for these groups. Faculty members serve on panels and programs, contribute columns and opinion pieces to legal and non-legal newspapers and offer legal commentary on public radio and for other media. The College of Law hosts programs and speakers of interest to the legal community, serves as a host site for the LSAT and bar review courses, and is active in the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. The extensive financial commitment that the City of Ontario made to bring the College of Law to the downtown area and the University's response to that commitment demonstrate the effectiveness of public/private collaboration for a common good.

The College of Law faculty and the institution as a whole are reaching out to the legal community, in part by providing access to the Law Library and with invitations to programs and events at the College of Law. The responses are positive, thus paving the way for many more public service contributions. The Riverside County Federal Bar Association has "adopted" the College of Law as the law school it will support, and the Inland Empire Chapter of the Federal Bar Association provides book scholarships to two of our students each fall. The imprimatur of ABA approval will enhance the College of Law's reputation and further strengthen relationships with the legal and business communities. Establishing and building on these connections provides expanded employment opportunities for our graduates.

While the College of Law is already making its mark by working with the legal community in the area, the Inland region's 4 million residents remain underserved by the legal profession relative to all other Southern California counties. The disparity is enormous. The Inland Empire has only one lawyer for every 840 people, which contrasts dramatically with the other four Southern California counties, as depicted in the graph that follows.

Individuals Served Per Lawyer⁸

The booming economy, growing housing market and rapid population growth of the Inland area suggest strongly that the region will benefit by having local lawyers to respond to regional needs. The expanding local businesses in the area frequently must hire lawyers from other counties because of the shortage of existing local legal talent. A March 2005 article in the Los Angeles Times reports "the [Inland] region is expected to add about 36,000 jobs in 2005, with about 6,500 of them to be in professional and business service positions, such as law and financial services firms." This Times article confirms the growing need for legal services in the area. Of the College of Law's almost 1,000 alumni, an estimated two-thirds are employed in the Inland region. ABA approval will, of course, permit our graduates to take the bar examination in any state, thereby expanding the College of Law's reputation to the national level.⁹

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