Southern California Institute of Law

Coordinates: 34°16′01″N 119°12′47″W / 34.26694°N 119.21306°W / 34.26694; -119.21306

Southern California Institute of Law (SCIL) is a private law school located in Ventura, California.^[5] The Law School was established in 1986 and operated as a fixed facility law school,^[6] accredited by the State Bar of California for twenty-five years, with campuses in both Ventura and Santa Barbara, California, until June 1, 2020.^[7]

The Law School now operates as a distance learning law school.^[8]

History[]

Southern California Institute of Law was founded in 1986.^[9] The institute was established as a fixed-facility part-time evening only law school which catered to working adults.^[10]

The Law School is Distance Learning Law School with an evening Juris Doctor Degree Program.^[11]

Accreditation and authority[]

SCIL is currently approved to grant the Juris Doctor Degree by the California State Bar Committee of Bar Examiners as a Distance Learning Law School.^[12]

The Southern California Institute of Law had been a fixed-facility Law School that was accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California to grant the Juris Doctor Degree until June 1, 2020.^[13]

The Law School, like other State-accredited and Regionally-accredited law schools located in California, is not approved by the American Bar Association, so its graduates are not automatically qualified to take the bar exam or practice law outside of California.^[14]

Lawsuits[]

The Southern California Institute of Law sued the State Bar over a requirement that California Accredited Law Schools must maintain a 40% percent bar passage rate over a rolling five-year period, arguing that the State Bar had violated the Law School's First Amendment rights, that the 40% benchmark was arbitrary and capricious, and that it violated the state's separation of powers. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice. The court ruled that the State Bar had exercised its rulemaking authority under the inherent authority of the Supreme Court over law school accreditation. The court ruled that the State Bar does not function as an executive agency of the legislature, whereby it would be subject to the substantial evidence rule of the California Administrative Procedure Act. Rather, the court held that the rational basis test applied.^[15] SCIL filed an appeal in the 9th Circuit Court, which affirmed the original US District court's decision.^[16] SCIL later filed an action in state court, which was dismissed on grounds of issue preclusion and was later affirmed by a state appeals court.^[17]

Tuition[]

The current annual tuition for new enrollees is $2,100.^[18]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Southern California Institute of Law Alumni Association^[1]