University of West Los Angeles

Quality professors who actually practice in their respective fields. Class schedules that fit your work schedule. Ample opportunities to meet with your professors outside of class for feed back. Did I mention the peer tutoring?
An AFFORDABLE legal education. The rest is up to you.
The Law is The Law no matter where you study it. The real question is: How much debt do you want to incur while doing it?

While I agree with most of what was said by my fellow reviewers, law school is really what you make of it. UWLA has got one of the best price tags for any legal education. Coming from a family that was not able to financially support me, UWLA had what I needed to be able to attend a law school that didn’t make me live at my parents house after I graduated paying off all the student loan.
PROS:
PRICE–
I talk to friends who have graduated from ABA law schools like Loyola law, southwestern and USC… all of them complain about the 120,000+ in loans they’ve had to pay off. UWLA is like just a lil over half of that. So 120k vs 70k… Now if you’re thinking about going into corporate law then maybe UWLA isn’t for you. You need to go somewhere top tier for that. But if you’re trying to get a reasonable law education for a reasonable price come here.
ADMINISTRATION–
Yeah some of the administration sucks but not all. Some actually do try and help you out, for example Daniele at the financial office and Gina. They are a blessing to have and always help me out and my fellow classmates whenever we have an issue.
FACULTY–
The professors all have their little quirks and are a bounty to the school. Many of the professors are incredibly knowledgeable of the material and are always willing to help with office hours, e-​mails, and if you get enough students some are even willing to come on the weekends for private lessons.
LIBRARY–
The library itself is very quiet, has a great view, excellent stock of books for study materials, and the librarian is very knowledgeable of any issues you might have.
They don’t freak out if you take a large study group inside.
CLASSROOMS–
Classrooms are temperature adjusted, and the walls are soundproof except when you hear people shouting excitedly next door over some issue being raised in class, some classrooms feature a recording device to record the lecture so students can hear it on the student resource website.
PARKING–
The parking in the structure is validated after 5:30pm. They validate parking. Or you can park at «hobo jungle» (as Prof calls it) across the two lane street. The homeless are harmless. There hasn’t been a sexual assault there since ’83… kidding kidding.
NON-​COMPETETIVE STUDENTS:
The students are mostly non-​competetive which is fantastic. I’ve heard stories at «other law schools» from friends where people have gotten their tires slashed on finals day, books had sections cut from it, someone hid the validation machine, silly study cliques.
At UWLA I have yet to run into any of this or at least heard of anyone running into this. I get a really big family atmosphere from coming here. I feel at ease here. Not only do I feel welcomed by the 1Ls but also by the 2, 3, and 4Ls. We are all just trying to help each other out. Yeah you have your random elitist kids trying to get that one A– in class. shunning everyone out, hogging all the study materials, but in the end, I mean come on. What’s the point? All that matters is passing the bar. The judge isn’t gonna ask you: «Excuse me, what was your grade in Community Property?» Overall, the students are genuinely nice but follow the age old motto that if I give you notes or an outline, I’m going to need something similar in return. You forget about this you’ll get blacklisted real quick.
CONS:
Real quick because I’m on short time.
–Not enough classes. They just have the core classes for the bar and a couple of electives. There should be more variety.
–Only the private loan is offered through a bank. But they’re working on it to get federal funding.
–A couple of Elitist kids. One in every class. Make sure you ignore him/​her and if he asks you for notes tell them that you forgot to take notes that day.
–Some of the administration lacks the know-​how to solve simple issues. And if you ask them they will refer you to the handbook. They’re sticklers on that. If anything ask for Gina. If she’s not busy, she’ll have the answer for you.
–While you’re interning you might get lawyers telling you that they’ve never heard of this law school. Make sure you tell em that the trial lawyer of the year came from UWLA. haha
That’s about it.
Notes about this post:
–Everything I said applied to the LAX campus of UWLA. While I have taken a class at the SFV campus, I don’t think I’ve attended enough to make a suitable review for that campus.
–I’m a 2L.
–There’s also an unspoken rivalry between LAX and SFV. Haha, it’s funny when you think about it because some LAX students think SFV are spoiled brats and some SFV students think LAX students are old farts. Not the case, but it’s funny to see both sides.
Overall I highly recommend this school if you are thinking about a low cost alternative to getting your legal education that won’t require selling your kids on the black market.
Yeah it has some kinks but what school doesn’t.
Just remember to bring snacks to class, I might get hungry and introduce myself to grab some chocolate off u

I really enjoy studying at UWLA. I am taking classes only at Chatsworth campus. The students are very diverse and there are many who work in the field. The professors in the Chatsworth campus are all amazing, although some like Prof. Zand are very tough graders. But, it only makes me study harder and I know I will pass the bar once I am done with this program because unlike students from other Non-​ABA schools, I will be well prepared.
HOWEVER, I do agree with the previously review that the lack of Federal Student loans and the horrible lender this school is working with (I mean Wells Fargo) makes it extremely difficult to afford to tuition. I have to take one to two classes at a time and hold two jobs to pay for law school, which also makes it very difficult to study too. One unit costs now $ 810.00. Registration is $ 250. An absolute RIP-​OFF fee of $ 125.00 for Deferred Payment Plan!!!
It is a real shame that after our school’s WASC accreditation was taken away. GET YOUR WASC ACCREDITATION BACK so that students can focus on ACTUAL STUDY and not worry about TUITION. Perhaps more of us will pass the bar from the first time!!!

The students and a lot of the faculty make this school! You have people like Associate Dean/​Professor Frykberg who can solve any problem, seems to know everything about all areas of law with a knack for easy explanations, and a great sense of humor! Other great teachers like Tobenkin, Barrett, Daskevich, Dezes, Zand, Cameron, Ekizian, and Feldman!
However, this school gets 2 stars for several reasons. First, the financial aid department is horrible! They have close to no options for student loans. So many students have complained of financial issues with this office. Also, the LAX campus is clearly favored over the Chatsworth campus. LAX has an excess of classrooms, two libraries, etc. even though the Chatsworth campus has more students.
Finally, the school lost the federal aid that it was receiving. I think it’s a big downfallthat they could not maintain the federal backing.