San Joaquin College of Law

San Joaquin College of Law (SJCL) was founded in 1969 by a visionary group of San Joaquin Valley judges and attorneys who believed that capable individuals were denied a quality legal education because no accredited law school existed in the area. Their goal was to provide the opportunity for San Joaquin Valley residents to become effective legal practitioners.
The founders firmly believed that sound legal education should combine theoretical and substantive knowledge with practical skills. With the beginning of instruction in fall 1970, the School adopted the uncompromising standards essential to achieving this goal.
The Board of Trustees of San Joaquin College of Law is the institution's legally constituted policy-making body. Members are selected based on their integrity and concern for the community and their ability and desire to work unselfishly for the good of the College.
The San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review, founded in 1990, is published by the San Joaquin College of Law students, located in California's Central Valley, one of the world's richest agricultural regions. The San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review presents student and scholar works on legal issues affecting our nation's most vital industry – agriculture. The topics discussed in each volume are always of current interest to agriculture, government, business, and law.
Each year, the San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review student editorial board members gather, edit and publish articles written by legal scholars and practitioners, and comments and case notes written by students of San Joaquin College of Law. The San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review provides an objective, national forum for analyzing issues affecting agriculture.
The San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review has received judicial and critical recognition. The California Supreme Court has cited its articles, the California Appellate Court, the United States District Court, the New Mexico Court of Appeals, the Middle District of Tennessee, and the Minnesota Supreme Court. Articles have also been cited in the annotations of several California statutes.
Clinical work heightens a student's understanding of class content, enhances practical skills, and introduces the student to the "real world" of law. Students are eligible for clinical study upon the completion of the first year of law school.
Each unit of clinical study represents 72 hours of work. Up to 8 units of clinical study may be applied toward the Juris Doctor degree. A student is limited to earning four credits for hours worked in any single clinical placement absent prior approval by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or the Director of Career Services. Relevant factors in approving more than four units for a single clinical placement include a diversity of work assignments, special needs of employer for continuity on the project, limited availability of clinical opportunities in students' chosen field, and student's consideration of particular circumstances. No distinction will be made between paid and unpaid clinical work on clinical approval placements, except that the New American Legal Clinic Director may set such limitations as they deem advisable. However, all students are encouraged to participate in uncompensated work, beginning their professional obligation to engage in pro bono work.
IMPORTANT: Students must seek approval, register, and pay for clinical units, as they would any other course before beginning the work for which they plan on seeking credit. Failure to complete this process before beginning work results in a denial of credit.
The San Joaquin College of Law (SJCL) Library holds approximately 80,000 volumes and volume equivalents, including law reviews, annotated codes, appellate court reports of all jurisdictions, and complete Federal and California reporters.
The SJCL Library is a member of several state and national interlibrary loan networks. Many journals, law reviews, manuscripts, or treatises can be requested through the SJCL Library.
Also, hundreds of thousands of volumes are available through Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw. These two proprietary legal research systems, to which students have free unlimited access for educational use, are available via the Internet 24 hours a day.
Many other legal materials are also available in the library via microforms and proprietary databases, including the Making of Modern Law collection. Study carrels and two Group Study rooms for meetings are available on the second floor of the SJCL Library. The SJCL Library is available only to faculty, students, and alumni of the Law School.
Six workstations provide student access to the Internet and word-processing programs during all library hours. The SJCL Library is also wifi compatible with internet use and printing.