»The Chapman Difference

With its fresh approach to legal education and its ties to California's origin as a state, Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law's illustrious and innovative past paves the way for a limitless future.

Our Philosophy

The Fowler School of Law is a place where future lawyers prepare for life as professionals and officers of the court, providing the groundwork for a lifetime of legal service. Graduates gain a deep understanding of professionalism, serving with honor and distinction whether handling the smallest matter for a single client, or advising our country or others on upholding the rule of law.

The study of law at Fowler School of Law is collaborative, rigorous and personal. Students gain a thorough understanding of the rule of law and core legal principles, while learning key skills to transition effortlessly into the legal workplace. Our students are bound to ethical standards so they may help those who will seek their advice within the boundaries of the spirit and letter of the law, and find fulfillment through helping others.

Unlike some legal teaching methods that foster an educational environment grounded in intimidation, Chapman professors seek to challenge old paradigms and put students at the center of the educational experience, while simultaneously retaining rigorous classroom discussion. Here you will find a collaborative, personalized and rigorous legal education. With one of the best faculty-to-student ratios among ABA-approved law schools, Chapman offers smaller class sizes and greater access to faculty, both in and out of the classroom. In addition to practical skills training for all students, in both litigation and legal transactions, Chapman offers numerous clinical programs, externships and labs, as well as opportunities for students to participate on legal journals and award-winning competition teams

Our dedicated Career Services Office helps current students and alumni obtain positions of responsibility in the legal workforce. The Fowler School of Law also offers an exceptional bar preparation program, resulting in one of the highest bar passage rates in California. The school boasts more than 40 student law organizations, providing valuable networking and community building opportunities, and the school hosts a busy schedule of special events and guest speakers from a variety of legal specializations.

Chapman is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and is in the “Top Schools” category of U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings.

 

Our Campus

Located on the beautiful, 42-acre Chapman University campus, Donald P. Kennedy Hall is the home of the Fowler School of Law. The four-story law school building offers a well-appointed, contemporary and comfortable learning environment for law students, with 133,000 square feet of space for learning, collaboration, research, studying and student support.

The structure incorporates the latest technology in an architecturally stunning design. Classrooms are equipped with state-of-the-art technology for enhanced teaching and learning, capable of accommodating future needs in electronic, visual and on-site learning.

The award-winning, three-story Darling Law Library occupies one full wing of the building, providing 365 seats and ample natural lighting for studying and research, including an informal reading area filled with popular periodicals. Two courtrooms, one designed for trials and the other for appellate hearings, provide fully equipped facilities for trial advocacy exercises, moot court competitions and formal hearings by visiting courts. The school provides a spacious, contemporary student lounge with a television, kitchen, vending machines, game room and comfortable couches and tables.

Located directly across from the main Chapman University campus, law students have access to multiple cafes, a spacious fitness center, an aquatic center, lighted tennis courts, indoor basketball courts and an outdoor track. Chapman University presents many opportunities to develop interdisciplinary courses and degree programs with other schools at Chapman, including popular joint degee programs (JD/MFA, and JD/MBA) with the film school and the business school.

The university is located in the heart of charming and historic Old Towne in Orange, California. The Old Towne shopping district, located just one block from campus, has been featured in numerous film productions due to its historic architecture and mix of upscale restaurants and antique shops. Chapman University is just 15 miles east of Newport Beach, 35 miles south of Los Angeles and 90 miles north of San Diego, providing an ideal location close to all the major business, legal, and entertainment hubs of Southern California.

 

Our History

The law school opened in 1995 as Orange County's first law school on a university campus. The school gained provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1998 and received full ABA accreditation in 2002. In 2013, a generous $55 million gift by Dale and Ann Fowler renamed the school to the Dale E. Fowler School of Law.

The law school site was once part of the fabled Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, a huge tract granted by the Spanish crown in 1810. A prominent Los Angeles lawyer, Alfred Beck Chapman and his law partner, Andrew Glassell, acquired a large portion of the ranch in 1868 and laid out the town, which today is called Orange.

In 1872, Mr. Chapman donated the land on which the new law building is located to the town. The law building is located just two blocks from "the circle" in the heart of Historic Old Towne Orange. The circle has been featured in a number of movie productions because of its quaint array of restaurants and shops, many of which trade in antiques. On June 1, 1999, the School of Law occupied the new $30 million law school complex on Chapman University's main campus in Orange.

In 1999, the law school building was officially named Donald P. Kennedy Hall, honoring Mr. Donald Kennedy, a Chapman trustee and benefactor who was a longtime chairman of the board of First American Financial Corporation. Kennedy, who passed away in 2012, served First American for more than 60 years, overseeing its dramatic expansion from a single office in Santa Ana, California to a Fortune 500 company with hundreds of offices around the world. The principal Kennedy Hall building at Chapman University rises four stories and provides 133,000 square feet of floor space, a vibrant and efficient learning environment for our students.

Classrooms and seminar rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art technology for enhanced teaching and learning, and are capable of accommodating future changes in electronic, visual and on-site learning.

The law library occupies three stories of the Kennedy Hall law school building, enhancing the research process by offering comfortable student carrels, numerous private study rooms, Wi-Fi and wireless printing technology. The award-winning library has a comprehensive set of essential print volumes as well as a wide variety of digital research databases, such as Bloomberg, Lexis, Westlaw and many more.

Two courtrooms, one designed for trials and the other for appellate hearings, provide fully equipped facilities for trial advocacy exercises, mock trial, moot court competitions and formal hearings by visiting courts.

The popular student lounge provides couches and tables, TVs, a game room with billiards and foosball tables, vending machines and microwave ovens. Chapman University offers a number of dining options, including multiple coffee venues, a smoothie shop, a sandwich counter and a grill. The university also hosts different gourmet food trucks during extended lunch hours each day of the week.

The law school is home to a diverse range of student organizations reflecting the varied interests of our student body. The school also provides a quiet reflection room and a private room for new parents who are nursing.

A 720-car parking structure adjacent to the law building provides ample parking for students, faculty, and staff, and includes battery chargers for electric cars. 

The distinctive historical facade of an earlier building, modeled after the eleventh century Romanesque Basilica del Santi Vitale e Agricola in Bologna, Italy, is preserved within the walls of Kennedy Hall. Thus, the building links the important heritage of the past with the exciting educational environment of the future.