Lincoln Law School of San Jose is a private, non-profit law school in San Jose, California. It is an independent institution, formerly a part of Lincoln University.
The school traces its roots to 1919 when Dr. Benjamin Lickey and his wife Susan Lickey founded a law study program in San Francisco as a way to provide veterans and working-class students a part-time night school for law studies.
The school also has been instrumental in increasing the diversity of the legal profession in California; 1932 graduate Kenneth Fung was the first Chinese American to be admitted to the practice of law in the state.
The school was incorporated in 1926 as a part of Lincoln University and located in San Francisco, becoming a non-profit institution in 1949. In 1961, a second law school campus was opened in San Jose, graduating its first class in 1965. By 1987, Lincoln University's entire law school program was concentrated in San Jose. In 1993, the San Jose campus formally separated from Lincoln University becoming an independent, public benefit, non-profit corporation, changing its name to Lincoln Law School of San Jose. The school moved to downtown San Jose in 1999. In 2000, the 25-year-old Peninsula University School of Law merged into Lincoln Law School.
Academics
Lincoln is exclusively an evening-study program that lasts 4 or 4.5 years, depending upon the starting date of the student. 84 units of study are required for graduation with each unit equal to 15 hours of in-class instruction. Students usually attend classes 3 or 4 nights a week, with a few options for elective or seminar classes scheduled during the daytime on Saturdays.
Accreditation
The law school's non-profit mission is "to provide a superior legal education to its students culminating in the conferral of the Juris Doctor Degree and certification to sit for the California Bar Examination" and focuses on non-traditional law school students.
The school has been accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California since 1993, but due to its mission as an evening-only law school, Lincoln is not eligible to apply for accreditation by the American Bar Association.
Law Review
Lincoln has published a student-produced law review since 1965.
Notable alumni
Lincoln alumni include attorneys, judges, government officials, politicians.
- Alfred Chiantelli, judge
- David D. Cortese, politician
- Linda J. LeZotte, politician
- Tam Nguyen, politician, San Jose City Councilmember
Notable faculty
- Judge James S. Ware, Civil Procedure
Notes
External links
- Official website Lincoln Law School of San Jose
