In this issue of Res Ipsa, we reflect on our 90-year history of excellence. From our humble beginnings as an evening bar prep program to our position today as a leader in profession-ready education, California Western has always focused on the needs of our students and alumni. Revisit our history with us and join us as we prepare lawyers for the future.

• Cover Story: A Look Back at California Western’s Remarkable Journey
• Alumni Profiles: Nine Decades of Alumni Outcomes
• Alumni Affairs: Inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
• Get Involved: Regional Alumni Association Clubs
• Giving Back: Securing the Future of California Western & New Giving Societies
• Story: Reflecting on 10 Years of Marriage Equality

COVER STORY:
A Look Back at California Western’s Remarkable Journey
In the midst of the Roaring ‘20s, an ambitious young attorney persuaded the principal of San Diego High School to let him start an evening class on campus to help adults prepare for the bar exam.

That course created by Leland Ghent Stanford was the modest but entirely appropriate beginning of what eventually would become California Western School of Law, which over the past 90 years has evolved into one of the most respected and innovative independent law schools in the nation—and a leader in providing what Dean Niels Schaumann calls “a 21st century legal education.”
Read More »

Stories:

• Odyssey of a Law School: George N. Gafford
• Student Ingenuity, Leadership Furnish New Law School Campus
• Building the First Law Library of the 21st Century
• Lunch with the Man who Shapes Legal History
• Arise, You Have been Called to Greatness
• Witness to 30 Years of History
• Preparing Lawyers for the Future

WEB EXCLUSIVE:
Video: 90 Years in 5 Minutes
Go back in time with us as we visit the earliest days of our law school and hear students, faculty, and alumni reflect upon our continued commitment to preparing graduates for the practice of law.
Watch Now »

ALUMNI PROFILES:
Nine Decades of Alumni Outcomes
California Western graduates have made meaningful contributions to the law, to society, and to the world from our earliest days to our most recent graduating class. We celebrate nine decades’ worth of alumni success with these nine stories.
Read More »

Meet Our Alumni:

• Dewitt “Dutch” Higgs ’34
• Franklin B. Orfield ’49
• Milton “Mickey” Fredman ’50
• Sandra J. Morris ’69
• Keith M. Kaneshiro ’76
• Christopher W. Todd ’86
• Andrew Jones ’96
• Alison O. Dearden ’09
• Brittney R. Dobbins ’14

WEB EXCLUSIVE:
Video: Alfred E. Tierney ’09
Alfred E. Tierney ’09 talks about how California Western helped prepare him for a career with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.
Watch Now »

OTHER STORIES FROM THIS ISSUE:

• Congratulations to our Inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
• Get Involved: Regional Alumni Association Clubs
• Securing the Future of California Western
• New Giving Societies
• Reflecting on 10 Years of Marriage Equality