Thomas Jefferson School of Law

The Thomas Jefferson School of Law, commonly referred to as TJSL, is a law school in San Diego, California. TJSL offers Juris Doctor and Master of Laws degrees.

Although not generally included in national rankings, Top-Law-School.com has described TJSL as being "on the rise" within the San Diego area for its "continually increasing bar passage rate and a decreasing acceptance rate."

History

The school began in 1969 as the San Diego campus of the Western State University College of Law. In 1983 it moved and expanded its campus to the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego. The law school became independent in 1995 when it separated from Western State and then gained accreditation from the American Bar Association. In 2008, the school became a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

Administration

The dean of the law school is Rudolph Hasl; Ceremonially, the Dean of TJSL also holds positions as a professor and as the President of the school.

Faculty

Notable faculty members include:

• Professor William Slomanson, who authored the textbook on California Civil Procedure used widely throughout the state, as this subject was added to the California Bar Exam effective July 2007.
• Professor Marjorie Cohn is the president of the National Lawyers Guild and also the author of several books, including ''Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law.
• Professor Susan Tiefenbrun is an internationally renowned scholar and is the Director of Thomas Jefferson’s Center for Global Legal Studies, the director of TJSL’s Study Abroad Program in Hangzhou, China, as well as the director of the Hofstra Study Abroad Program in Nice, France, which is co-sponsored by Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
• Professor Susan Bisom-Rapp, who was recently elected to the American Law Institute, is director of Thomas Jefferson's Center for Law and Social Justice, and a widely cited expert on employment discrimination and international and comparative workplace law. Her co-authored casebook, The Global Workplace (Cambridge University Press, 2007), is the first law school text on international and comparative employment law.
• Professor Kenneth Vandevelde Is a renowned expert on international investment law and is the author of United States Investment Treaties: Policy and Practice (1992), as well as Thinking Like a Lawyer, which was published in 1996.
• Professor Kevin Greene recently was selected by peers in the San Diego Intellectual Property (IP) Bar as one of the Top Ten Intellectual Property Attorneys in San Diego, and has developed a national reputation as an IP scholar.

Degree Programs

• Juris Doctor Bar Exam Track
• LLM Master of Laws - International Trade
• LLM Master of Laws - American Legal Studies
• LLM Master of Laws - International Tax and Financial Services - Offered via the Diamond Graduate Law School LLM Online Program (An executive LL.M. program for legal and tax practitioners offered from an ABA accredited law school and taught via the latest in online "megameeting" and video conferencing software. Students accepted to the program generally have a minimum of 6 years or more experience in the field and come from all over the world. Average age for students is 38. The average size of any given class is 6 to 10 students. Specializations and expert certifications include: United States Taxation; International Tax and Corporate Financial Services; Trust/Financial Company Administration and Compliance; Anti-Money Laundering and Compliance; E-Commerce Taxation and Regulation; Wealth Management, Private Banking & Estate Planning. The program works closely with The Royal Society of Fellows, The Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners, The American Acadamey of Financial Management, IBLS, and other reputable organizations around the globe.)
• JSM Masters of The Science of Law for "non-lawyers" - Offered via the Diamond Graduate Law School LLM Online Program
• JSD Doctor of Juridical Science (* A PhD level Research Doctorate in Law) - Online Research Program that is primarily available for attorneys that are LLM graduates.

Thomas Jefferson School of Law is a private, independent nonprofit law school, fully approved by the ABA. *Note: The Online Law School Program of LLM and JSM are run and conducted by the Diamond Graduate Law School LLM Online Program which is hosted by TJSL - Thomas Jefferson School of Law and under the direction of Professor and Dean William Byrnes, IV., JD, LLM.

Notable Alumni

• Judge Lillian Lim, former California Superior Court Judge, and the first Filipina judge in the U.S.
• Bonnie Dumanis, San Diego County District Attorney
• Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), 2008 Presidential Candidate

References

External links

• Thomas Jefferson School of Law
• TJSL hosted Diamond Online LLM, JSM Website