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Deans | Administrative Services | Admissions and Records | Alumni and Boards | Career Services Center | Faculty Secretaries | Financial Assistance | Student Accounts | Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution | Clinical Education Offices | Law Library | Overseas Programs | The Geoffrey H. Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and The Law | Herbert & Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics
The dean has responsibility for advancing the overall mission of the School of Law. Some areas of specific responsibility include representing the School of Law within the University community and to external audiences, enhancing the quality and reputation of the law school, strategic fundraising, overseeing the budget and accreditation matters, recruiting distinguished visiting professors, and securing speakers for special events such as Commencement and the Annual Law School Dinner.
Dean Tacha's Staff
The vice dean works closely with the dean on the overall operation of the School of Law and, among other matters, has primary responsibility for short- and long-term strategic planning.
The associate dean for academics has primary responsibility for academic affairs. This includes, among other things, student academic counseling, class scheduling, recruitment of adjunct professors, and development of the law school's academic programs.
The primary responsibility of the associate dean for student life is working to enhance all aspects of student life on campus, including academic, social, and spiritual life. The associate dean works closely with the admissions, financial aid and career development offices, and with the various student organizations and activities on campus.
Deans' Support Staff
The Fiscal and Administrative Services' areas of responsibility include preparation and monitoring of the law school budget, personnel, security, management of purchasing and business services, overseeing the physical plant maintenance, and administrative computer systems management.
The Admissions Office provides information for prospective students, counsels applicants involved in the admissions process, reviews applicant files for admission decisions, and participates in the student recruitment process. Law school tours and class visitations for prospective students are also coordinated and administered by the admissions staff. Viewbooks and general information packets can be obtained in this office.
The Student Information and Services Office is responsible for student registration, grades, transcripts, class ranks, requests for loan deferments, bar certification and information, and degree requirement checks for graduating students.
The Alumni Affairs Office is responsible for initiating, maintaining, and developing communication with the School of Law alumni in order to build a foundation for relationships that will facilitate advancement opportunities.
Furthermore, the Alumni Advancement officers help to develop and maintain the vitally important fundraising opportunities that are necessary to promote the current events occurring at the School of Law and its future growth and expansion as it continues to become one of the most prestigious and respected law schools in the country. Through this office, ongoing contact with alumni is obtained by hosting monthly receptions in various nationwide locations, making personal visits and phone calls to local alumni, serving on the Board of Visitors, Alumni Leadership Council and participating in the creation, planning and execution of alumni giving activities.
The Alumni Office also works closely with current students on various activities such as, the Annual School of Law Golf Tournament, the School of Law Dinner, Third-Year Challenge, California Bar Admissions Ceremony, and various philanthropic events throughout the school year.
The mission of the Career Development Office (CDO) is to provide every Pepperdine law student and alumnus with the highest level of comprehensive and individualized career services through proactive placement assistance, career counseling, professional development programs, effective marketing to employers, and productive relationships with the entire School of Law community.
Through one-on-one counseling, panel presentations, speaker programs, workshops, job postings and the facilitation of networking efforts between students, alumni, and employers, the CDO assists students and alumni in understanding the legal profession, establishing career and professional goals, and developing effective job search strategies.
Career Development Office Staff
The Financial Assistance Office is a professional, two person team dedicated to providing financial aid resources to students. The financial aid staff is here to help students seek, obtain, and make the best use of the financial aid resources available to them. We provide an ethical operation of administering financial aid, and maintain integrity as stewards of the federal financial aid programs. Our guidelines will model the Federal Student Aid Handbook, and staff members are kept abreast of current regulations, policies and procedures.
The Office of Financial Assistance will coordinate the administration of student financial assistance awarded to ensure equity and consistency in the delivery of financial aid funds. We follow the standard formula of federal methodology in awarding campus based aid, and federal student loans.
Throughout the academic school year we provide training sessions such as debt management, budgeting, and exit counseling. We encourage students to take advantage of this valuable information. For other important information such as the financial aid application process and our awarding deadlines, visit our website at law.pepperdine.edu.
The Office of Financial Assistance is student-centered, and our goal is to make your financial aid experience a positive one.
The Office of Student Accounts is located within the Financial Aid Office at the School of Law. Student Accounts is open from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Questions regarding payment to student's accounts and student refund checks are handled by the Student Accounts Office. If you have questions or concerns please contact Nancy Eisenberg in person, by phone at (310) 506-4981, or email nancy.eisenberg@pepperdine.edu.
The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution is located on the first floor of the Odell McConnell Law Center. The Institute provides theoretical study and practical training in alternative methods of dispute resolution. Specific information on the certificate, master's, or LLM degree programs offered by the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution may be obtained by calling extension 4655.
Laurie Serafino - Director and Assistant Professor of Law
The Clinical Education Office provides students with an opportunity to obtain legal experience as well as credit towards a law degree through voluntary employment as a legal or judicial extern. Opportunities are also available through the Special Education, Union Rescue Mission, Family Law, Investor Advocacy, and the Asylum Clinics. Law students are eligible for the Clinical Education positions after they have completed their first year of law school. You may contact the Clinical Education Office by calling extension 7449 or visiting law.pepperdine.edu/clinical-education.
The law library is the indispensable center of the research and learning process of the law school environment. It is the desire of every member of the library staff to encourage and maximize each student's use of the collection. As a research source, the library contains over 400,000 volumes of primary and secondary materials, and multiple access points to LexisNexis, Westlaw, and other electronic resources.
James M. McGoldrick - Director, International Programs and Professor of Law
The School of Law operates a program in London during the summer session and the fall semester to provide students with the opportunity to study law in an international setting. The curriculum is a mixture of American law courses and international law courses together with international moots and clinical placements. The program is conducted in the university-owned Pepperdine London Centre in South Kensington, which is shared with the undergraduate students. The London Centre contains a library, administrative offices, classrooms, a computer center, and a student lounge. In the summer, housing is provided for law students. For the fall, students find their own housing, although considerable assistance in locating housing is provided by the London Centre staff. Students enrolled in a ABA accredited law school may attend the London program and may stay for a maximum of two terms. The maximum number of units which may be earned is 29.
University of Copenhagen: In 2003 Pepperdine University School of Law and the University of Copenhagen reached an agreement to exchange two students each fall and spring semester. In this program, Pepperdine students are officially enrolled at Pepperdine and pay normal tuition to Pepperdine, but they will take their classes in Copenhagen at the University. The classes are in English but taught by Danish Professors. Courses in International Law and Danish Law will be offered. Credits are transferred as pass/fail credits. Housing for Pepperdine students at the University of Copenhagen is available but not guaranteed. Arrangements for housing in Denmark must be made directly with the University of Copenhagen.
University of Augsburg: The exchange program with the University of Augsburg, Germany takes place in the summer. Courses are offered in German and European Law, and some of the courses emphasize economic law. The lectures are in English. Pepperdine students are officially enrolled at Pepperdine. Tuition is paid to Pepperdine and the credits granted are transferred as pass/fail credits. Housing is available at the University of Augsburg on a limited basis. Arrangements for housing in Augsburg must be made directly with the University of Augsburg.
Students who are interested in these programs should inquire at the International Programs Office by telephone (310) 506-7597 or e-mail: London@law.pepperdine.edu.
The director of the overseas programs is responsible for faculty development and selection, course offerings, and general supervision of the program.
Information sessions on the London program are held each spring. Additional information may be obtained from Professor McGoldrick.
The purpose of the Geoffrey H. Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law is to equip law students to leverage their law degree in the field of entrepreneurship. Unique in the nation, the Palmer Center achieves this goal through an integrated program focused on three main components: academic course work, industry specific internships, and professional networking and mentoring. Upon completion of this 16-unit, two-year program, graduates earn a Certificate in Law and Entrepreneurship. This certification distinguishes Palmer Center Fellows to potential employers as uniquely educated, experienced, focused, and driven in their chosen field of law. Built on the ideals of innovation, leadership, ethics and social responsibility, the Palmer Center embodies Pepperdine University's commitment to strengthening lives for purpose, service and leadership.
Religious views of law vary greatly, with some people celebrating law, some condemning it, some speaking prophetically to it, and others just wanting law to leave them alone. Legal views of religion vary greatly as well, with some people welcoming religious views to the public square and others wishing to exclude them.
Recognizing the great value in an exploration of an understanding of law and religion, we seek to draw from a broad range of religious and legal voices on the relationship between law and religion. While affirming Pepperdine University's Christian identity, the Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics (Nootbaar Institute) attempts to draw from the diverse range of religious voices represented by our faculty and student body, seeking dialogue and common ground among faith traditions.
The Nootbaar Institute holds conferences addressing the broad range of issues at the intersection of law, religion, and ethics. These issues include morality and the practice of law, bio-ethical legal issues, constitutional religious issues, clergy sexual abuse, religious lobbying, litigation within religious organizations before ecclesiastical courts, international human rights, tax exempt organizations, politics and the pulpit, government funding for faith-based services, law and poverty, and family law.
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