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Mission
Lincoln's goal 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. The Law School has an over 88 year
tradition of seeking a student body as diverse as the population
of the state and providing an opportunity to individuals
who are academically qualified for the study and practice of law.
History
of the School
Lincoln Law School of San Jose traces its origins to the
early 1900's when Dr. Benjamin and Susan Lickey founded
a law school in San Francisco aimed at helping veterans
and other adults acquire law degrees through an evening
part time course of study. The Law School was one of San
Francisco's first evening adult education programs. Within
a few years, additional subjects were added in other academic
areas and the Law School became part of a larger university
curriculum. In 1926, the new institution, Lincoln University,
was chartered as a private, non-sectarian college and in
1949, it was incorporated as a non-profit institution.
In 1961, under
the leadership of E. Barbara Jorss and Jerome Sack, a second
law school campus was opened in San Jose, graduating its
first class in 1965. The San Jose campus quickly developed
a reputation as a center of innovative legal training and
legal discourse. During the early 70's, Lincoln broke new
ground by producing a ten-part cable television series featuring
panel discussions by local attorneys and judges which addressed
legal issues of concern to the San Francisco and San Jose
communities.
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. In the same year, the Committee
of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California conferred
accreditation on the Law School and, in 1999 the school
relocated its campus to the heart of downtown San Jose.
In 2000, with the retirement of James Liontas, founder and
Dean of Peninsula University School of Law, Lincoln was
pleased to welcome many Peninsula students into its Law
School family.
Engineers, parents, teachers, chemists,
social workers, doctors, police officers, nurses, auto mechanics,
journalists, elected officials, college professors, paralegals
and others, have all found a home at Lincoln. Lincoln Alumni
have become Judges, governmental officials, lawyers and
successful business persons. Lincoln is proud to have graduated
leaders in the Bay Area legal community, such as Kenneth
Fung ('32), the first Chinese-American to be admitted to
practice law in California; Presidential Fellow, Chris Moore,
of the San Jose Police Department; City Council member and Vice Mayor,
Dave Cortese and former City Council member,Linda J. LeZotte; Superior Court Judges
Hugh F. Mullen, Ronald Lisk, Linda Condron; Teresa Guerrero-Daley;
Workers' Compensation Judge Adoralida Padilla; and Commissioners
Harold Cole, James L. Heath and Constance Jiminez Over 18
members of the Santa Clara County Bench have either studied,
taught, or served as Trustees of the Law School.
Contributing to Lincoln's success is its outstanding faculty,
which includes Judges, public defenders, prosecutors, public
interest lawyers, and private civil and criminal practice
attorneys. Because of the small class size, there is ample
opportunity for students to interact with the faculty who
are able to provide real-world insights into the practice
of law in addition to communicating the basic principles
of law. Students have the opportunity to learn in a collegial
and supportive environment that facilitates dialogue and
debate which promotes the acquisition of the analytical
skills necessary for critical thinking and analysis of the
law necessary to the effective lawyer. Today, Lincoln continues
to prepare students to meet the challenges of legal practice
in the 21st Century. Lincoln's curriculum includes such
cutting-edge electives as Internet Law, California Special Courts, Real Estate Financing, Race and the Law, and Intellectual Property,
as well as offering training in the latest computer on-line
research methodologies.
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