Congratulations!
SOUTHW ES T
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Top School for Entertainment Law 2025 -The Hollywood Reporter
Top School for Online Offerings 2025 -preLaw
SCHOO L•
L GELES AN OS
AW L N R E
U N D E D 1911
Innovation Leader Law School 2025-26 -preLaw
Most Diverse Law Schools 2025 -preLaw
Best Schools for Practical Training 2025 -preLaw
Top School for Women in Leadership 2025 -preLaw
Message from the President & Dean
Welcome to Southwestern Law School and the legal profession! For 115 years, Southwestern has cultivated passionate, creative, client-focused attorneys and leaders. We chose you because we know you can continue this remarkable tradition of excellence. You are now a member of the legal profession, where reputation matters. While it can take years to build a positive reputation, you can damage or lose it in seconds. Start building that positive professional reputation now by practicing excellence every day. You can do that by following a few simple guidelines: Work hard. Treat everyone with respect. Read closely. Listen carefully. Be accountable. Learn from your mistakes. Help each other. Promote civility. Be honest. Keep your word.
You’ll have help and support at every step. Southwestern’s entire community is invested in your success. Our talented and passionate faculty, knowledgeable and devoted staff, and your student colleagues will collectively guide you through law school, the bar exam, and beyond. I also look forward to working with you during your personal and professional journey. Let’s get started! Best always,
Darby Dickerson President & Dean
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Phase One Get Organized
Read your admissions offer and Welcome Folder carefully.
The offer letter contains important information such as deadlines, start dates, and
more. Review it carefully, and add the dates to your calendar. The additional documents and Welcome Folder include your Southwestern ID number, login credentials for essential resources, and a review of your contact information—please update us if it has changed. You’ll also find a handy checklist of next steps at the back!
Review your finances and secure any additional financial aid you will need to support your studies during the coming academic year.
Our Financial Aid Office is happy to assist you with questions and can be reached
at finaid@swlaw.edu.
Log on!
As an admitted student, you have access to two online resources with a wealth of
information. Check these resources—and your new Southwestern email address— regularly, as new details are added frequently.
Welcome to Southwestern Canvas Page: https://swlaw.instructure.com/ Event dates, RSVP links, and recordings Information on our summer prep programs Orientation information And more!
The Portal: https://www.swlaw.edu/portal Southwestern email account Self-Service student records and information system Financial aid information (Bonus item: Add swlaw.edu to your email’s safe-sender-list. Email is our primary form of communication with admitted students, and we don’t want you to miss important messages!) 4
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Phase Two Join the Herd
Attend on-campus and virtual events.
Visit www.swlaw.edu/admissionscal for general audience
events, or RSVP for events open exclusively to admitted students through your Welcome to Southwestern Canvas page.
Submit your deposits.
Your seat deposit deadlines are included on the documents
provided in this Welcome Packet and can also be found on your Online Status Check. Calendar these dates!
Complete your registration packet.
In spring, you’ll receive access to the online registration packet.
Instructions for completing the packet will be sent by email. Once complete, you’ll have access to your course schedule for the coming academic year.
(Bonus item: Follow Southwestern on social media and the SW Law Blog for student stories and campus news.)
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The Accelerated 2-Year J.D., SCALE, is one of the best decisions I have made for my legal education. I am fortunate to have had a close relationship with my tightly-knit cohort and the support of talented faculty members who do not simply teach me the law but also how to practice. I feel that I have not only adopted an attorney’s mentality but also an attorney’s zeal and dedication.”
JULIANNA MONTANO
‘25, Accelerated 2-Year J.D. Program President, Students for Technology Law and Entrepreneurship (pictured right)
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A National Jurist Law Student of the Year
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Phase Three Start Bison Strong
Submit your final, official transcripts.
Your Online Status Check will indicate whether these are already on file. If they are not, submit them by
August 1.
Register for and attend Bison Boot Camp (free) and/or the Summer Introduction to Legal Writing.
Information and registration links for Southwestern’s summer preparatory programs can be found on your
Welcome to Southwestern Canvas page.
Attend Mandatory Orientation.
Refer to your admissions offer letter for start dates. These indicate when your mandatory Orientation
program will take place. Add Orientation to your calendar and plan your summer accordingly.
Additional Steps to Take Apply for Housing.
Visit www.swlaw.edu/housing if you would like to apply to live at the Residences at 7th, Southwestern’s
on-campus student apartment building.
Secure Financial Aid.
All entering students must complete the Incoming-Student Questionnaire, which is sent via email
shortly after admission. If you plan to use federal student loans, please ensure that you have also completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA, available at studentaid.gov) and elected to share the data with Southwestern Law School. When you have completed these steps, our Financial Aid Office will prepare your Offer Letter and send instructions on next steps to your Southwestern email address. Carefully consider your offer letter, compare it against Southwestern’s cost of attendance found at www.swlaw.edu/coa, and determine whether you need to secure additional funding from other sources, such as bank loans, outside scholarships, etc., to meet your financial needs for the upcoming school year. If so, begin this process now so you can ensure a smooth start when your program begins.
Connect with Accessibility Services.
Southwestern is committed to supporting students in their academic endeavors. Contact Accessibility
Services as soon as possible at 213.738.6888 or accessibility@swlaw.edu to discuss any accommodations you may need.
To-Do Checklist for admitted students: Read the contents of this packet Secure financial aid (if applicable) Submit your deposits (see deadlines in the front pocket) Complete your registration packet (info to be sent in Spring) Submit official transcripts by August 1 (if not already on file) Apply for housing (if applicable) Connect with Accessibility Services (if applicable)
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Why Southwestern? Southwestern Graduates Lawyers Built for Practice
A Community of Support, Not Competition
A Mission of Accesss
Southwestern makes professional readiness a built-in cornerstone of every J.D. path. Whether on campus or fully online, full-time, part-time, or accelerated, you move through a curriculum designed for real legal practice—bar-tested, skills-driven, and recognized nationally for hands-on training.
You’ll be part of a community that believes in personal connection and practical support.
Southwestern was founded on the belief that legal education should be accessible to students from every background. That commitment continues today through:
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You’ll take foundational courses in writing, advocacy, and analysis during your first semester. You’ll move quickly into handson learning through simulation courses, clinics, and externships. With one of the largest and most integrated externship programs in the country, you can earn credit while working in courts, firms, publicinterest organizations, and agencies across Los Angeles.
By the time you graduate, you’ll have experience that strengthens your bar performance and career readiness.
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Faculty are accessible and invested in your success. You’ll find them available during office hours, mentoring sessions, and campus events. Dean’s Fellows and Peer Mentors help you adjust to law school life and academic expectations. Law librarians provide oneon-one guidance with research and writing, on campus and online. Student Services and Career Services staff are here to advise you on academic planning, bar preparation, and employment strategy. And if you ever need personal support, BisonCares, Southwestern’s 24/7 counseling line, is always available.
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Merit-based scholarships and financial aid designed to make law school achievable. Six fully accredited J.D. programs built to expand who can study law and how they can do it. Southwestern offers one of the most comprehensive and intentionally designed structures in American legal education A campus rooted in Los Angeles, giving you direct access to one of the largest and most diverse legal markets in the country.
Here, you’re surrounded by people who want you to succeed, and who help you do it.
Alumni Who Make An Impact When you join Southwestern, you become part of a community with a long tradition of impact. Our alumni include leaders like Tom Bradley ’56, Los Angeles’s first Black mayor; Shawn Holley ’88 and Camille Vasquez ’10, prominent entertainment and trial attorneys; and Brian Panish ’84, one of the nation’s top civil litigators. Across public interest, government, business, and private practice, Southwestern alumni open doors, mentor new graduates, and demonstrate what a purpose-driven legal education can achieve.
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Contact Information Academic Success and Bar Preparation 213.738.6813 / academicsuccess@swlaw.edu
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 213.738.6874 / dei@swlaw.edu
Online J.D. Program 213.738.6868 / onlinejd@swlaw.edu
Accessibility Services 213.738.6888 / accessibility@swlaw.edu
Externship Program 213.738.6802 / externoffice@swlaw.edu
Registrar’s Office 213.738.6734 / registrar@swlaw.edu
Administrative Services, Parking, Security 213.738.6800 / administrativeservices@swlaw.edu
Finance 213.738.6818 / accounting@swlaw.edu
SCALE Program 213.738.6690 / scale@swlaw.edu
Admissions 213.738.6834 / admissions@swlaw.edu
Financial Aid 213.738.6719 / finaid@swlaw.edu
Student Affairs 213.738.6716 / studentaffairs@swlaw.edu
Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute 213.738.6602 / institute@swlaw.edu
Information Technology 213.738.6762 / ithelp@swlaw.edu
Student Services 213.738.6871 / studentservices@swlaw.edu
Bookstore 213.738.6736 / bookstore@swlaw.edu
Institutional Advancement/Alumni Relations 213.738.6814 / advancement@swlaw.edu
Information Technology 213.738.6762 / ithelp@swlaw.edu
Career Services 213.738.6794 / careerservices@swlaw.edu
Legal Clinic 213.738.5710 / legalclinic@swlaw.edu
For a complete list of contacts by department, visit www.swlaw.edu/contact.
3050 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90010
213.738.6834
admissions@swlaw.edu
www.swlaw.edu
Southwestern Law School prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of race (including hairstyle and hair texture), ethnicity, color, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, Southwestern Law School prohibits discrimination and harassment based on an individual’s race (including hairstyle and hair texture), ethnicity, color, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, reproductive health decisionmaking, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), sex stereotyping (including assumptions about a person’s appearance or behavior, gender roles, gender expression, or gender identity), sexual orientation, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, marital status, age (40 and over), disability (mental and physical), medical condition, citizenship status, military status or service, veteran status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by law in matters parental status, marital status, age, disability (mental or physical), medical condition, citizenship status, military status or service, veteran status, genetic information, any other classification protected by federal or California law, or any combination of any status protected by law in matters of admissions, employment, housing, or services, or in the educational programs (including retention of students) or activities Southwestern of admissions, employment, housing, or services, or in the educational programs (including retention of students) or activities Southwestern operates. Please direct all inquiries regarding Southwestern’s nondiscrimination policies to: General Counsel, 3050 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010, (213) 738–6626. operates. Please direct all inquiries regarding Southwestern’s nondiscrimination policies to: General Counsel, 3050 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010; (213) 738–6626.
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Share Your Acceptance & Tag Us! #FutureBison instagram.com/southwesternlawschool in swlaw.edu/linkedin facebook.com/southwesternlawschool youtube.com/southwesternlaw
As a first-generation Latina daughter of immigrants, my parents’ sacrifices were in every tuition bill. The Wildman/ Schumacher Scholarship turned possibility into reality: Southwestern invested in my story and freed me to serve immigrant communities without the fear of crushing debt.”
CINDY BERGANZA
‘25, Accelerated 2-Year J.D. Program Clinical Legal Education Association Awardee & Dean’s Leadership Academy