Could There One Day Be A San Jose State University Law School? State Senator Cortese’s SB 550 Could Make It Happen
SACRAMENTO – In a victory for working people wanting to change careers or better themselves by going to law school, Senator Dave Cortese’s SB 550 authorizing the incorporation of San Jose State University as the first public law school in the California State University system today passed the Senate Education Committee.
SB 550 now goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 29.
“For too long, San Jose – the largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest City in the State – has been without a public law school. SB 550 opens the door to a law school in San Jose that is affordable, community-based, and designed for the next generation of public interest leaders and first-generation students,” said Senator Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley). “Cost and geographic barriers drive talent away from public service careers and prevents first-generation and underrepresented students from entering the legal profession. We must lower these barriers to entry and create a public legal education option where it’s needed most.”
California is facing a crisis in affordable legal education. Law school remains out of reach for many due to cost, limited public options, and geographic disparities. Santa Clara County is home to nearly 2 million residents, but has no public law school. In a region where over 65% of the population identifies as Asian or Latino, both groups remain severely underrepresented among licensed attorneys statewide.
“According to Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit that connects public service lawyers with jobs, many prospective lawyers are discouraged from entering public service legal jobs due to the comparatively low compensation, and thus inability to pay back the cost of their legal education,” said Magnus Herrlin, President of the San Jose State University Pre-Law Society. “The creation of a law school at SJSU will help alleviate this burden by offering an affordable, quality legal education.”
Lincoln Law School of San José, the only nonprofit state-accredited law school in San José, supports SB 550 and has expressed interest in merging with San José State University to help establish California’s first public law school in the CSU system as well as the first public law school in San José.
William D. Long, Chair of the Lincoln Law School Board of Trustees, said the following, “As the oldest independent, state-accredited nonprofit law school in the state of California, we have a strong interest in seeing the legislation proposed by SB 550 approved. Lincoln Law School is located only a few blocks from the San Jose State University campus. Also, there is a history of full-time San Jose State University professors serving as part-time professors at Lincoln.”
The average law school debt now exceeds $130,000, and 67% of young lawyers report financial stress—deterring many from pursuing legal careers in public service.
SB 550 helps close these gaps, by enabling the development of an affordable public law school to serve the heart of Silicon Valley and diversify California’s legal pipeline.
“An incredible opportunity to provide a legal education and a pathway to the profession for many people,” said George Leal, Retired Law School Dean and Retired Staff Member of the State Bar Office.
Senator Cortese said SB 550 will be amended in the Senate Judiciary Committee including:
- Requiring five years of accreditation for any merging law school to ensure academic stability.
- Clarifying that CSU is not precluded from pursuing ABA accreditation for the law school in the future.
- And confirming that the CSU Board of Trustees must approve any potential incorporation.
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