UC Irvine Law School Opens Monday

The UC Irvine School of Law officially opens Monday, as a tuition-free inaugural class of 62 students meets a faculty ranked among the top 10 nationally in scholarly productivity, it was reported on Sunday.

"I sincerely believe that from the moment we first get ranked (by U.S. News and World Report) we will be ranked in the top 20. Top 25, of course," Erwin Chemerinsky, founding dean of the UCI School of Law, told the Orange County Register .

The Irvine law school was borne in a crucible of controversy, when conservative Orange County business interests railed against UCI Chancellor Michael Drake for hiring Chemerinsky, a former L.A. civil rights advocate, dean of the Duke law school, nationally-famous constitutional law expert and noted liberal.

"(Drake) received some intense pressure over a short period of time from some very influential conservatives that convinced him that I would not succeed as dean if we went forth with me... he would not succeed in some things he had worked to achieve," Chemerinsky told the Orange County Register. "In light of that, I understood why he did what he did."

In September 2007, Chemerinsky was fired in a flap over his liberal political views. An uproar followed, leading Drake to rehire him.

"I adore (Drake)," Chemerinsky told the Orange County Register. "I would not have accepted this job if I didn't respect and admire him so."

Chermerisky said he is determined to produce lawyers that have as many practical skills as intellectual might.

"We have a year-long course on lawyering skills...All lawyers need to negotiate," he said. "Doesn't matter if they're litigators or transactional lawyers...All lawyers have to interview, whether its prospective clients or witnesses. So let's teach interviewing the first year."

The free tuition helped UCI attract high qualified applicants -- people like Tracey Steele of Missouri, who told the Orange County Register the financial offer "absolutely" influenced his decision to seek a spot at Irvine.

UCI crowed about the applicant pool in April, saying in a news release that the school "has chosen its inaugural class by accepting only 4 percent of its applicants, making it the most selective of any law school in the nation."

UCI donors pledged to pay the entire tuition of its inaugural class, which will cost about $6 million. Also, the school is in the midst of a $100 million fundraising campaign, and has raised about $27 million so far.

School officials says multi-million gifts may soon be coming from donors in Europe and China. The school has already created a Korean Law Center, the Register reported.