Student Services
Office of Student Services
California School of Law seeks to provide resources for all aspects of student life. Our goal is to provide the best learning environment for our students and therefore we offer a variety of student services in order to ease the transition to law school life and the legal profession.
Student Life
Because our students are geographically spread throughout the country and the world, it is of the upmost importance that we are in constant contact with students when there are problems that may disrupt regular attendance or their academic performance.
Students who have family emergencies or medical emergencies should contact their professor and the school in order to facilitate solutions to missing a class or rescheduling an exam. Determinations of whether a student qualifies to miss a class or reschedule an exam are considered on a case by case basis by CSL Student Services faculty and the Dean.
From time to time, students may feel overwhelmed or find it difficult to balance school, work, and family obligations. Students are encouraged to share these feelings before they disrupt their school schedule. Although a normal amount of stress and anxiety is inherent in attending law school, a student should contact the administration if they feel their academic performance is significantly affected.
Students may take a personal leave of absence from school. To qualify students must have completed their first year of law school, have passed the FYLSE, and be in good academically standing when seeking a temporary departure. Students seeking to withdrawal from an academic term must submit a written, signed, and dated withdrawal request to the administration. Detailed information regarding our withdrawal policy and refunds may be found in your student login account under Important Notes Regarding your Relationship with CSL “ Resources “ Cancellation/Withdrawal.
JD Orientation
New students are welcomed during our 1L Personal Orientation. During the 1L Personal Orientation, new students are contacted and given specific appointments where they will speak directly to tech support, review our software with tech support, and ask any remaining questions they may have about using our technology or any other questions regarding their relationship with CSL.
Contacting the School
Students are encouraged to contact the school if they have questions or other issues that may need to be resolved.
Students, who have non technical issues, may contact our offices at normal business hours between 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. (PST).
Enrolled students may also contact the school by emailing the Dean of Student Services Linda Placencia at linda.placencia@californiaschooloflaw.com
Students who need technical support during class hours may call the school, our tech support is always available to assist students either before class starts or during class hours. Please call the school and ask for tech support.
Westlaw Library
All students are giving a Westlaw login and password after they have received a passing grade in Legal Methods and once they have started their first classes.
Westlaw is a virtual library and database which allows students to access the latest case law, statutory material, treatises, and law review articles
Academic Calendar
Juris Doctor Degree Program
The J.D. (Juris Doctor) is a four year program designed to give students the fundamental skills to pass the FYLSE, the Bar Exam, and practice law. Our program is distinct from the traditional brick and mortar schools because we permit our students to work full time and encourage our students to balance their home life with their student life. Students save both time and money by attending all of their classes from the comfort of their home using our state of the art technology allowing a live, interactive, classroom experience. Our program is also distinct from other online educational institutes because we faithfully believe in the traditional law school pedagogy of using the Socratic Method in order to prepare students to respond to direct questioning, discuss complex facts and issues, and frame arguments when asked. At CSL, we strive to push our students to their full potential using the Socratic Method, live class discussions, and case reading. CSL runs on a traditional law school academic calendar allowing students to form professional relationships with both our high trained faculty and their classmates. As a result, CSL students gain the best of both worlds, a high quality traditional law school education, complete with esteemed professors and networking opportunities with fellow classmates and professors, all at the convenience of their home or work computer.
Mental Health Services
Students who are feeling symptoms of depression such as prolonged anxiety, sadness, extreme mood changes should contact their doctor immediately. Other available resources for mental health can be found at:
American Psychological Association - http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/