It is named after David A. Clarke and was established in 1986 when, in response to a local grassroots campaign, the Council of the District of Columbia decided to take over assets of the Antioch School of Law, whose parent institution Antioch University had decided to close it in the face of increasing financial problems.

[1] The District of Columbia School of Law was awarded provisional accreditation by the American Bar Association in 1991, while the David A. Clarke School of Law was awarded provisional accreditation shortly after its renaming in 1998.

[1] It was awarded full accreditation by a unanimous vote of the ABA House of Delegates on August 8, 2005.

[9] The August council also specifically found that the school was in compliance with Standards 501(b) and Interpretation 501–1, which deal with admissions policies and practices.

[11] However, as of early 2024, based on statistics for 2021 graduates, the school had a two year pass rate of just 57.14%.

[3] Each first-year UDC Law student is required to perform a minimum of 40 hours of community service with a DC non-profit or government agency as part of the Community Service Law and Justice course.

[16] After completion of the first year, all UDC Law students are eligible for paid summer public interest fellowships.

[5] According to UDC Law's 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 38.8% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time long-term JD-required employment nine months after graduation.

The total cost of attendance (including the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at UDC Law for the 2018–2019 academic year is estimated to be $55,301 for full-time students who are D.C. residents and $78,973 for full-time students who are non-residents.