Although not formally established as an autonomous department until over three decades later, St. Ignatius began to offer law courses to students in 1880 under the direction of Fr.

[6] However, by the beginning of the 20th century, as the city began to rapidly expand, and to particularly meet the growing desires of young Irish and Italian Americans interested in practicing law, it was determined that a more formal institution be inaugurated.

[7] Among the students of this founding class was twenty-two year old Chan Chung Wing, who would become a prominent civil rights and immigration lawyer as well as the first Chinese American to practice law in California.

Another student of this original class was twenty-two year old Vincent Hallinan, who would become a noted labor lawyer and be the Progressive Party candidate in 1952 Presidential Election, garnering the third highest number of votes.

[10] Five years after its founding, in 1917 the school moved to the corner of Hays and Shrader Streets, into a building popularly referred to as the “Shirt Factory.” This was also the location of the rest of St. Ignatius after its original campus was destroyed during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fire.

[11] By the same year the student population would reach 149, although enrollment would quickly drop in half with America’s entry into World War I.

That same year the law school accepted its first three female students, beginning what would become a long tradition of promoting women in the legal field.

In 1930 St. Ignatius College was reorganized as the University of San Francisco, and the law school opened a day-time program the following year.

The era saw numerous graduates make considerable contributions to the rapidly growing city and state, including California Supreme Court Justice Raymond L. Sullivan (1930) and Congressman and Mayor of San Francisco John F. Shelley (1932).

[17] Vernon X. Miller was named dean in 1951, and would be followed by Francis R. Walsh in 1957. Notable graduates of the mid-century include the first Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court Buell A. Nesbett (1940), long-serving federal judge and Nevada Attorney General Roger D. Foley (1946), noted judge and San Francisco Supervisor Dorothy von Beroldingen (1954), and future California Lieutenant Governor Leo T. McCarthy (1958).

Dean Walsh ambitiously sought to expand the institution and in 1960 secured a $1,000,000 donation from the wealthy San Francisco industrialist and philanthropist Charles Kendrick to construct a new, permanent home for the law school.

[19] Kendrick Hall, located at 2199 Fulton Street and directly across from the collegiate parish of St. Ignatius, was completed in 1962 and was dedicated by Archbishop Joseph Thomas McGucken and United States Attorney General Robert F.

Today the University of San Francisco Law School is home to over 360 students of many backgrounds and origins and is the alma mater of thousands of graduates who can be found throughout the Bay Area, California, and the world.

[23] In keeping with its Catholic and Jesuit roots and traditions, the law school has long claimed to focus on social, economic, and environmental justice.

[26] The overall 2023 bar passage rate for USF graduates taking the examination for the first time was 67.37%, compared to 72.43% for all ABA-accredited law schools.

[3] According to the University of San Francisco School of Law's official 2023 ABA-required disclosures, 58% of the Class of 2023 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment (i.e. as attorneys) nine months after graduation, excluding solo-practitioners.

[26] USF sponsors dozens of student groups encompassing a wide range of demographic and practice area interests.

[34] The exchange programs include instruction at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.